Giáo trình văn hóa anh (dùng cho sinh viên cao đẳng tiếng anh)

UNIT 1: THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY An Overview of Britain: Not One, but Four in One Off the north-west coast of mainland Europe between latitudes 50° North and 61° North is a group of about

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUẢNG BÌNH

KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ

GIÁO TRÌNH (Lưu hành nội bộ)

VĂN HÓA ANH (Dành cho sinh viên cao đẳng tiếng Anh)

Tác giả: Nguyễn Thị Hồng Thắm

Năm 2013

LỜI NÓI ĐẦU

Văn hóa Anh là giáo trình được biên soạn theo khung chương trình giáo dục cao

đẳng tiếng Anh Giáo trình được biên soạn theo hướng cung cấp cho sinh viên kiến thức cơ bản về đất nước và con người nước Anh; hệ thống giá trị, phong tục tập quán, xã hội, hệ thống chính trị, giáo dục của Vương quốc Anh làm nền tảng

để tìm hiểu và vận dụng những kiến thức đó trong tiếp thu ngôn ngữ Anh, trong hoạt động giao tiếp liên văn hoá Ngoài ra, học phần còn rèn luyện cho sinh viên

kĩ năng đọc hiểu, phân tích, tổng hợp, nghiên cứu các vấn đề văn hóa – xã hội Bên cạnh đó, sinh viên có thể rèn luyện kĩ năng nói thông qua các buổi trình bày nhóm và các buổi thảo luận

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Unit 1: THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Page 3-6 Unit 2: THE PEOPLE……… Page 7-9 Unit 3: THE POLITICAL SYSTEM…… Page 10-13 Unit 4: EDUCATION Page 14-19 Unit 5: FAMILY LIFE Page 20-23 FURTHER READING: FOOD AND DRINK Page 24-29 FURTHER READING: TRANSPORT Page 30-33 Unit 6: HOLIDAYS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS ……… Page 34-37 REFERENCES Page 38

UNIT 1: THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

An Overview of Britain: Not One, but Four in One

Off the north-west coast of mainland Europe between latitudes 50° North and 61° North is a group of about 5000 big and small islands collectively called the British Isles Among them are two large islands The larger is Great Britain, which is made up of Scotland, England and Wales The other is Ireland, consisting of Northern Ireland (Ulster) and the Irish Republic (Fire) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (The United Kingdom or The UK for short) is the name given to Great Britain and Northern Ireland Such islands as the Scilly Isles, the Isle of Wight, the Orkney Islands, the Outer Hebrides and the Shetlands belong to the UK However, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are self- governing with their own parliaments, although they do recognize the Queen Britain is a unitary state but the four constituent countries have distinctive national identities, some minor different physical characteristics and variations in culture and tradition

Britain is rather small, only 242000 sq km It is 500 km wide and nearly 1000 km long Great Britain is the largest island in Europe and the eighth largest in the world Although Britain is an industrialized country, much of the land is under cultivation National Parks and conservation areas cover 20% of the land

Geographically, Britain can be divided into two parts, Highland Britain and Lowland Britain The highest mountain of Britain is Ben Nevis in Scotland, one of the mountainous of regions

of the UK It is 1343m high The Pennine Range is called the “backbone of England” and

extends 224km The longest rivers are the Severn (354 km), which flows from northeast Wales into the Bristol Channel, and the Thames (338 km), rising in southwest England and flowing out into the North Sea The largest lake is Lough Neath in Northern Ireland (388 sq km) The vast majority of Britons live in urban areas The largest cities in Britain are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow A large part of population is English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish, but there are also Indians, West Indians, Africans, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, and Chinese People emigrated from their homelands to Britain for different reasons Some wanted to escape religious persecution, poverty, wars or natural disasters Others went in search of jobs and a better life and still others came as political refugees

Britain is rich in energy resources, especially oil and natural gas Coal played an important role in the Industrial Revolution Lots of coal has been mined in Britain and it was the cheapest source of energy Formerly, oil was imported from the Middle East but after oil and natural gas were discovered in the North Sea Britain became self-sufficient Nuclear power stations provide a large part of electricity supply Nowadays, with the increasing concern about environmental pollution, the British government is encouraging people to look for other energy sources that are cleaner, safer and renewable

