The British School Systems Explained Like a lot of things in Britain, the school system is difficult to explain because it’s been around for so long, and has consequently been through a variety of different forms, some aspects of which have disappeared whilst many still remain. This means you wind up with problems like the fact that so-called ‘public’ schools are actually private schools; we generally call state-funded schools ‘comprehensives’, but this doesn’t mean that private schools don’t offer a ‘comprehensive’ education. It seems like a bit of clarification is in order.
英國教育體系，跟英國其他很多事情一樣，很難解釋清楚；因為英國教育體系本身由來已久，從而也發(fā)展出很多不同的形式，其中一些隨著時間推移已經(jīng)消失了，但很多形式仍保留至今。所以不難理解大家會有很多疑問，比如所謂的“公學(xué)”其實是私立精英學(xué)校；而我們一般把公立學(xué)校稱作“綜合學(xué)校”，不過這并不意味著私立學(xué)校就不提供“綜合”的教育。鑒于以上提到的這些問題，我覺得對英國教育體系作些解釋還是很有必要的，希望能對大家有所幫助。
THE STANDARD PATH 標(biāo)準(zhǔn)模式
The British Government offers funded education from the age of 3. This takes the form of nurseries and playgroups up to the age of 5, followed by attendance at Primary School until the age of 11, and finally a further stage at Secondary School up to age 16. Students will usually achieve their General Certificates of Education (GCSEs) at this point. The ‘usual’ path then leads to the Sixth Form for two years to gain Advanced Levels (A-Levels)， and then on to university to do a bachelor’s degree. Most bachelor degree courses in England are three years long (in Scotland they are usually four). After obtaining an undergraduate degree, students can go on to do a master’s degree, which usually takes one or two years, and then a doctorate, which typically takes another three years to complete.
英國政府資助學(xué)生從3歲開始接受教育。其中，3歲至5歲期間的教育主要采取幼兒園和托兒所兩種形式，5歲至11歲為小學(xué)教育，最后11歲到16歲為中學(xué)教育。學(xué)生完成中學(xué)教育后就可以獲得普通中等教育證書(GCSEs)。按照慣例，緊接著兩年為第六種教育形式——大學(xué)預(yù)備班，預(yù)科結(jié)束后學(xué)生需要拿到普通教育高級證書(A-Levels)，隨后才能進入大學(xué)攻讀學(xué)士學(xué)位。英格蘭的大部分本科課程都是三年(而蘇格蘭本科通常為四年)。本科畢業(yè)后，學(xué)生可以繼續(xù)讀研一到兩年，如果再深造讀博，則還需要至少三年。
TECHNICAL COLLEGES, AND APPRENTICESHIPS 職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院以及見習(xí)機會
But this is far from the only option in the system. Students can leave after gaining GCSEs and go on to do Foundation-Level courses at various technical colleges. This is well-suited for people that want to go onto more hands-on careers, like plumbing, engineering, or even painting. These routes can lead to university degrees just as easily as their A-Level counterparts, or can be used to gain apprenticeships in their chosen field.
以上的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)模式并不是英國教育體系的唯一模式。中學(xué)畢業(yè)獲得普通中等教育證書(GCSEs)后，學(xué)生也可以繼續(xù)在各類職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院讀基礎(chǔ)課程。這種模式適合那些職業(yè)規(guī)劃偏向諸如衛(wèi)生管道、工程、繪畫等手工操作的學(xué)生。讀完基礎(chǔ)課程的學(xué)生跟拿到普通教育高級證書(A-Levels)的學(xué)生一樣，都能接受大學(xué)教育，同時還可以獲得他們所選職業(yè)方向的見習(xí)機會。
There are also major differences between the schools one can attend. State-funded education can take place in the comprehensive schools already mentioned (the most common variety)， in so-called ‘academies’ or ‘free schools’ (which are often aimed at lower income areas and usually have a specialised subject)， or in voluntary schools (which are usually run by religious organisations but funded by the government). There is a long history of fee-paying schools in Britain as well, although today only 7% of the student population attends such a school. These are alternatively called public, private, or independent schools, but most of these terms refer to the same style of school and there is not much to differentiate them.
不同類型的學(xué)校差別很大。公立學(xué)校一般包括上文提到的綜合學(xué)校(也是最常見的種類)，所謂的“?？茖W(xué)校”或“免費學(xué)校”(一般設(shè)立在低收入地區(qū)，通常設(shè)有特定的專業(yè))，或者民辦學(xué)校(通常由宗教組織運行，但由政府資助)。英國的私立學(xué)校歷史也很悠久，不過目前英國僅有7%的學(xué)生上私立學(xué)校。私立學(xué)校一般被稱為公學(xué)、私立學(xué)校或獨立學(xué)校，不過大部分其實指的都是同一種形式的學(xué)校，并沒有什么區(qū)別。
ETHICS AND LAWS 倫理與法律
There is a continued debate over the ethics of private schools, especially considering the vast inequalities in how many students (especially from famous private schools like Eton and Harrow) go on to the best universities in the country (read: Oxford and Cambridge)， even if they have the same grades as their state school equivalents. It is also perfectly legal for parents to home-school their children; they do not have to be qualified teachers, nor do they need to conform to the government’s National Curriculum, which is taught in all comprehensive schools.
長久以來，大家對私立學(xué)校的倫理問題爭執(zhí)不下，尤其在教育不公問題上，即使公立學(xué)校的學(xué)生分數(shù)與私立學(xué)校(尤其是著名的私立學(xué)校，如伊頓公學(xué)和哈羅公學(xué))的學(xué)生相同，相同條件下私立學(xué)校去牛津劍橋等頂尖學(xué)府的學(xué)生還是多一些。家長在家教育孩子也是完全合法的；他們不一定非得是有資格證書的老師，也不需要遵守綜合學(xué)校所教授的國民教育課程。
Hopefully this has helped to explain something of the British education system, gargantuan though it may seem. The perceived difference between state-run and private schools is not as important as the media betrays; at university level and beyond, certainly, it is only a very small minority that really care which route your education took.
希望通過這篇文章，大家對英國教育體系有基本的了解，盡管它真的很龐大很復(fù)雜。公立學(xué)校和私立學(xué)校的差別并不像媒體所渲染的那么重要；對于大學(xué)學(xué)歷以上的學(xué)生，很少有人會在意你之前接受的哪種教育。
