Education in the UK

Every child in the UK must receive a full-time education until the age of 16. Parents can choose to send their children either to a state school, which is free, or to a private school, where a fee is required.

The school year is generally divided into three terms. Each term ends in a holiday. The summer holiday is the longest and usually lasts from the middle of July to the beginning of September.

Education has two main stages—primary school and secondary school. Primary schools are for students from the age of 5 to 11. The main subjects are Maths, English, History, Geography, Science, Art, Music and PE. Secondary schools are for students from the age of 11 to 16 or 18. The same subjects are taught there, as well as other subjects such as foreign languages (usually French, German or Spanish), Technology and Computer Studies.

After the age of 16, students can either find a job or continue their studies at a school or college until they are 18. Between the ages of 16 and 18, students must choose only three or four subjects to study. At the end of the two years, they must take some important exams. If they do well, they can then go on to study at university. There are over 100 universities in the UK, and the most famous are the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Grammar

A Adverbial clauses of purpose

B Review of adverbial clauses