British Educational System I. Primary and secondary edu

British Educational System
    Today I’ll talk about the British educational system, including the primary and secondary education and the higher education in Britain.
    First, I’ll briefly introduce the primary and secondary education in Britain. In England and Wales,(1)students study in primary school from age five until eleven. They attend secondary school until age sixteen. Before graduating, students usually take seven comprehensive exams, called the General Certificate of Secondary Education(GCSE)exams. After passing the GCSE exams, students choose to study two to four subjects intensely for the GCE Advanced Level exams, called "A levels".(2)At eighteen, they enter higher education to focus on a particular subject,called a "course".
    Now let’s move on to the higher education in Britain. First, I’ll talk about the general practices in England and Wales, and then the general practices in Scotland.
    In England and Wales, prospective university students apply for places through the Universities Central Council on Admissions(UCCA). Students do not apply directly to the universities themselves.(3)Successful candidates are admitted directly into a specific degree "course". A degree course normally takes three or four years to complete. At most universities students study only one major subject. Each course is structured with a fixed program of classes for the entire three years. Increasingly,(4)universities in the United Kingdom are offering classes on a modular basis, which allows students to broaden their studies creating a more interdisciplinary program.
     (5)At a British university, more emphasis is placed on independent, self-directed study than in the United States.(6)Classes often take the following forms: lectures, which are sometimes completely optional: tutorials, in which a small number of students meet with the lecturer: and seminars, larger discussion classes often based upon seminar essays.
     (7)In Scotland, there are a variety of tertiary level options available for students, the most important of which are the colleges of further education, the central institutions, teachers colleges and the universities.(8)The colleges of further education provide vocational and technical education, and enroll more students than all other tertiary institutions combined. Central institutions provide courses leading to the Higher National Diploma(HND), bachelor’s degrees and some specialized master’s degrees. These institutions do not have the authority to directly validate degrees and tend to offer a narrower range of subjects than the universities.(9)Many have close ties to local businesses, offering cooperative work experiences that provide students a period of practical training.
    Scottish universities are quite distinct from their British counterparts.(10)In fact, they more closely resemble European or American universities. The standard Scottish university degree is a four-year Honors degree(BA Hons). Students are rarely admitted directly to a degree "course". Usually they are admitted to a faculty or simply admitted to the university as a whole. Scottish university students begin with a broad-based program during the first year and choose a specialization after the second or even the third year. Students may also elect to complete a three-year Ordinary degree. This is a broad-based degree that does not represent a "failed" Honors degree.
    With this, we’re coming to the end of today’s lecture. Next time, we’ll talk about university degrees.