1 Public education
State schools are free (gratuites) and co-educational (mixtes).
primary school (age: 5-11) | secondary school (age: 11-18) | examinations |
infant school (age 5-8) | comprehensive school or grammar school (high academic standards rarely co-educational) | age 16: gcse (General Certificate of Secondary Education) age 18: A-levels (General Certificate of Education Advanced Level) |
junior school (age 8-11) |
Secondary school is from year 7 (sixième) to year 13 (upper 6th) (terminale). 85% of secondary schools are comprehensive (polyvalentes, non-sélectives).
2 Private education
Public schools are independent, private, extremely expensive.
age: 5-13 age: 13-18 | preparatory school + common entrance exam public schools |
They provide education for 5% of the population, mainly boys, though there has been a recent trend (tendance récente) towards co-education.
The most famous public schools are Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Charterhouse.
notez bien
to attend school: fréquenter l’école
school-leaving age: l’âge de fin de scolarité
a term: un trimestre
a school report: un bulletin scolaire
British universities are independent and self-governing.
undergraduate course (3-4 years: licence) | Bachelor of Arts (ba) Bachelor of Science (bsc) Bachelor of Law (llb) |
postgraduate studies (1-3 years: mastère) | Master of Arts (ma) Master of Science (msc) Doctor of Philosophy (phd) (doctorat) |
Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest universities in Britain. They are a group of separate colleges which enjoy unique social prestige.
Modern universities (Birmingham, Liverpool…) are more like French universities. They are organised in faculties. London university is the largest British university.
Redbrick universities are old established universities.
Edinburgh (Scotland) is famous for its medical faculty.
notez bien
a fellow: un chargé de cours
a tutor: un directeur d’études
a lecturer: un assistant
a hall of residence: une résidence universitaire
a competitive exam: un concours
entrance requirements: le niveau d’entrée
to graduate: obtenir un diplôme
a don: un professeur d’université (surtout à Oxford et Cambridge)