Public schools

Some parents prefer to pay for their children to be educated at independent schools. This private sector includes the so-called public schools, some of these names are known all over the world.

The oldest of the public schools were founded to give free education to clever boys whose parents could not afford to educate them privately. They were under “public” control and management. Today, these schools are not public in the usual sense of the word. They depend almost entirely on the fees paid by their pupils’ parents and are the most expensive of the independent schools in Britain. They are mostly boarding schools, where the pupils live as well as study, though many of these schools also take some day pupils.

Most of public schools have a few places for pupils, whose fees are paid by a local education authority, but normally entrance is by examination, and state schools do not prepare children for this. So parents first send them to a preparatory school (for children aged 5 to 7 or 8), and then a preparatory (prep) school (aged 7 or 8 to 13). In order to gain entrance to public school, children leaving preparatory school have to pass an examination known as Common Entrance¹. It is the qualifying examination for entry to many independent schools. The papers² are 45 minutes long and the curriculum for the preparatory school lays down the “fundamental requirements” of good speech, spelling, handwriting. The papers are set and assessed by teachers of public schools. For some schools competition is so intense that the parents have to think of them far ahead. Some parents tend to put their sons’ names down for two or three schools.

The boy starts at his prep school when he is 8. When he is 10 or 11 his headmaster will feel able to assess his chances and guide his parents in a final choice of school. At the same time public schools draw up their definite lists and ask the preparatory schools to confirm that the boys are likely to be up to their standard.

There are about 2, 400 independent schools in Britain educating 600,000 pupils of all ages. They charge fees varying from around 250 pounds a term for day pupils at nursery age to 2,900 pounds a term for senior boarding pupils. Pupils from less well-off families may be helped with the payment of fees by local education authorities.

Many of Britain’s public schools date from the 15-century and have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, as well as their exclusiveness³ and snobbery³. The boys’ schools include such well-known schools as Eton, Harrow, Westminster and Winchester.

Among leading girls’ public schools are Roedean School and Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

Notes:

1. Common Entrance – вступительный экзамен в частную школу

2. papers – письменные работы

3. exclusiveness – исключительность, ограниченность доступа

4. snobbery – снобизм

Exercises.

1. Suggest the Russian for:

are known all over the world, free education, to educate them privately, under public control and management, entirely, depend on the fees, a few places, local education authorities, to gain entrance, to lay down the fundamental requirements, spelling, handwriting, assistant masters, to guide parents, at the same time, at some time, to charge fees, at nursery age may be helped with the payment of fees, senior boarding pupils, have gained a reputation.

2. Suggest the English for:

независимая школа; частный сектор; позволить; учить детей частным образом; в обычном смысле слова; напрямую зависят от платы; полностью; школы-интернаты; за которых платят местные органы образования; для того, чтобы поступить в школу; квалификационный экзамен для поступления в независимую школу; конкурс; заранее; директор; оценивать шансы; руководить; окончательный выбор школы; составлять списки; назначать цену; младший возраст; ученики старших классов; состоятельные семьи.