Table Of ContentМИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ
ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ
УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
«ОРЛОВСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ ИМЕНИ И.С. ТУРГЕНЕВА»
А.П. Александрова
EDUCATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT
BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Part I
Учебное пособие для аудиторной и самостоятельной работы студентов
Орёл – 2016
УДК 811.111(075.8) + 37(410) Печатается по решению редакционно-
ББК Ш143.21я73 «Страноведение» издательского совета ФГБОУ ВО
+ Ч34 (4 Вел) «Орловский государственный
А465 университет имени И.С. Тургенева»
Протокол №8 от 31.03.2016г.
Рецензенты:
доктор филологических наук, профессор кафедры английской филологии Орловского
государственного университета имени И.С. Тургенева Л.П. Семененко;
кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры иностранных и русского языков
Орловского юридического института Министерства внутренних дел Российской
Федерации имени В.В. Лукьянова Н.А. Мартынова
А465 Александрова А.П. Education in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (Образование в Соединенном Королевстве Великобритании и Северной
Ирландии), часть 1: учебное пособие для аудиторной и самостоятельной работы студентов
/ А.П. Александрова. – Орёл: ФГБОУ ВО «ОГУ им. И.С. Тургенева». – 2016. – 50с.
В данном пособии предлагаются наиболее важные и интересные факты из истории
развития системы образования Соединенного Королевства Великобритании и Северной
Ирландии.
Предназначено студентам языковых вузов для самостоятельной подготовки к
практическим занятиям по дисциплинам «История и география стран изучаемого языка
(Великобритании и США)» и «Культура стран изучаемого языка (Великобритании и
США)». Может быть полезным для преподавателей вузов и школьных учителей, ведущих
практический курс английского языка, студентов педагогических вузов, а также для всех,
кто владеет достаточными навыками чтения на английском языке и интересуется
вопросами страноведения Великобритании.
© Александрова А.П.
2
Education tells you what are you and why you
are here.
Education is just a name of adopting good,
kind behaviour and a way to speak politely.
Great knowledge does not mean that one is so
educated but his actions are the symbols of being
educated.
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UNIT I. HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN THE UK
1. Brief survey of the development of the educational system in the UK
Education and educational system in Britain have long and interesting history.
There were lots of changes during the progress.
England and Wales
Although government grants for education were first made in 1833, it was the
1870 Education Act in England and Wales which embodied the principle of
compulsory elementary education with government aid. There were two types of
elementary school – church voluntary schools and state schools provided by school
boards. Attendance at school became compulsory in 1880 for children aged
between five and ten, and the school leaving age was progressively raised to 14 by
1918.
A co-ordinated national system of education was introduced for the first time
by the 1902 Education Act, and local government became responsible for state
education and for helping to finance the voluntary schools. The system was
supervised by the Board of Education.
For ease of reference the term ‘state school’ is used to cover schools
maintained from public funds.
In 1944 a new Education Act raised the school leaving age to 15, and
schools were divided into primary and secondary. All children were given a
secondary education, and the newly created Ministry of Education was empowered
to develop a national education policy. Local government remained responsible for
administering the system.
Children were allocated to different secondary schools – grammar,
secondary technical or secondary modern – on the basis of selection tests taken at
the age of 11. The local education authorities were required to prepare and submit
to the Minister of Education development plans covering the whole process of
primary and secondary education, while proceeding with the planned development
of technical and adult education through schemes of further education.
In the 1960s and 1970s the selective system was gradually replaced by
comprehensive schools, which take pupils of all abilities. The school leaving age
was raised to 16 in 1972-73.
Scotland
An Act passed in 1872 transferred responsibility for Scottish education from
the churches to elected school hoards, which provided compulsory education for
children between the ages of five and 13, and evening schools for young people
over 13. The working of the new system was supervised by a central government
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department (now the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department) which
also administered the distribution of the parliamentary grant.
In 1901 the school leaving age was raised to 14. An Act passed in 1918
replaced the boards with local government authorities and made the provision of
secondary education mandatory for all children wanting it. Church schools were
transferred to education authorities, while preserving their denominational
character. The school leaving age was raised, for example, to 15 in 1947 and to 16
in 1972-73.
Northern Ireland
Education in Northern Ireland was brought into a single system by legislation
passed in 1923, under which local government took over responsibility for its
administration, supervised by the Ministry of Education. Children were required to
receive ‘elementary’ education between the ages of six and 14. Secondary
education remained largely in the hands of voluntary bodies, with assistance
provided from public funds. Technical education was provided almost entirely by
the local education authorities. The school leaving age was raised to 15 in 1947
and to 16 in 1972-73.