Great Britain is industrial and commercial country It was the first industrialized country of the world in the mid-19th century The manufacturing sector has been developing and still play an important role in the economy Britain especially excels in high-technology industries

like electronics pharmaceuticals, aerospace and offshore equipment Other industries such as transportation, petroleum, coal, gas, steel and communications, are also well developed Crude oil has always been a primary source of power and Britain ranks among the largest oil producer in the world Nowadays, with the fast growth of the service sector, such branches as finance, tourism, retailing and other business services contribute considerably to the gross domestic product and employ a great part of workforce Britain is also a world leader in international trade Britain is just a small country, but it is considered the fifth largest trading nation and an influential member of European Union Britain exports a lot of things, mainly to the European Union Major exports include oil, manufactured goods, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, chemicals and aerospace equipment and pharmaceuticals

Conservation is one of the top priorities of British and the government has initiated many important policies and laws to protect the natural environment Among measures taken are declaring particular areas National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) which are carefully protected Global environmental concern like “green - house effect” and ozone depletion are given priority Many sites all over Britain, both natural and historic, are recognized by the World Heritage Convention and listed in the World Heritage List including Canterbury Cathedral, Averbury, and Hadrian's Wail The Giant's Causeway, the Palace of Westminster, Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and so on

English, developed from Anglo-Saxon, is the official language in Britain With a long history of invasion, the language was influenced and changed Although virtually all the people in Britain speak English, the separate counties have their own accent and dialects Sometimes people cannot understand one another well due to this variety of accents and dialects However, Home Counties English is accepted as Standard English and is understood more easily all over Britain

Britain is divided into 53 counties The counties around the capital London are called Home Counties Britain is an influential member of the Commonwealth, the European Nations and the European Union

The major religion is Christianity, represented predominantly by the Church of England (Anglican Church), Roman Catholicism, and the Presbyterian and Methodist churches Besides, there exist Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism

The Four Lands

People often refer to Britain by another name They call it “England” But this is not strictly correct, and it can make some people angry England is only one of the four nations of the British Isles (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) Their political unification was a gradual process that took several hundred years It was completed in 1800 when the Irish Parliament was joined with the Parliament for England, Scotland and Wales in Westminster, so that the whole of the British Isles became a single state - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland However, in 1922, most of Ireland became a separate state

At one time the four nations were distinct from each other in almost every aspect of life In the first place, they were different racially The people in Ireland, Wales and highland Scotland belonged to the Celtic race; those in England and lowland Scotland were mainly

of Germanic origin This difference was reflected in the languages they spoke People in the Celtic areas spoke Celtic languages: Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh People in the Germanic areas spoke Germanic dialects (including the one which has developed into modern English) The nations also tended to have different economic, social and legal systems

Today these differences have become blurred But they have not completely disappeared Although there is only one government for the whole of Britain, and people have the same passport regardless of where in Britain they live, some aspects of government are organized separately (and sometimes differently) in the four parts of the United Kingdom Moreover, Welsh, Scottish and Irish people feel their identity very strongly

The Union Jack

Although the formal and traditional name of the British national flag is the Union Flag It is more commonly known as the Union Jack The flag is a combination of crosses The red upright cross represents St.George, the patron saint of England, St Andrew's cross of Scotland

is the while diagonal one, and the red diagonal cross is of St.Patrick of Ireland (now representing Northern Ireland)

all, most British people live there (Populations in 1995) But it should always be remembered

that England does not make up the whole of the UK

There has been a long history of migration from Scotland, Wales and Ireland to England As a result, there are millions of people who live in England but who would never describe themselves as English They may have lived in England all their lives, but as far as they are concerned, they are Scottish or Welsh or Irish - even if, in the last case, they are citizens of Britain and not of Eire These people support the country of their parents or grandparents rather than England in sporting contests They would also, given the chance, play for that country rather than England If, for example, you had heard the members of the Republic of Ireland World Cup football team talking in 1994, you would have heard several different kinds of English accent and some Scottish accents, but only a few Irish accents Most of the players did not live in Ireland and were not brought up in Ireland Nevertheless, most of them would never have considered playing for any country other than Ireland!

The same holds true for the further millions of British citizens whose family origins lie outside the British Isles altogether People of Caribbean or south Asian descent, for instance,

do not mind being described as 'British' (many are proud of it), but many of them would not like to be called 'English' And whenever the West Indian or Indian cricket team plays against England, it is certainly not England that they support!

