Traditions, Traditions...
School Traditions in Great Britain
School Uniform.
Most school in England require children to wear a school uniform.
Boys can wear:
long grey or black trousers (shorts may be worn in summer)
white shirt
school tie (optional in most primary schools)
Jumper or sweater with the school logo on. The colour is the choice of the schools.
black shoes
Girls may wear skirts
During the summer term girls often wear summer school dresses.
Different Kinds of School Uniform
Uniform for Senior Students
School Uniform for Junior Students
Girls' School Uniform
School Ties
School neckties come under the formal code of dressing and are a great way to bring unity, team spirit, fraternity and the sense of belongingness for their school among children and youngsters. How wonderful would that feeling be when children from a certain school attend an event or meeting in their school uniform and adorning the same uniform neckties. Nowadays there is a fashion of getting custom school neckties made for children and teenagers of a school. Custom school neckties look far cooler, fashionable and stylish when worn by school children. Custom school ties also in a way reflect the overall brand image of a school and its goals and vision.
School behaviour policy
The policy should also say what the school does to prevent bullying.
Punishments
Schools can punish pupils if they behave badly.
Examples of punishments (sometimes called ‘sanctions’) include:
a telling-off
a letter home
removal from a class or group
confiscating something inappropriate for school (eg mobile phone or MP3 player)
detention
Detention
Schools don’t have to give parents notice of after school detentions or tell them why a detention has been given
The Natonal curriculum
The National curriculum.
Until 1988 the programmes of study varied from school to school and from region to region. One of the most important changes in education brought about by the Education Reform Act of 1988 is the introduction of a National Curriculum, for children aged 5- 16 in all state schools in England and Wales.
The National Curriculum consists of 10 subjects which all the children must study at school.
1. Core subjects: English, mathematics, science.
2. Foundation subjects: history, geography, a modern language, technology, art, music, physical education.
3. Religious Education is taught.
4. Attainment tests are given at the ages of 7, 11, 14, 16.
Schools offer other subjects in addition to those in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum aims to ensure that all children study essential subjects and have a better all-round education.
Examinations.
Pupils sit the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams at the end of the 5-years’ course. They usually take as many subjects as possible. Weak pupils may only sit for three or four subjects whilst better students will take ten subjects. Consequently pupils in Britain leave school at the age of 16 with examination certificates in the individual subjects they have passed.
The sixth form.
More ambitions pupils continue with very specialized studies in the sixth form. They remain at school for two more years. At the sixth form stage studies are highly specialized in only 3 or 4 main subjects which will prepare students either for entry to University or College of higher Education, or for direct entry into employment in industry or commerce.
Examinations.
The GCE Advanced Level (A-level) is normally taken after the two years of study in the sixth form.The GCE Advanced Supplementary (AS), new examinations introduced for the first time in 1989, provide an opportunity for six-form pupils to take up a much wider curriculum than was previously possible. A student can take mathematics and physics at A-level but also study a modern language and economics at AS-level. A-levels or a mixture of A- and AS-levels are the main standard for entrance to university or other higher education.
Private schools
Seven per cent of British schoolchildren go to private schools called independent schools. There are 2,400 independent schools and they have been growing in number and popularity since the mid-1980′s.
Parents pay for these schools, and fees vary from about 250 pounds a term for a private nursery to 3,000 pounds a term or more for a secondary boarding school. Most independent schools are called prep (preparatory) schools because they prepare the children for the Common Entrance Exam which they take at the age of 11. This exam is for entry into the best schools.
The most famous schools are called «public schools» and they have a long history and traditions.It is often necessary to put your child’s name on a waiting list at birth to be sure he or she gets a place, Children of wealthy or aristocratic families often go to the same public school as their parents and their grandparents. Eton is the best known of these schools.
The majority of independent secondary schools, including public schools, are single-sex, although in recent years girls have been allowed to join the sixth forms of boys’ schools. Independent schools also include religious schools (Jewish, Catholic, Muslim etc.) and schools for ethnic minorities.
Forty years on
Forty Years On is a song about life at school and is meant to give pupils now an idea of what it will be like in forty years when they return to their old school, and to remind old boys about school life. It is the main school song of Harrow School, and is sung there at the end of any "songs" (this is an occasion when old boys of the school return to hear the schools songs being sung by current pupils, or an occasion within houses for singing the same songs at the end of each term), followed by Auld Lang Syne and the British National Anthem (God Save The Queen).Traditionally, verse three is sung by Old Harrovians in attendance at School Songs. The Churchill verse is only sung once a year at a special Churchill Songs. The penultimate "Follow Up!" in each chorus is sung unaccompanied by the School XII, which is made up of the best singers in the top year.