2017年10月28日土曜日 - 
Lucy: British Education
There are many differences
between British education and Japanese education. One of the first differences
that many notice is the structure. In Japan, the most common structure starts
from Elementary school, next is Junior High School, followed by High School and
then finally, University. In the UK there are two different structures, and where
you live decides on which structure you are entered into.
The most common structure
in the UK starts with Pre-school. Children under the age of 5 years attend
Pre-school (sometimes called Nursery) and it is here that British children
begin their educational career. This is the stage of education where we learn the alphabet and how to count from 1-10. We
also make a mess and even make
pictures out of pasta!
Now this is where things
can get tricky, depending on where
you live decides whether you enter Primary or First school. 'What's the
difference?' I hear you say. Well let me explain. In Britain school education levels
are not by grades, by years. So, instead of 1st grade, 2nd
grade and so on, we have Year 1, Year 2, etc. Now here is where it can get a
bit bamboozling… Primary School starts at Reception (Year 0, if you like), starting at
the age of 5 years, and continues onto Year 6 (11 years old). First School
starts at Reception and finishes at Year 4 (9 years old). So you spend 7 years
in Primary School, and only 5 years in First School! Wow! Now isn't that confusing?
If you went to Primary
School, the next stage is Secondary School. This starts at Year 7 (12 years
old) and finishes at Year 11 (16 years old). If First School was your previous educational platform, the next step is Middle
School; Year 5 to Year 7. Then you move onto High School (Year 8 to Year 11).
In Year 11, every teenager will sit
examinations called GCSE（General
Certificate of Secondary Education）'s. We don't hold graduation ceremonies at
the end of High School like Japan, the only rite
of passage event we hold after GCSE's is Prom.
But hold your horses, there is
one more step before University.
After Secondary or High
School, you can choose whether you want to attend College or Sixth Form.
College provides more practical courses, such as catering, child care or manual
labor (brick-laying, construction, etc.). Sixth Form is the entry level before
University. Sixth Form is levelled as Year 12 & 13. During those years, you
sit two sets of examinations; AS-Levels and A-Levels. This examinations are
similar in retrospect to Japanese
University Entrance examinations, and the grades convert
into UCAS points. In order to enter
University, you have to accumulate a
minimum number of these points.
Now, post-University can be
a totally different story in Britain, compared to Japan. In Britain, graduate
students have a lot of different opportunities they can choose from. In Japan,
the norm is to begin applying to many companies before finishing University in
order to find a good job. In Britain, students can choose from taking a gap year (sometimes before or after
University) to go traveling, or work in a part-time job to save some money.
Some students will go on to specialize
at University by taking a Master's Degree, and pursuing further education. And
some students join a company to begin their working career.
Mess：混乱
tricky：やり難い
bamboozling：当惑させる
Reception：幼稚園と小学校の間
Wow! ：うわー！
educational
platform：教育の舞台
teenager：10代の子供たち
right of
passage：通行権的な
Prom：ダンスパーティ
hold your
horses：はやる心を抑えて
in retrospect：今から振り返って思うと
convert：変換する
UCAS points：The Universities and Colleges Admissions Serviceのポイント
accumulate：蓄積する
gap year：高校から大学、大学から大学院への進学までの期間
specialize：専門的になる