There is, in fact, a complicated division of loyalties among many people in Britain, and especially in England A black person whose family are from the Caribbean will passionately support the West Indies when they play cricket against England But the same person is quite happy to support England just as passionately in a sport such as football, which the West Indies do not play A person whose family are from Ireland but who has always lived in England would want Ireland to beat England at football but would want England to beat (for example) Italy just as much This crossover of loyalties can work the other way as well English people do not regard the Scottish, the Welsh or the Irish as “foreigners” (or, at least, not as the same kind of foreigners as other foreigners!) An English commentator of a spotting event in which a Scottish, Irish or Welsh team is playing against a team from outside the British Isles tends to identify with that team as if it were English

Climate

The climate of Britain is more or less the same as that of the north-western part of the European mainland The popular belief that it rains all the time in Britain is simply not true The image of a wet, foggy land was created two thousand years ago by the invading Romans and has been perpetuated in modern times by Hollywood In fact, London gets no more rain in a year than most other major European cities, and less than some

The amount of rain that falls on a town in Britain depends on where it is Generally speaking, the further west you go, the more rain you get The mild winters mean that snow is a regular feature of the higher areas only Occasionally, a whole winter goes by in lower-lying parts without any snow at all The winters are in general a bit colder in the east of the country than they are in the west, while in summer; the south is slightly warmer and sunnier than the north Why has Britain's climate got such a bad reputation? Perhaps it is for the same reason that British people always seem to be talking about the weather This is its changeability There is

a saying that Britain doesn't have a climate, it only has weather It may not rain very much altogether, but you can never be sure of a dry day; there can be cool (even cold) days in July and some quite warm days in January

The lack of extremes is the reason why, on the few occasions when it gets genuinely hot or freezing cold, the country seems to be totally unprepared for it A bit of snow and a few days

of frost and the trains stop working and the roads are blocked; if the thermometer goes above 80°F (27°C), people behave as if they were in the Sahara and the temperature makes front-page headlines These things happen so rarely that it is not worth organizing life to be ready for them

UNIT 2: THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN

The Early Inhabitants of the British Isles

It is known that the earliest people in the British Isles were Old Stone Age men These people used hard stones called flint to make their tools and weapons They lived in caves and killed wild animals for meat

Between about 3000 and 2500 B.C the Iberians came to Britain from Iberia They were called New Stone Age men, because their stone tools were polished They grew crops, raised cattle and tamed dogs for hunting

One of the most remarkable remains of the early inhabitants is Stonehenge It is a great circle of stones in Wiltshire Stonehenge is believed to have stood on Salisbury Plain for about 4000 years No one knows exactly for what purposes it was built, but one theory is that

it was a place where people could observe the movements of the sun for the purpose of agriculture By keeping watch on the sun, people would know the right time for planting and harvesting

The Celts

Between about 500 and 600 B.C the Celts came to Britain from central Europe They settled

in Wales, Cornwall, Scotland and Ireland and used iron to make their tools and weapons They also built villages and farms, and started a communal life They spoke the Celtic language Their religion was Druidism and their priests were called Druids

The Romans

In 55 B.C the Romans tried to invade Britain The famous Roman general, Julius Caesar and his army managed to land on the shores of Kent, but the Celts resisted bravely and Caesar was driven away In 54 B.C Caesar returned but again he was forced to withdraw

Nearly a hundred years after the first invasion, in 43A.D the Romans attacked Britain again This time the Roman army was so powerful that the Celtic tribes were soon defeated and the area that is now England was occupied by the Romans

For nearly 400 years what is now England was part of the Roman Empire as the province of Britannia and many things were learned from the Roman civilization The main Celtic town became Londinium, the capital and trading centre of Britannia Many towns were developed, including Winchester, Colchester, Lincoln, York, and Canterbury The town of Bath became famous for its natural hot springs Large houses and villas were built, and long straight roads were made The Romans were good road builders Some modern roads in England have Roman roads as their foundations such as Ermine Street, Watling Street, and the Fosse Way The Celtic nobles adopted the Roman way of life They lived in villas and spoke Latin The Romans introduced new kinds of animals and plants into England, including geese and hens, and cherry and pear trees

Today the remains of Roman cities, baths, houses, villas and theatres can still be seen One

of the most impressive remains of the Roman time is the wall built by Emperor Hadrian in

122 A.D to defend England from attacks by the Picts and the Scots from the north Parts of Hadrian's Wall still stand on the Scottish border

