The Education system in England and Wales has developed piecemeal over more than a hundred years. It is a complicated system, full of confusing details, and
there are wide variations as between one part of the country to another. Though it is
supposed to provide equality of opportunities for all, it is class divided and selective.
The first division is between those who pay and those who do not pay; the second,
between those selected for an intellectual training and those not so selected. The
public schools form the pinnacle of fee-paying education.

The National Education Act of 1944 provided three stages of education:
primary, secondary and further education. The years of compulsory schooling are
from five to sixteen. Primary education is up to the age of eleven, covering nursery
school or classes (3 to 5), infant school (5 to 7) and junior school (7 to 11).
The transition from primary to secondary school is made up to twelve years.
There are three main types of secondary schools. Special tests are set to diagnose
each child's abilities and children are allocated to grammar schools, technical schools
and modern schools. Some comprehensive schools are open to all children of eleven
years of age irrespective of their abilities.
Differences in organization of education in Britain and America lead to
different terms. One crucial word, "school," is used in overlapping but different ways.
A place of education for young children is a school in both variants. But a public
school in Britain is in fact a "private" school: it is a fee-paying school not controlled ' by
the local educational authority.
The free local authority school in America is a public school. The American grade
schools in British English variant is near-equivalent of elementary school. There are different
kinds of schools in the USA: public and private, large and small. Public schools, one of the
types of high schools, are always big.
Then the American children go to a college, where they study four years. Very few
American children — only the children of the rich people — can study at the college,
because one must pay a lot of money to study there.
The school year begins in September or October and ends in May or June. In
summer and in winter school-children and students have their holidays.
3. Exercises.
Вправа No1. Дайте відповіді на запитання.
1. What educational opportunities does the system of education in England (in
America) provide? 2. Why are children separated into different schools at eleven years
of age in Britain? 3. What stages of education are there in England and Wales? 4. On
what basis are children allocated to different secondary schools in Britain and Wales?
5. What are the main differences in the organization of education in Britain and
America?