Chapter 10

The education system in Britain

1. primary education 初等教育，小學教育

Primary education is compulsory(義務教育) in Britain. It begins at five in Great Britain and four in Northern Ireland. All children have to attend primary school and they finish their primary education at the age of 11. In addition to the many state primary schools(公立小學) which do not ask their pupils to pay fees, there are also some fee-paying independent primary schools (收費的私立小學). The most famous fee-paying primary schools are the preparatory schools which admit children from seven-plus to 11,12 or 13 years old.

初等教育在英國是義務教育，大不列顛是從5歲開始，北愛爾蘭是4歲。所有的孩子必須參加初等教育，并在11歲完成。除了許多國家公立小學不向學生收費外，也有一些收費的私立小學。預備學校學生的年齡通常為7歲以上到11 12 13歲。

2. secondary education 中等教育，中學教育

Secondary education in Britain is also compulsory. All the children must receive secondary education after finishing their primary education at the age of eleven. The secondary school age-range(中學生的年齡段) is from 11-18. About 90 per cent of the state secondary school population in Great Britain attend comprehensive schools.Secondary schools include comprehensive schools (綜合中學), secondary modern schools (現代中學) and grammar schools(文法學校). They are state schools（公立學校）。

中等教育在英國也是必須的，所有孩子必須在11歲完成初等教育后接受中等教育。中學生的年齡段從11-18。大不列顛90%左右的國屬中等學校學生就讀于綜合中學。

3. higher education 高等教育，大學教育

There are some 90 universities,including the Open University. Most famous ones are Oxford and Cambridge. There is also the Open University which is “open” to all to become students, mainly adult students.

包括開放大學在內，英國共有90所大學。最著名的是牛津和劍橋。還有開放大學，即向所有未來的學生和成人開放。