At the beginning of the 5th century, the Romans had troubles in their empire and in 407 Roman troops began to withdraw from Britain

The Anglo-Saxons

After the Romans left, Britain was soon attacked and conquered by Germanic tribes They were the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes from Denmark and the northern Germany The Anglo-Saxons invaders drove the Celts to the mountainous areas of Scotland, Wales and Cornwall

The Anglo-Saxons settled in Britain and a number of small kingdoms were established East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex and Wessex They called Britain Angle land (or England) spoke Anglo-Saxons (or Old English)

The Anglo-Saxons were pagan In 597 a Roman missionary, St.Augustine was sent to Britain to bring Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons and Ethelbert, the king of Kent, was converted to Christianity The first church was built in Canterbury, the capital of Kern Christianity spread and had a great influence upon the learning and culture of Britain

The Anglo-Saxons kingdoms usually fought and competed for predominance over the whole country The greatest and most powerful kingdoms were Nothumbria, Mercia and Wessex At the beginning of the 9th century, Wessex became the strongest Its king, Egbert, was acknowledged by the other kingdoms and he became the first king of The United Kingdoms

of England in 829

The Danes or Vikings

At the end of the 8th century, the Danes or Vikings began to come from Norway and Denmark

These sea-raiders came by boat to the coast parts of northern and southeastern Britain They attacked and killed people, burnt villages, robbed the churches and sailed away with treasure King Alfred - the Great of England defeated the Danes in many battles, but in 836 a treaty was signed and the Danes were given a section of England called Danelaw The Danes settled

in Danelaw and gradually inter-married with Anglo-Saxons

The Normans

In 1066, the king of England, Edward the Confessor, died Harold was chosen to be king but

in northwestern France, William, Duke of Normandy, claimed that both Edward the Confessor and Harold had promised him the throne Therefore, William gathered an army and

fought for his claim The Norman invasion was an important event in the history of Britain, and it was the last foreign invasion

The Norman conquest began with the battle of Hastings where Harold was defeated and killed by an arrow in the eye On Christmas Day, 1066, William was enthroned as William I The coronation took place in Westminster Abbey, and since then all the coronations of English monarchs have been held there, William I is known as William the Conqueror

Under Norman rule, England was brought into closer contact with continental Europe Great changes were made in English society Feudalism was established A system of laws and law courts were organized The method of land cultivation was improved and many castles and cathedrals were built

In 1086, William I ordered the Domesday Book to be compiled It is the record of a survey

of the economic life of England Williams officials measured the land and recorded the names

of the holders as well as the number of animals that they kept The Domesday Book provided the necessary information for a tax purpose

It has been shown that the British are descended from Stone Age men and various later invaders

UNIT 3: THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

Britain is unique in the fact that there is not constitution in the shape of a single formal document Instead, the government system, which has evolved over centuries, is defined by statutes, habits and customs rather than by law These habits and customs become rules and conventions, some of which are unwritten The British legal system is based on common law and precedent The Legislature is the two Houses of Parliament, the Executive is the Government and the Judiciary is only theoretical

The Monarchy

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy (of parliamentary democracy) with either a king or queen as Head of State The Monarchy is the oldest institution of government At the moment, Queen Elizabeth II who succeeded to the throne in 1952 is Head of State The Queen's royal title in Britain is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith” By tradition, the Queen is also the Head of the Church of England and the Commander - in - Chief of the armed forces

There are interesting contradictions in the role of the monarch According to the written law, the Queen has absolute power Judged from the appearance, it would seem that the Queen is above the law with the government belonging to her The Queen has the right to choose anyone to be the Prime Minister, but in reality, she chooses the head of the party that wins in the general election so that she can enjoy the majority of support She can also appoint other ministerial positions and if she wants, she can dismiss them But in practice, it is the Prime Minister who chooses the ministers The Queen has the right to summon the Parliament or dissolve it even before a general election She can refuse to give the “Koval Assent” to a bill even though the bill has been passed in the two Houses of Parliament, and as a result, it cannot become law But so far, there has never been any king or queen who said no to the bills

The Monarch's Role

In spite of gradual decline in the monarch's power, the Queen is still respected and supported by the majority of Britons The monarchy still has its own values and is very popular with most British people

The British regard the monarch as a personal embodiment of the government of the country

To them, the monarch is part of their national pride and a symbol of continuity The Queen represents tradition The royal life with its royal activities is a source of entertainment that helps make life more vivid and colorful and attracts many tourists