So there are some main situations of educational system in Britain starting
with the 12th century.
1.1 12th -14th centuries
Schools were attached to monasteries and churches to educate clerics who
were the civil servants and the scholars of the time as well as monks, nuns and
priests. Education had no direct control by the state; the church had been almost a
monopoly of literacy and education. There were chantry schools for boys from
poor families, beating was highly recommended in chantry schools and was an
important part of school and home education; song schools were attached to
cathedrals and almonry schools were attached to monasteries for sons of those
connected with the religious house to which they were attached or for relatives of
monks. After song and almonry schools young men knew alphabet, were able to
sing religious songs, to read Latin prayers and to read in English. Different from
chantry schools in the song and almonry schools beating was not recommended,
those who broke the rules felt the rod without delay and if anyone knew Latin but
spoke English or French with companions or with the clerk, had a ‘blow from the
rod’ for every word. Then in Britain of those days preparatory and grammar fee-
paying schools for sons of merchants existed. In preparatory schools children were
taught reading and writing in Latin and English sufficient for entering a grammar
school, and in grammar school they were taught Latin and Divinity. After leaving
grammar school a young man knew Latin Grammar, was able to translate from
English into Latin, could sing in Latin and compose 24 verses a day, in grammar
schools young men took part in debates conducted in Latin. Home education for
future monarchs, sons of noblemen also existed in Britain. Men were taught
military arts and court etiquette so the school-leavers had some military skills and
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skills in court accomplishments. Then during the 12th and 13th centuries there
were some private foundations: the Winchester college was founded by the bishop
of Winchester (in 1383) and nowadays it is included to Clarenda Nine (nine most
privileged and oldest universities in Britain); during 12th-13th centuries Oxford
and Cambridge Universities were also founded.
1.2 15th-16th centuries
Henry VIII disbanded the monasteries; ‘public schools’ (Eton, Winchester
and others) were founded. Infant or ‘petty’ schools for sons of merchants, skilled
craftsmen and squires existed there. Boys were taught reading, writing and saying
catechism or a series of questions and answers about God and Church. The aim of
such schools was to teach a boy to be able to read and write in English. In infant
schools there was a belief that children are sinful when they are born and in order
to make them grow up into good Christians, parents and teachers should be very
strict with them and it goes without saying in that beating was thought to be the
best way of making children learn. So if some pupil made a mistake at the lesson
he was beaten. There were also grammar and public schools for sons of tradesmen
and craftsmen. But then children were taught not only Latin and Divinity, but
Greek, Arithmetic and Music so that the pupils were able to speak and write in
Latin, to write poems and essays in Latin, they knew some passages from the Bible
by heart. Parish schools existed for boys from the poor families; boys were taught
Reading, Writing and a bit of Latin, and were able to say the Lord’s Prayer. Also
there was still home education for future monarchs, sons of nobility under the
supervision of a knight. Education aimed at teaching: the military arts, court
etiquette and social graces, reading and writing in Latin, sports. Then education for
girls arose. But actually it was considered more important for a girl to know about
housewifery than Latin. And so the girls did not attend school, but they were often
taught in well-to-do families how to read, write and do sums. In London St. Paul’s
school was founded in 1509, Shrewbury school was founded in 1552, in 1560 –
Westminster school, in 1561 – The Merchant Taylors’ public school for boys in
London, in 1567 – Rugby school in Yorkshire, in 1572 – Harrow school in
Middlesex. All of them are included into the list of Clarenda Nine.
1.3 The 17th century
The Stuart period. During that period there were still parish schools for poor
children, where were taught Reading and Religious instruction, Writing,
Arithmetic, and the same as in the Tudor period (15th-16th centuries) beating was
thought to be the best way of making children learn; in the charity schools boys
from the poor families were educated. The ‘subjects’ were Religion, Reading and
Writing. Grammar schools for the sons of tradesmen and craftsmen also existed,
and the major focus was still on classical education there, but Modern subjects
became being recognized as also important. Grammar schools during the Stuart
period prepared boys for applying to Oxbridge. Latin, Greek, Sports and Religious
Studies were taught in public schools for the boys from the wealthy families. This
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type of schools was made to form a real gentleman from a boy. During 17th
century, in 1611, Charterhouse school was founded on the site of a former
‘charterhouse’ in London. In 1872 it was transferred to Surrey. As one of the
leading public school for boys it is included in the list of the Clarenda Nine. The
situation changed in attitude to girls in 17th century. So in well-to-do families girls
got education while sharing their brothers’ tutors’ lessons or under the guidance of
open-minded fathers, but the proportion of illiterate women was very high (80 per
cent in London and 100 per cent in East Anglia). There were some schools for girls
with major focus on Dancing, Music, Painting and Singing, Writing and
Accounting. And very few included Latin, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish,
Hebrew, Experimenting, Philosophy.
