Education à la British
Let us recall: secondary education in the United Kingdom begins at the age of 11 (before that - primary). Sixteen-year-olds take exams for the GCSE certificate, after which some leave school to learn a profession, and some remain to study for A-levels. This program lasts two years, during which students study three or four subjects in depth, choosing them from a huge list. The set of disciplines varies among different educational institutions and is dictated by university requirements - just as in our entrance exams. All exam results in British schools are sent to the national association UCAS, and from there graduates receive recommendations: which universities they can apply to for their chosen specialty, depending on their success. The best universities require at least two A grades (excellent), but in practice, almost exclusively holders of three or four A's and even A+ send documents to Oxford and Cambridge.
Here's accounting for you
"We thought we could choose subjects ourselves," says Laura from Kazakhstan, a student of the A-levels program at Bellerbys College in Greenwich. "But we were told: if you are going to enter the London School of Economics, you'd better take mathematics, further mathematics, economics, and accounting."
Bellerbys College mainly educates foreigners. Class groups are small, each student has their own schedule. The college is proud that its graduates, as a rule, enter the country's best universities.
Russian Eduard and Ukrainian Igor, like Laura, want to enter the London School of Economics. All arrived at Bellerbys College at the age of sixteen, having received secondary education in their respective countries. All studied English additionally, including in the UK - on one- or two-month summer courses. All unanimously complain about the difficulty of further mathematics and accounting. Everyone likes London and independent life in the dormitory (living with a family is also possible - it is cheaper, but teenagers prefer the company of their peers).
A-levels is a rather dry and academic program. It is most suitable for those who already know exactly what they want in life - a kind of dream of a determined high school student who wants to get rid of all 'unnecessary' subjects and devote time to in-depth study of the subjects 'that need to be taken.' Those who dream of daily sports training, various extracurricular activities, and a wide selection of electives may also feel bored. Bellerbys College programs are designed specifically for foreigners and help them adapt to the British education system. However, those who want to communicate with 'real Britons' are unlikely to like the colorful international company - exactly what others see as a plus.
The college also has a one-year Foundation program, more suitable for those who are no longer suitable for high school students by age or want to save time and money. The content of the two-year program is packed into one year, with special attention paid to language training. It is not worth applying to Oxford with a Foundation completion certificate. However, many worthy universities willingly accept those who have successfully completed it: Bellerbys College has 33 partner universities that accept graduates of this program, and the college guarantees them a place. Which university depends on academic results.
Young bachelors
A worthy alternative to A-levels is the International Baccalaureate program, or IB. There is an opinion that it is more difficult, and that truly ambitious young people go to study it. Not three subjects are compulsory for study, but six. This appeals to those who have not quite decided on their choice, who find it boring to study only three subjects month after month, and who set themselves complex tasks.
St. Clare's College in Oxford, like Bellerbys College, is international. Local natives here are only 5%. They come here deliberately, attracted by the international environment and the solid reputation of the IB program. By the way, staff at different schools, without collusion, say: the reputation of A-levels, although generally still undisputed, has in recent years been somewhat tarnished by the fact that too many graduates receive exclusively A. IB still holds its brand.
Muscovite Anna, a student at St. Clare's, also strives to get into the London School of Economics. However, her schedule differs significantly from the routine of her peers at Bellerbys. Among the subjects she studies, there are also further mathematics and economics, but there are also languages, including Russian. Plus extra classes: the college has adopted the CAS program - Creativity, Activity, Service (creativity, activity, service); for each of these points, 50 hours must be accumulated. Work on the school newspaper, literary preparation (poems and prose), drawing, and many forms of decorative and applied arts count as creativity. Activity is sport (gymnastics, sports games, and even yoga). Service: among other things, schoolchildren were engaged in collecting money and organizing sports matches for refugees. "In addition, the college arranged a work placement in a shop for us," says Anna. "It was my first independent job - not for a family business, not at the request of my parents - and a very important experience."
The specificity of the college is special relationships between teachers and students. Students address teachers not as "Mr. Smith" but by their first names. Everywhere you can see conferring pairs of teachers and schoolchildren: they analyze essays, consult, discuss some matters. Through the windows of classrooms and the doors of halls, one can observe focused activity: chemical experiments, discussions in small groups, independent work in language labs, the library...
Are there any dissatisfied people under such a system? Last year, two German students left the college. One was 19 years old, and the Foundation programme would have suited him much better. However, his parents considered its reputation not high enough and chose the most prestigious option, as it seemed to them, for their child. The second dropout was from a rich family; he lacked vast open spaces, luxurious historic buildings, cricket, equestrian sports, a swimming pool... All this could be found elsewhere.
Open spaces and cricket
The prestigious boys' school Bedford School in Bedford has historic buildings, school uniform, cricket, and open spaces. And Oxford & Cambridge graduates are on the school's council and governing body. It does not accept all who wish to attend, although the tuition fee is quite high. Children with serious behavioral problems, learning difficulties, or not very healthy ones had better find another school. Foreigners at Bedford School make up no more than 10%. A student must submit grades for the previous two years, a reference from school, and take two tests: one on knowledge of English and something like an IQ test. Plus an interview. Bedford compatriots assure that the tests are simple; you just need to know the language.
The leadership sets itself not only academic tasks (prepare for admission, give knowledge, skills, and abilities, etc.). "Our mission is to raise a worthy citizen of the country," says the school's headmaster, Dr. Philip Evans, "intelligent, well-mannered, able to resolve conflicts in a civilized way, ask questions and critically interpret the information presented to him. Education is one of the ways by which the state can gain control over minds. Therefore, we believe that the non-state sector in education is very important."