The monarch acts as a final check on government She meets The Prime Minister once a week to discuss national affairs and so, she is well-informed Because the monarch has the

right to refuse the royal assent to a bill, or even to dismiss the Prime Minister if he turns out to

be a disqualified person, she helps to purify the government

As the figurehead of the country, the monarch represents it when performing ceremonial duties She receives ambassadors and visitors from abroad, visits foreign countries, and opens schools and hospitals, so that the Prime Minister has more time to run national affairs

The Parliament

The British Parliament consists of three separate elements: the Queen, the House of Lords and the House of commons and has a maximum duration of five years A general election is held before the end of each term Some important functions of Parliament are to make law, to provide the means of carrying on the work of government, to scrutinize government policy and to debate issues

The British Parliament works in the Palace of Westminster, also called the Houses of Parliament This is a very big building with a lot of facilities and two large chambers The House of Lords is where the Lords meet and the House of Commons, where the Common work

The House of Lords

Members of the House of Lords are of two types Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal They are not elected They either qualify to sit in the House or inherit their seats from their father Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, and other senior bishops The Lord Temporal are all peers, hereditary peers

or life peers The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, as the speaker of the Lords, has no authority to curtail a debate Instead, it is deeded by the general feeling of the House Even though he or she is called the speaker, they cannot speak in debate

The House of Commons

Members of the House of Common are called Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by a majority of votes at a general election or a by-election A by-election is held when a MPs dies

or resigns, or is given a peerage Britain is divided into local constituencies, each of which has one representative in the House of Commons The chief officer is the Speaker, elected by the MPs He is politically neutral, ie He is not controlled by any party and does not vote, and presides over the House during debates The Speaker has full authority to enforce the rules of the House and must, guard against the abuse of procedure and protect minority rights He can adjourn the sitting or even end a discussion so that a certain matter can be put to the vote He has the right to order members to leave the Chamber if they have broken the rules of behavior

He supervises voting and announces final results, but he cannot speak in debate Besides the Speaker, there are Deputy Speakers, chosen from the members of the government party and the Opposition

The design and layout the debating chamber of the House of Commons is distinctive It is rather small and does not have enough seats for all the members There are two rows of

"benches” facing each other The right side is for the party in government and the left side is for the opposition Important Members of Parliament, ministers, sit in front and therefore are called frontbenchers Backbenchers are younger and less experienced members sitting on the

"benches” at the make speeches At the back in the centre is a high chair for the Speaker The Speaker chair debates from this commanding position A special thing in the House is the two red lines running parallel along the chamber These lines are to divide the House into two sides and symbolically prevent the two sides from physically attacking each other during a debate This layout encourages confrontation between government and opposition and reinforces the British two-party system The seats upstairs are for newsmen and the public If you want to see how the Commons work, you can attend “a sitting” in the galleries upstairs Because of the arrangement and layout, the atmosphere is rather informal, and as a result, members are encouraged to cooperate This arrangement of the Chamber has existed for a very long time and expresses a desire for continuity

The Law-making Procedure

Draft laws are called Bills Bills begin life in the House of Common and go through five stages: first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, and third reading

The First reading is just a formal announcement with no debate at all An MP reads aloud the bill to the Parliament

In the second reading, the general principles of the bill are debates The person who wrote the bill talks about it and other Member of Parliament may ask questions related to it After that, a vote is taken If the majority agrees, next comes the Committee stage when a committee of MPs from all the parties examines the bill in detail The bill is considered very carefully and amendments may be added to change it It often takes a long time because the committee is small The improved bill is then voted on again When all the committee members agree, the bill is presented to the House of Commons for the whole House to consider the amendments This stage is called the Report stage Sometimes they make more changes and then again there is another vote on the changes

The next stage is the Third reading In this stage the amended bill is debated again as a whole

No change is allowed at this stage

The bill is then passed to the House of Lords and it undergoes the same procedure If the House of Lord makes some amendments, the bill is sent back to the House of Commons and the MPs vote on the changes If the Lords do not agree, the bill is put aside for one year and then it is sent directly to the Queen without consulting the House of Lords

Finally, the bill is given to the Queen for consideration and if the Queen agrees, she gives the Royal Assent and after that it becomes an Act of Parliament (law)