1.4 The 18th century
In the eighteenth century not all people could afford to have their children go
to school. Girls had less of a chance to go to school than boys. But as the
eighteenth century went on, different types of schools were established for
children, adolescents, and adults.
One type of these new schools was Charity schools. Charity schools were
established in the beginning of the century. These schools were for boys and girls
of the working lower class. The main idea was to teach these children religion, and
how to read and write. The children were also taught thing that would benefit them
as a social class; such as cobbling shoes, carpentry, and straw plaiting. On
occasions the crafts that the children made were sold to help the school. By 1740
there were close to 2000 charity schools in England.
In summer Children would go to school from five or six in the morning to
eight or nine at night. In winter the day went from six or seven in the morning until
seven or eight at night. Children did not have to go to school if they did not wish
to. It was hard to get children from the countries to go to school due to the fact that
their parents wanted them to stay at home in the fields helping to pay for their
family income.
In 1780 Sunday schools came around. Like Charity schools they taught
religion. They started because many people believed that even overworked
children deserved to get an education.
Another type of school that was established was the private schools. Private
and “dissenting academies” existed for those who were excluded other schools due
to their religious beliefs. Britain created a modern educational system that taught
mainly commercial subjects for the boys; such as surveying, and European
languages.
Schools advertised and competed wish each other for students to come to their
school. Schools would try and appear better by having plays and musical nights.
Some schools even offered Military education. However, competitive sports did
not exist in the eighteenth century.
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Around 1759 girls could finally go to school with the boys. However, their
education was not thought to be important. In school girls were taught how to read
and write, and needle work. Many girls stayed home and were taught by a
governess. The girl’s mother would teach them to keep house and cook meals. By
the end of the eighteenth century day and boarding schools for girls became
common. The schools for the Middle class girls prepared them for marriage. It was
thought that if a girl was well educated and book smart it would lessen her chances
of getting a husband.
A third type of school that was established was the public schools. A couple
public schools were established before the eighteenth century for the sons of
tradesmen and craftsmen. Public Schools slowly had boys coming in from the
upper classes. Conditions in public schools were rather harsh. Food was often
really bad, bullying, disorder, and chaos were very common. Many riots occurred a
lot. The older boys held power over the younger boys by using a system called
“fagging”. This system worked by the older boys forcing the younger boys to make
their beds and becoming servants.
In Public Schools there was a lot of whipping. In school teacher was so used
to whipping (flagging) his students that when he could not come up with a reason
for it he would suggest that he whip them ahead of time for their next mischief.
Rebellions occurred as often as flagging. In one rebellion the boys covered their
headmaster’s desk with gun powder and made their desks into a bon-fire. That is
just one of the reasons that parents that could afford it kept their sons at home and
hired a tutor.
Even though all these types of school were established not all children could
be at schools because of the industrial revolution. In 1802 an Act was passed that
all children were to receive at least 2 hours of education a day. However this act
was not enforced until 1833. Then many children would get their education of the
floors of warehouses and they would be so exhausted that they could barely stay
awake. After the revolution many children began to go to school with other
children like them.
1.5 The 19th century
In the 19th century there was considerable growth of public schools to
provide administrators and officers for the developing British Empire and
elementary schools to provide basic skills (the three R’s) of reading, writing and
arithmetic for the skilled workforce required by the industrial revolution. During
the 1811-1814 schools were organized in which the Bible was the basis of
instructions. The National Schools were organized by the National Society for
Promoting the Education of the Poor on the Principles of the Established Church.
