High education in Great Britain
Education is a process of teaching and learning, gaining new knowledge,
experience, and practice. It is a very valuable possession for every person, as the
earlier you start, the deeper knowledge you are going to have.
Usually the choice of the university is a very serious decision, so no wonder that
more and more school graduates want to study in the best educational
establishments. Many European teenagers head for Great Britain, as its universities
are famous all around the world and their diplomas are valued everywhere.
There are several types of universities in Great Britain. The first type is the
ancient ones. All of them were founded between the 16th and the 19th
centuries and are very reputable. The top place of them is divided between two
well-known universities: Oxford and Cambridge, both known as Oxbridge.
Though they have rivalry, there is also a great cooperation between them.
Each of them is divided into more than thirty colleges. Colleges at Oxford suggest
only those subjects for the students that depend on the field of their study, but
Cambridge colleges give a chance to choose the subjects from the list according to
your preferences.
The second type of the universities is red brick ones. They got their name because
of the material they are built with and are located in Manchester, Birmingham and
Leeds. They were established during Queen Victoria’s reign and before World War
II.
hey differ from the ancient ones because of being non-collegiate and they have
taught only locals. They used to admit only men and focus only on “practical
subjects”. Red Brick Universities were started as preparatory courses, but
nowadays they award with their own degrees.
New universities are subdivided into two types: the campus and the newer civic
ones. They appeared after the Robins Report and the ones founded in the 1960s are
considered "Plate Glass Universities". The Campus Universities are situated in the
countryside, have enough accommodation for international students, provide
teaching in small groups and put an emphasis on relatively new disciplines. The
New Civic Universities used to be technical colleges and are known after 1992 as
university. Gradually they were given the right to award with the degree. They are
known as “polytechnics” and suggest “sandwich” courses (the possibility of
studying outside the establishment).
The last type of the universities is called the Open University. It centers on a
distant learning. In 2005 there were more than 180,000 students and it became the
largest institution of the UK higher education. The administration of it is based in
Buckinghamshire and it has 13 regional offices all over the country. The students
of this university get information on TV, radio, in the course-books or the Internet.
The students have tutors, who check their works and discuss them.
The procedure of admission:
The procedure of admission:
The higher education system in the UK is designed in such a way that without
confirmation of passing the a-level or Foundation tests, you cannot be accepted to
University.
A-level.
This is a 2-year program. It is designed for 16-year-old children who have decided
not to go to College, but to stay for another 2 years in school. They choose several
subjects that they plan to specialize in in the future and study them. And at the end
of the program, they pass an exam, which is counted as an entrance exam.
Foundation
This is a program designed specifically for international students, of whom there
are a great many studying in the UK. The program lasts only a year, but its
intensity will be more difficult than A-level. Here, in addition to their subjects,
students also study English.
The procedure of admission:
1. you submit an application form(either electronically or to the University
admissions office), where you indicate your a-level or Foundation exam scores, a
motivation letter, where you need to indicate why you want to study in this
specialty, as well as a list of institutions where you would like to study, and a
description from the place of study. All this must be submitted no later than
January.
In some universities, you still need to take internal exams.
Problem of education.
This is the high cost of training and the difficulty of obtaining grants for training