In Britain it is compulsory for everyone between the ages of 5 and 16 years to receive some officially recognized form of schooling, though most secondary schools continue to provide education until the age of 18.The vast majority of pupils attend state schools, which are absolutely free (including all text books and exercise books), but there are also about 500 private schools providing secondary education. The most famous of these schools are Eton and Harrow.There is no statutory age at which students change from primary to secondary school, nor are schools "specialized" — pupils choose from the numerous subjects taught in their particular school.The recently introduced National Curriculum has made it compulsory, however, for three core subjects — English, mathematics, and science — and seven other foundation subjects — technology (including design), history, geography, music, art, physical education, and a modern foreign language — to be included in the curricula of all pupils.Passage from one academic year to the next is automatic. After a two-year course, usually from 14 to 16 years of age, most pupils take their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), assessed on the basis of a mixture of course work and a written examination, in individual subjects.Pupils obtaining at least five passes at GCSE can then specialize for two years (usually from 16 to 18 years of age) in two or three subjects, in which they take the General Certificate of Education Advanced level (A-level) examination. This is used as an entrance qualification for university (minimum two passes) and other types of higher education, as well as for many forms of professional training.
Вот тебе текст. Тут все уже вставлено, найди только. English was first written down in the 6th century. At that time, writers had to use the 23 letters of the Latin alphabet to write down what they heard. Because English has sounds that do not exist in Latin, they added letters to represent the 44 sounds of English. This resulted in some irregular spelling. After the Norman invasion of England in 1066, French became the language spoken by the king and other people in positions of power and influence. Many French words were introduced and the spelling of many English words changed to follow French patterns. The result was a rich and irregular mix of spellings. The printing press was invented in the 15th century. Many early printers of English texts spoke other first languages, especially Dutch. They often paid little attention to how English words were spelled. Sometimes technical decisions were made to give columns of print straight edges. To do this, letters were taken off the ends of words and sometimes added to words. With time, people became used to seeing words spelled in the same way. Fixed spellings were therefore created by printers' decisions. Spoken English, however, was not fixed. It continued to change, as it still does. It is no wonder that English spelling seems irregular. Words such as although, through and cough, for example, all have the same spelling at the end, but are pronounced differently. Words such as feet, eat and seize on the other hand, are spelled differently but have the same sound in the middle.