In 1833 first grants were given to such church schools. In 1839 there was a growth
of the state’s interest in the education of children for life and work in the industrial
civilization. Control of grants was given to a new committee called the Education
Department and the schools were to be inspected as a condition for receiving their
grants. A minimum level of state support was established. In 1841 Roedean School
8
was founded near Brighton in Sussex. It is one of the most privileged public
schools for girls. Now it has about 400 students. In 1853 Cheltenham Ladies’
College was founded in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. It is one of the leading
public schools for girls in Britain and nowadays it has about 800 students. In 1861
the system of grants established by the Education Department in 1839 was
replaced by a system called ‘Payments by results’: one third of the grant was to
depend on the pupils’ attendance and two thirds on the results of their
examinations in reading, writing and arithmetic. The education reforms were
caused by the needs of industry and trade which demanded mass literacy for
workers and better education for the managerial class. In 1870 Foster’s Elementary
Education Act was established and it provided elementary education for every
child and set up School Boards to organize schools in districts where there were
not enough schools. Children were to be taught to understand and follow simple
instructions, to calculate simple measurements, weights and money, to be able to
work with simple machinery or to serve in shops. In 1876 Sandon’s Act was
established according to which parents were given the responsibility of ensuring
that children between the ages of 5 and thirteen went to school. Mundella’s Act
was established in 1880 and according to education became compulsory for the
children between ages of 5 & 10; parents had to pay a few pence a week in fees.
But after the Free Education Act established in 1891 the last noteworthy act during
the 19th century, elementary education became free.
1.6 The 20th century
During the 20th century also were lots of Acts established and reforms made.
So in 1902 Balfour’s Education Act was established. Local government became
responsible for state education and for helping to finance the voluntary schools.
The system was supervised by the Board of Education.
For ease of reference the term ‘state school’ is used to cover schools
maintained from public funds.
In 1944 a new Education Act raised the school leaving age to 15, and schools
were divided into primary and secondary. All children were given a secondary
education, and the newly created Ministry of Education was empowered to develop
a national education policy. Local government remained responsible for
administering the system.
Children were allocated to different secondary schools – grammar, secondary
technical or secondary modern – on the basis of selection tests taken at the age of
11. The local education authorities were required to prepare and submit to the
Minister of Education development plans covering the whole process of primary
and secondary education, while proceeding with the planned development of
technical and adult education through schemes of further education.
In the 1960s and 1970s the selective system was gradually replaced by
comprehensive schools, which take pupils of all abilities. The school leaving age
was raised to 16 in 1972-73.
9
In provided for extending secondary education (education age was raised to
twelve years), subsidizing church schools from local rates and abolishing the
locally elected School Boards, substituting as local authorities the country or
borough councils. New grammar schools were built and others received grants in
return for providing a proportion of free places in order to meet the needs of better-
educated workhouse to occupy the increasing number of white collar jobs in
commerce and industry. In 1906 a Labour MP succeeded in getting a Private
Member’s Bill passed which gave local authorities power to provide meals for
children going foodless to school. All secondary schools receiving public money
had to offer at least 25 per cent of their places as free scholarships. In 1918 began
to work Fisher’s Act which rose the school-leaving age to 14 and elementary fees
were abolished. Then in 1926 we see Hadow’s report which suggested two types of
schools: Grammar (an academic education with a school-leaving age of 16) and
Secondary Modern (a practically based education with a school leaving age of 14).
Then goes Butler’s Act which introduced free compulsory secondary education.
British society was defined as meritocracy, it means society in which every child is
given a maximum help to develop his/her talents. The tripartite system was
established: Grammar schools for academic children selected on the results
obtained in the intelligence examinations at the age of 11 (The Eleven Plus);
Secondary Technical schools for the technically minded; Secondary Modern
schools for the less academic. This Act rose the school-leaving age to 15 (from
1947). By the year of 1950 there were ten comprehensive schools which combined
grammar and secondary modern schools under one roof. And this type of education
started increasing rapidly.
Years from 1965 to 1980 almost all the grammar schools were replaced by
co-educational comprehensives. Of the 1734 old direct grant grammar schools, 119
decided to leave the state system rather than become comprehensives and became
independent fee-paying establishments. During the 1986-1988 conservative
reforms in education were made (the 1986 Education Act and the Education Act of
1988). Until 1988 the only compulsory part of any school curriculum was religious
education. The Conservatives introduced a compulsory national curriculum which
applied to all children of school age (5-16) in state schools. There are three core
subjects in the curriculum: English, Math and Science and seven foundational
ones: Technology, History, Geography, Music, Art, Physical education and a
Foreign language.
1.7 The 21st century
Several educational acts help to reveal tendencies in British education.
On October 18, 2004 a report was commissioned, led by the former chief-
inspector of schools, Mike Tomlinson, into reform of the curriculum and
qualifications structure for 14- to 19-year-olds. It recommended the introduction of
a diploma that would bring together both vocational and academic qualifications
and ensure that all pupils had a basic set of core skills. It is proposed that the
current qualifications would evolve into this diploma over the next decade.
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