面对高一新生.docxVIP

Background InformationThe Education System in England and WalesSchool AgeIn England and Wales, children must go to school by law from age 5 to 16, unless their parents should prove that they can provide an adequate education for them at home.State School vs Public SchoolTheres a choice between the State System and the Private System, which is known as public schools. The State System is free of charge to all the children, while public school education is very expensive. The majority of children go to state schools.Public schools are often more traditional than comprehensive schools, and many of them (e.g. Eton, Harrow) have a long tradition of excellence. Many of them are also boarding schools, whereas the majority of state schools are day schools.School SystemThe school system is broken down into three sections:Infants School (ages 4-7) Junior School (ages 7-11) Secondary School (ages 11-16/18)Infants and Junior School together are known as Primary School. There are two types of State Secondary School: Comprehensive Schools and Grammar Schools. Many Grammar Schools have long traditions, going back 500 years to the time when they were founded. To go to a Grammar School, students have to pass an exam, and the curriculum is generally more academic, and most students stay at school until they are 18 and go on to university or college. Anyone can go to a Comprehensive School, and they can get a good general education.In both types of school, students take a set of exams when they are 16—called GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams. Then if they stay at school for further two years, they choose only two or three subjects to study intensively, and at 18 years of age they take A level (Advanced Level) exams in those subjects—they will need good results in order to get into university or college.CurriculumEngland and Wales have a National Curriculum, which was introduced in 1990, which divides schooling up into 4 Key Stages. KS1 is ages 5-7; KS2 is ages 7-