The procedure of law making asserts the more important role of The House of Commons The House of Lords is becoming less and less important and some people think that the

system is not democratic and that the House of Lords should be reformed Some people also complain that glamorous ceremonies of the royal family waste a large pan of the national budget In a survey conducted in 1997 in Britain, the number of people who supported the Monarchy was 55% and those against it was 45%

UNIT 4: EDUCATION

In Britain, education is organized by the Local Education Authorities (LEAs)

An LEA is the local government body that is responsible for state schools and further education in a district LEAs employ teachers, maintain buildings, and supply books and equipment LEAs are funded partly by the central government and partly by local property taxes

Nursery schools

Nursery schools are for very young children from two to four years old They are mainly educational games Most nursery schools are supported by LEAs There are also some pre-school play groups organised by parents or by voluntary bodies

Primary schools

Primary schools enroll children from 5 to 11 Primary education is usually in two separate schools: infant schools for young children from 5 to 7 and junior for children from 7 to 11 Some LEAs have a different system: first school for pupils aged 5 to 8 and middle school for pupils aged 8 to 12

Secondary school

Secondly schools are for 11-16 or 18 year old children Today most pupils of state secondary schools in Britain attend comprehensive schools This type of secondary school first appeared in England in 1965 It is a large school for pupils of all abilities from a district Comprehensive schools provide a general education with a wide range of courses for children

of all abilities Besides academic courses, children also do music, handicrafts and vocational courses

Comprehensive schools are non-selective When children finish primary school they go straight to comprehensive school without any examinations However, some LEAs nowadays still keep following the selective system of education According to this system when children complete primary school, they take the Eleven-Plus Examination to decide the appropriate type of secondary school they go to The clever pupils who get the best results at the Eleven-Plus will go to a grammar school Grammar schools provide academic courses and prepare pupils for higher education The children who do not do well at the Eleven-Plus will go to a secondary modern school Secondary modern schools are for children of average or below

average ability Therefore, they provide a general education and various skills as well as handicrafts

Independent schools

The other sector of education is independent schools These are fee-paying schools and not maintained by the LEAs Most of the independent schools are single-sex, that is to say there are schools for boys only, or for girls only Many of them are boarding schools The schoolboys or schoolgirls stay in school dormitories or residences during the school terms, and they only go home during holidays Independent schools are very expensive because parents pay not only for their children’s school fees but also for boarding Only wealthy parents can afford to send their children to an independent school

Pre-preparatory schools

Pre-preparatory schools take children aged from 5 to 7 Children under five are usually taught at home by a private tutor or they may go to a kindergarten

Preparatory schools (Prep schools)

Preparatory schools are for children from 7 to 13 years old They prepare children for the Common Entrance examination to a public school

Public schools

Public schools are for pupils from 13 to 18 They provide an academic education and prepare pupils for higher education Pupils of public schools do a lot of sports They have sports nearly everyday By doing sports and working with classmates in a team, pupils are trained to be a member of the community Team games develop the idea of teamship with qualities of cooperation, responsibility, and fair play

School terms

The school year in Britain is divided into three terms Autumn term is from September to December, spring term from January to March and summer term from April to July After each term, there is a holiday Autumn term ends at Christmas, spring term at Easter, and summer term with the summer vacation In addition, in the middle of each term, there is a half term holiday lasting for one week

Examinations

The minimum school-leaving age is 16, but pupils may stay on until 18

The standard schools-leaving examination nowadays is the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) It is taken at the age of 16 when pupils finish their fifth year of secondary school Pupils usually choose about seven or eight subjects for their exams

After the GCSE, pupils who stay on will study two more years in the 6th form Some pupils will take GCSE again to get better grades Other pupils will study for the GCE “Advanced” level (“A” level) exams They usually take two or three subjects These are specialized subjects, and GCE A levels are the academic prerequisites for entry to universities

An additional examination at A-level was introduced in 1989 It aims to broaden the school curriculum and allows students to take more subjects at an advanced level GCE AS level examinations have the same standards as GCE A-level Good students who aim to study at universities usually take two A-level and two AS level subjects

Further education colleges offer a wide range of courses to both young people and adults Courses are attended full-time, part-time or by distance learning

Higher Education

Higher Education is provided by universities and polytechnics

Universities in Britain are independent institutions They appoint their own staff, and make their own decisions on student admissions as well as curriculum and teaching methods

The real head of a university is the Vice-Chancellor: He is appointed or elected by senior members of the university The nominal head is the Chancellor who is appointed for life The Chancellor has an honorary function and is present at the university only on some formal occasions

