Schools in Britain.

Well, today’s lesson we’ll start with a short quiz. Can you answer these questions?

1. When did the Second World War end?

The Second World War ended in 1945.

2. What is the capital of Australia?

The capital of Australia is Canberra.

3. Who wrote Hamlet?

William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

4. How many kilobytes are there in megabyte?

There are 1000 kilobyte in megabyte.

5. Who invented the theory of relativity?

Albert Einstein invented the theory of relativity.

6. What’s (5*18) +4?

That’s 94.

7. How many legs does the insect have?

All insects have 6 legs.

8. What is water made of?

H₂O is a nickname for water. The H₂ stands for “two hydrogens” and the O stands for “one oxygen”.

Match the questions with these school subjects:

1.                history

2.                geography

3.                literature

4.                information technology

5.                physics

6.                maths

7.                biology

8.                chemistry.

Hmm… What do you think is the topic of our lesson today?

Well, in this video, we look at British schools and British students.

Welcome to our school!

This is Mr. Johnson. He is the headmaster of our school. He will tell you all about British schools and …British students.

Most children start primary school at the age of 5.

Then at 11 they go to secondary school.

All children stay at secondary school to the age of 16.

And at 16 in England they take GCSE examinations … that is the General Certificate of Secondary Education.

After these exams about 30 percent of students leave school.

The others usually study 3 subjects for two more years, and then take ‘A’ levels … or Advanced level examinations.

About 20 percent of eighteen-year-olds go to university.

They usually leave home and go to a university in a different town or city.

Another 20 percent go on to other kinds of education and training.

Students go to school from Monday to Friday, and school starts at nine o'clock.

Most schools are mixed - they’re for boys and girls.

In some British schools the students wear a uniform, in others the children can wear what they want to.

Some private schools in Britain, such as Eton, have uniforms based on what was worn a hundred years ago.

On average there are about 22 students in a secondary school class and about 27 are in a primary school class.

British students have a wide choice of subjects:

Maths, Art, Food Technology, Design and Technology, Science, of course.

And foreign languages.

Many British school children only learn a foreign language from the age of 11.

Most students study French.

Other popular languages are Spanish and Italian.

They also study other subjects – like Information Technology, History, Geography, English Literature, and Religion.

Students have lessons in the morning and then a break of an hour for lunch.

Some go home for lunch, some bring sandwiches with them, and some eat here in the school canteen.

There are classes in the afternoon, and school finishes at about 4 o’clock.

After school some students do other activities like sport.

Football's very popular but so are other games like netball, rugby and badminton.

And some students learn music.

Kristie plays the guitar.

She’s good.

Oh, thank you.

I’m not!

92 percent of British schools are state schools. That means they're free.

The government pays – not the parents.

8 percent of schools are independent. The parents of these students pay for their education.

Some of these independent schools are boarding schools. The students don’t live at home during term time … they live at the school.

Grades in Great Britain are letters – not numbers. Teachers use the letter A to F to show how good the homework is. A is very good and F is very bad.

In Britain there are three terms in a school year. They are from September to December, January to March, and from April to July.

There are three holidays, too. At Christmas and Easter students have two weeks free. In the summer they have six weeks.

What do British students really think about their schools?

I think school’s great.

I like school most of the time.

I really like History and Art.

I love Art and Drama.

I don’t like Geography.

I don’t like French.

Homework’s OK.

I don’t like homework.

I really hate homework.

School food's all right, sometimes.

I love school food.

Well, what do you think?

Are British schools good or do you prefer your school?