Post-school education in great britain

The proportion of young people entering university and other advanced education is constantly rising. Around 1.5 million students in Britain are taking full-time post-school education courses including courses providing a combination of full-time study and job experience. There are also about 4 million part-time enrolments.

Until the nineteenth century England had no other universities apart from Oxford and Cambridge. The universities founded between 1850 – 1930 including London University are known as redbrick universities (because of the favourable building material of that time). Redbrick universities were built to provide liberal education and to give technological training for the poorer boys. The universities founded after World War II are called the new universities (Kent, Essex, York, etc.).

So all English universities except Oxford and Cambridge are fairly new. London University is the biggest of the modern English universities. There are 79 universities in Great Britain. All British universities are private institutions. Every institution is independent and responsible only to its governing council. But they all receive financial support from the state. The admission to the universities is by examination or selection (interviews).

Students who pass examinations at the end of three or four years of study get Bachelor’s degree. The first postgraduate degree is that of Master conferred for a thesis based on at least one year’s full-time work. Universities are centres of research and many postgraduates are engaged in research for the higher degree, the degree of a Doctor.

A university usually has both faculties and departments. The most common faculties are arts, law, medicine, science, and theology. Each faculty is headed by one or more professors who are helped by a staff of teachers called lecturers. Professors and lecturers spend some of their time giving lectures to large numbers of students or studying with much smaller groups and here the students have a chance to argue and discuss.

All universities admit men and women but within some universities there are colleges specially for one sex. Most of the universities provide hostels for their students.

There are many types of colleges in England. There are colleges within universities. Colleges give a specialized training. At a university the curriculum is wider and the course of studies is longer.

TASKS

I. Find in the text English equivalents to the following word combinations:

курсы, обеспечивающие сочетание очного обучения с опытом работы; давать гуманитарное образование и техническую подготовку; частные учреждения; независимый и ответственный только перед советом руководства; поступление в университеты; получают степень Бакалавра; степень Магистра, присуждаемая за диссертацию; многие аспиранты привлекаются к исследовательской работе; факультет возглавляет; штат преподавателей; студенты имеют возможность спорить и дискутировать; обеспечивать общежитием; давать специализированное обучение

II. Put the words in the right order to make sentences:

1. Great, there, universities, 79, in, are, Britain

2. British, are, private, universities, all, institutions

3. a, both, departments, and university, usually, has, and, faculties

4. faculty, one, headed, or, professors, each, is, more, by

5. helped, staff, of, are, by, a, teachers, lecturers, called

6. women, all, men, admit, universities, and

7. specially, one, within, colleges, universities, some, there, sex, are, but, for

8. at, wider, is, curriculum, longer, university, of, course, the, a, is, and, studies, the

III. Match the two parts of the sentences:

1. The proportion of young people entering 1. as redbrick universities

Universities … 2. in research

2. A university usually has … 3. is constantly rising

3. All English universities are … 4. both faculties and

departments

4. The universities founded between 1850- 5. the new universities

-1930 are known … 6. private institutions

5. The universities founded after World 7. by examinations or selection

War II are called … 8. men and women

6. The admission to the universities is … 9. Bachelor’s degree

7. At the end of three or four years of study 10. a specialized training

students get … 11. by one or more professors

8. Each faculty is headed by …

9. All universities admit …

10. Colleges give…

11. Many postgraduates are engaged…

IV. Express your agreement or disagreement with the following statements:

1. The proportion of young people entering universities is constantly rising.

2. There are only three universities in England.

3. Oxford and Cambridge are called redbrick universities.

4. Every university is independent and doesn’t receive financial support from the

state.

5. All British universities are private institutions.

6. The most common faculties are arts, law, medicine, science, and theology.

7. All universities admit only men.

8. The admission to the universities is by examinations and selection.

9. At the end of three or four years of study students get Doctor’s degree.

10. Faculties are headed by teachers called lecturers.