Civility is felt. A rushing crowd of students slows down before outsiders, lets them pass: "Please, ma'am," and only then rushes on. They speak quietly but clearly. They carry themselves with dignity. I asked whether they are brought up in some special way or it is just an atmosphere in which it is impossible to be otherwise. They say it is the atmosphere.
Timur, an A-level student, shows us around the school. He studies mathematics and physics, and next plans to go into engineering. At the entrance to the workshop, he points to a table made of metal and transparent plastic: "My friend made this." Work is in full swing: gentlemen in lab coats or aprons are sawing, cutting, and welding metal. In the classroom next to the workshop, computers on desks sit alongside a compressed-air device; on the wall hangs many unusual multicolored clocks - these are also independent student works, from design to execution. Future designers and engineers will find all this very useful when applying for their chosen specialty: there is something to present besides grades.
In the preparatory, that is, middle school, Prep Schoot, boys study from age 11; in the Study Centre (which is indeed a preparatory department for those entering various programs) there are also nine-year-olds. They live in a dormitory. On the beds are toys, Lego sets, books. Something bright and fluffy lies even on some desks during class - no one pays attention if it does not interfere with work.
Mathematics: a working hum, students confer in groups, the teacher walks from one to another, consulting. Physics: they haul a weight with a steelyard, measuring the trajectory. A language laboratory. "In the first year, we study Latin, German, and French one semester each, then you can choose the language you like best. I chose German," says Sasha, a Muscovite. He leads on to the art workshops. On the walls are variations on the theme of "Guernica," aprons, collages, appliqués, drawings. On the tables are clay figurines, paper crafts. "You can get a scholarship if you distinguish yourself in something," says the second escort, Alex, an Englishman, with a prefect's badge. "Sasha got a scholarship for sculpting." The scholarship, by the way, covers up to a third of the tuition costs. For many families with means, this is not critical, but it is very important for the child himself.
Are there any here who should have gone to another school? "Once we had to ask the parents to take away a girl with a heart condition: she really wanted to study with us, but could not endure the constant movement between buildings, the endless going up and down stairs," says Olive Heffil, director of the Study Centre (which is coeducational). "There was also a Taiwanese girl who simply could not live without her mother, sobbing into the phone every evening."
However, most settle in quickly. "My classmates scared me that in English school there would be terrible discipline, like in a barracks. Uniform, nothing allowed... It turned out not so awful. And I really like the relationships with teachers - human, friendly," says ninth-grader Angelina, who is doing preparation at the Study Centre.
Not all students from the preparatory centre will get into Bedford School - usually no more than two out of ten applicants are taken. And not everyone from the school gets into Cambridge either. But some do - the professors of famous universities keep a close eye on the students here. If you, having sufficient means, start at the preparatory department, go up the entire ladder of British education, and show the best you are capable of, you can later end up at Cambridge. After the Russian eleven-year school and Foundation, this is practically impossible (whereas a master's degree, when you already amount to something, is a far more realistic option). Join in!
For a foreign child, integrating into a foreign education system is not so easy. That is why there are programs that ease this transition for children. The adaptation of children of foreign diplomats and businessmen living in London is handled by Skola, the most multinational school not only in the country but also in the whole world. At Skola, the whole family can study: mom, dad, and grandma improve their English in one department, while children in another master both the language and other subjects. "The program we created for them includes language for communication, language for mathematics, science, and technology lessons," says Brenda Murray, director of the English language department. As a rule, children understand and know much more than they can say: teachers help them express themselves and contribute to the lesson. As they master the language, children are transferred to the general educational stream.
The walls are decorated with student projects: paintings on the theme of Munch's "The Scream", papier-mâché fish, math puzzles, studies from a mathematical perspective of famous marginal drawings in England... The classes are small - and differ from ours already in that children sit around a round table and participate together in discussion.
The school has a well-established system of helping students with learning difficulties: dyslexia, dysgraphia, attention deficit, etc. According to doctors and teachers, there are 15-20% of such students in any class. Combined with the need to receive education in a foreign language, these features can turn studying into a nightmare. The school carefully diagnoses children and offers help from a psychologist, occupational therapist, etc. Parents usually gratefully accept help, although they have to pay extra for it.
Down with monarchical habits
When sending a child to study abroad, one must clearly understand what he is capable of, what he strives for, what he loves. Will he be homesick, will he handle serious physical loads if the school pays a lot of attention to sports.
"The higher the level of English, the better," says Olive Hef-fip. "But even language is not as important as independent living skills: the ability to dress yourself, gather clothes for laundry, tidy up the room, maintain hygiene." In expensive schools, there are children accustomed to having servants do everything for them. At Study Centre, they recall a 12-year-old Chinese boy who could not dress himself: he was raised as a prince. Such royal persons have a hard time far from home.
One should not expect the unrealistic: for example, a school located in London is unlikely to be "palace-type". Narrow corridors, small classrooms, and high staircases are more likely than expanses and grounds, but this says nothing about the quality of education. Finally, you should consult an experienced educational agent. A situation where a student is sent to a given school only because the agent "knew only that one", as one young compatriot told us, is completely unacceptable. A good agency will think through several options with you and choose the most suitable one - from the point of view of the child, the parents, and the wallet.