Education

I will talk about education in Britain. Education is compulsory for all children from age of 5 to 16. Most of children leave school at 16 and about 40 per cent of young people go to university. There are about a hundred university in England and wales.

University and college

Most of big town in Britain have a both a university and a college of higher education. There are 91 university in Britain and 47 colleges of higher education. Universities offer three-and four-year degree courses; colleges of higher education offer both two- year HIND(Higher National Diploma) courses, as well as degree courses.
A degree is a qualification you get from university when you pass your final exams. You are then awarded BA(Bachelor of Arts), BSc (Bachelor of Science) or Bed (Bachelor of Education).
Undergraduates- students who are studying for degrees- go to large, formal lectures, but most of the work takes place in tutorials: lessons in group of ten or more when the students discuss their work with lecture.

Next I will talk about the way getting into university. Only about 25 per cent of the student population go on to higher education. Competition to get into one of Britain’s universities is fierce and not everyone who gets A levels can go. Students usually need three A levels to go to university and grades at A levels go from A, the highest grade, down to E.
Students apply to universities months before they take their A levels. The students are given a personal interview and the universities decide which students they want. The place which a student is offered depends on his or her A-level results. The more popular a university, the higher the grades it will ask for. If students do not get the grades that a university asks for, they have to try to get a place at another university or college before the new term starts in early October.

In Japan most of students even if they are university students live with their family. This is very common in Japan. Some of students live by themselves, because of special reason, for example their home town is far from their university. Now I am university student. I also live with my family. I thought this is very general thing. But it is different in the UK. When I went to England I have a chance talk with young English man. He is a university student. He lives by them self and works to earn money. He is independent of his parents completely. When I told him about Japanese university students, he is really surprised. Most of British students choose to go to university a long way from their home town. They think going to university is a time to be independent, and to live away from home and develop new interests.
Until 1998, British students did not have to pay to go to university. Now they must pay about ￡1000 a year as a tuition fee. They also need money to live away from home. Many students, whose parents do not earn a lot of money, are given a grant from the local education authority. If students do not get a grant, parents are expected to pay for their children. Some students borrow money from bank, which must be paid back after they leave university. In theory, the grant pays for rent, food, books and transport. In fact, the grant is not large enough. Students often work during the holidays to earn more money. About 38 per cent of the population under 24 years of age go on to higher education.

The most famous university are Oxford and Cambridge. And they are also the oldest universities in Britain. They have the highest academic reputation. People put them together and call them Oxbridge. About 50 per cent of Oxbridge students are from private schools. Most of alumnus of Oxbridge can get good careers.

References:

Michael,V. Geraldine,S. Picot,C. (2006)IN BRITAIN 21ST CENTURY EDITION. Macmilan

Social Class System

I will discus about social class system this time. There is still social class system in the UK. It is possible to divide into mainly three classes:
- Upper Class
- Middle Class
- Lower Class
Moreover British people classify it more in detail sometimes.
- Upper Class
- Upper Middle Class
- Middle Class
- Lower Class
- Working Middle Class (skilled)
- Working Class (Unskilled)
- Under Class
We can see problem of the class system in some British movie. For example “Pride and Prejudice”, and “Miss. Potter”.

How do they classify people? They have basic categories. It is judged to which class the person belongs from his/her occupation, job, education, sports,Newspaper and so on. Classes divide considerably clearly, and the movement between the classes is rare. The social exchanges with other class have been very limited.

I want to focus on upper class and lower class. Because I am interested in these class, and I want to know the difference of upper class between lower class.

Upper Class
Upper Class people are very rich. People who belong to upper class are royal family, aristocrat, politician, president, lawyer, officer, doctor, dentist etc.

They have good jobs and get enough salary, so they can use a lot of money to enjoy their life. They live in big house, they have a expensive car, they eat gorgeous dinner. And their children go to private school and receive good education, and after graduate they can get good job like their parents. It is still considered difficult for middle and lower class people to entry to the upper class.. Marriage into upper-class families rarely results in complete integration.



Lower Class

Lower class people work hard and their social positions are low. Skilled people in lower class work as electrician, engineer, plumber, carpenter, etc.
There are fewer jobs for unskilled people in the UK than before. Only about two- thirds of men without qualifications have jobs. Some of the unskilled jobs available are working in restaurants, in supermarkets filling shelves or as a checkout operator, or cleaning. Additionally, there are people who work as helper or labourer, too. Usually their work is very hard.If there is any unskilled work, it is offered to women because, despite laws for equal pay, women are still paid less than men. Even job seekers with qualifications sometimes find it difficult to find permanent, full-time work.

References: "IN BRITAIN", p40