The two oldest and most famous universities in Britain are Oxford and Cambridge, known

as Oxbridge Oxford university was founded in the 12th century, and Cambridge university in the 13th century

The Scottish universities of St Andrew, Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh were established

in the 15th and 16th centuries

Other universities were founded in the 19th and 20th centuries They were given the derogatory nickname “redbrick” because most of them were built of red brick and originally were considered inferior

Universities select their students based on their “A” level results and interviews

In most universities, undergraduate courses are three years full time study Medical courses usually take five or six years First degrees are awarded on completion of the undergraduate courses The most common titles for a first degree are Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) When postgraduates complete their courses, usually one or two years, they are conferred Master of Science (MSc) The higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is awarded to students who complete two or three years of original research

Polytechnics are also institutions for higher education They provide a wide range of

courses leading to first and higher degrees The polytechnics have a closer link with commerce and industry; therefore, the courses they provide have a more technical or vocational bias than those of a university

The Open University was established in 1969 It provides distance learning at university

level, and it is open to everybody who wants it Students need no formal academic qualifications to register for the courses, but the degrees awarded by Open University meet the same standards as those of other universities Study is by means of correspondence, radio and television

Style

Learning for its own sake, rather than for any particular practical purpose, has traditionally been given a comparatively high value in Britain In comparison with most other countries, a relatively strong emphasis has been put on the quality of person that education produces (as opposed to the qualities of abilities that it produces) The balance has changed in the last quarter of the twentieth century (for example, there is now a high degree of concern about levels of literacy), but much of the public debate about educational policy still focues not so much on how to help people develop useful knowledge and skills as on how education might help to bring about a better society – on social justice rather than on efficiency

This approach has had a far-reaching effect on many aspects of the educational system First

of all it has influenced the general style of teaching, which has tended to give priority to developing understanding rather than acquiring factual knowledge and learning to apply this knowledge to specific tasks This is why British young people do not appear to have to work

as hard as their comterparts in other European countries Primary schoolchildren do not normally have formal homework to do and university students have fewer hours of programmed attendance than students on the continent do (On the other hand, they receive greater personal guidance with their work) A second effect has been an emphasis on academic ability rather than practical ability (despite English anti-intellectualism) This has

resulted in high-quality education for the intelligent and academically inclined (at the upper secondary and university levels) with comparatively little attention given to the educational needs of the rest

The traditional approach, together with the dislike of centralized authority, also helps to explain why the British school system got a national curriculum (a national specification of learning objectives) so much later than other European countries If your aim is so vague and universal, it is difficult to specify what its elements are It is for the same reason that British schools and universities have tended to give such a high priority to sport The idea is that it helps to develop the “complete” person The importance of school as a “community” can increase this emphasis Sporting success enhances the reputation of an institution Until the last quarter of the twentieth century, certain sports at some universities (especially Oxford and Cambridge) and medical schools were played to an international standard People with poor academic records were sometimes accepted as students because of their sporting prowess (although, unlike in the USA, this practice was always unofficial)

School life

There is no countrywide system of nursery (i.e pre-primary) schools In some areas, primary schools have nursery schools attached to them, but in others there is no provision of this kind The average child does not begin full-time attendance at school until he or she is about five and starts primary school Almost all schools are either primary or secondary only, the latter being generally larger

Nearly all schools work a five-day week, with no half-day, and are closed on Saturdays The day starts at or just before nine o'clock and finishes between three and four, or a bit later for older children The lunch break usually lasts about an hour-and-a-quarter Nearly two- thirds of pupils have lunch provided by the school Parents pay for this, except for the 15% who are rated poor enough for it to be free Other children either go home for lunch or take sandwiches

Methods of teaching vary, but there is most commonly a balance between formal lessons with the teacher at the front of the classroom, and activities in which children work in small groups round a table with the teacher supervising In primary schools, the children are mostly taught by a class teacher who teaches all subjects At the ages of seven and eleven, children have to (or soon will have to) take national tests in English, mathematics and science

In secondary schools, pupils have different teachers for different subjects and are given regular homework

The older children get, the more likely they are to be separated into groups according to their perceived abilities, sometimes for particular subjects only, sometimes across all subjects But some schools teach all subjects to “mixed ability” classes The rights and wrongs of this practice have generated heated debate for several decades and there is great variety from school to school and area to area