References

1. grammar school – классическая школа (государственная или частная, предусматривает изучение классических языков)

2. secondary modern school – средняя современная школа (государственная, имеет техническую направленность)

3. secondary education – среднее образование (для учащихся от 11 до 16 или 18 лет)

4. General Certificate of Education (GCE) – общее свидетельство об образовании

5. O-level = Ordinary Level [′odnrı] – экзамен по программе средней школы на обычном уровне (сдается по окончании 5-го класса)

6. Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) – свидетельство о среднем образовании

7. A-level = Advanced Level [əd′va:nst] - экзамен по программе средней школы на повышенном уровне (сдается по окончании 6-го класса)

8. sixth-formers – учащиеся 6-го класса (последнего двухгодичного класса средней школы для специализации учащихся и сдачи экзаменов на повышенном уровне)

9. sixth-form college – приготовительный колледж (среднее учебное заведение для молодежи старше 16 лет, государственное или частное)

10. professional [prə′fe∫ənl] – человек умственного труда (адвокат, врач, архитектор, преподаватель и т.д.)

Secondary School Examinations: Time for Examinations; GCE; CSE; The Sixth Forms; CEE; GCSE

Pupils at secondary schools in England (that is pupils between the ages of twelve and eighteen) have two main exams to worry about, both called GCE - General Certificate of Education.

They take the first one when they are about fifteen. It’s called O-level. There is an exam which you can take instead of O-level: it is called the CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education), and it is not as difficult as O-level.

Most pupils take O-level in about seven or eight different subjects. There are lots of subjects to choose from – everything from carpentry to ancient languages.

For a lot of jobs, such as nursing, or assistant librarian, you must have four or five O-levels, and usually these must include English and Maths.

You may leave school when you are 16. But if you stay at school after taking O-level, you go into the sixth form. The sixth form and sixth-forms colleges offer a wide range of courses. Ordinary level alternative, CEE (Certificate of Extended Education) and CSE courses are offered to pupils who need qualifications at a lower level. But if you have made up your mind to gain entry to a university, Polytechnic or college of further education you have to start working for the second main examination – A-level.

Most people take A-level when they are about eighteen. It is quite a difficult exam, so people don’t usually take it in more than 3 subjects – and some only in one or two subjects.

Three A-levels are enough to get you in to most universities. For others, such as Oxford and Cambridge, you nave to take special exams as well. A new school-leaving certificate is planned, however, and O-level and CSE will be replaced by one public exam, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). It is to show how children worked throughout 5 years of secondary school.

References

CEE = Certificate of Extended Education свидетельство об углубленном образовании

Education system: England and Wales

Age 1

2 Pre-school (play groups)

3

4

5 Primary School or First School

6

7

8

9 Middle School

10

11

12 Comprehensive School

13

14 Comprehensive School

15

16

17 Sixth-form College

18

19 University or College or Polytechnic

20

21 3 or 4 year course

22

23 Post-graduate studies

24

25