25 School 128 Education on both sides of the Pond UK : Across the UK there are five stages of education: early years (3 to 5), primary (5 to 11), secondary (11 to 16), further education (16 to18), and higher education (18+). Education is compulsory for children aged 5 to 16. However, in England school leaving age was raised to 18 in 2015: young people must complete their formal education with the so-called sixth form, which prepares them for university entrance, or with some traineeship or apprenticeship programmes. Most British students attend state schools which are free because they are funded by the government; only a small minority go to public schools or independent schools for which families have to pay tuition fees . Many of these schools are also boarding schools, where students can live and study during term time . Eton is rated among the top-flight and priciest schools in the UK. USA : The American education system is also divided into five stages: preschool (2-5), elementary or primary (5-10), middle (11-13), high (14-18), and post-secondary education or college (18+). With some slight differences across the States, education is generally mandatory from the age of 5 to 16. To access higher education American students must complete a cycle of 12 years commonly referred to as K-12. <K= stands for kindergarten corresponding to the first year (or grade) of primary school, whereas 12 refers to the 12 years of basic education. Americans have names for each year starting glossary Pond: Oceano Atlantico apprenticeship: apprendistato to enrol: iscrivere mandatory: obbligatorio tax revenue: gettito fiscale 1 term time: anno scolastico traineeship: corso di formazione professionale top-flight: migliore, eccellente tuition fee: tasse scolastiche READING WRITING Answer the questions. 1 When do American and British children start their compulsory education? 2 What do English students have to do once they turn 16? 3 What is the difference between American and British public schools? 4 What is meant by the term K-12? from grade 9: freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. US students have to attend a public school in the geographic district they belong to, unless parents decide to enrol their children in a private school. Unlike the UK, in the USA public schools are funded by tax revenue , whereas private schools fund themselves through tuition fees. That9s a bit confusing, isn9t it? How to get into Eton posted by Regency Education Channel 2 WRITING PAIR WORK Watch the video. Invent six true/false sentences about it, swap the questions with another pair of students and answer their questions. Then correct their answers. 3 READING VOCABULARY Read the text below and fill it with the grammatical word which best fits each gap. Homeschooling The number of American students 1. .................. partially or fully choose to homeschool has reached 3.7 million in 2024. This makes the largest population of homeschool students globally, even 2. .................. this form of education is also on the rise in other countries 3. .................. the UK and Australia. In some countries, however, homeschooling is illegal and parents are at risk of 4. .................. their children taken from them. There are several reasons for 5. .................. parents decide to take their children out of public schools, but the 6. .................. common is their concern about safety. Parents want to protect their children 7. .................. exposure to drugs and bullying, or to beliefs and ideas different from 8. .................. own. Adapted from: https://theweek.com/education/ the-rise-and-rise-of-home-schooling The term sophomore It is believed that the word sophomore is derived from two Greek terms: Sophos, meaning <wise=, and Moros meaning <foolish=. So, 10th grade students are described as <wise fools=, maybe referring to the fact that they are living a year of transition, a time when they have to start thinking of their future.