Read the article and translate in the written form

PREPARING FOR THE GCE

For many pupils the GCE examination at Ordinary level marks the end of their school career, but the tendency of recent years to continue at school in order to spend a year or two in the sixth form has grown steadily. In an increasing number of grammar schools the traditional curriculum is undergoing modification in the fourth and fifth years to place greater emphasis on practical subjects and to introduce something of a technical bias for those pupils whose interests and aptitudes lie in this direction; this development is not confined to areas where there are no technical schools.

The sixth form comprise the group of pupils who remain at school for a further 2 or 3 years, generally with a view to entering universities, training colleges for teachers or technical colleges, or certain professions direct. Their curriculum is markedly specialist in character. It is narrowed to about 5 subjects of which the pupil will specialize in 2 or 3, devoting about two-thirds of the working week to them. Typical combinations of special subjects are mathematics, physics and chemistry; physics, chemistry and biology; mathematics, further mathematics and physics; Latin, French and German; English, French and Latin; English, history and geography; Latin, Greek and ancient history.

It will be apparent that the choice of subjects tends to divide the sixth form into two sides – the science side and the arts side. It is estimated that about 60 per cent of all sixth-form pupils are currently studying on the science side of sixth forms, in grammar schools. This fact is exemplified by the order of popularity of entries for the GCE at Advanced level, which is usually taken two years after sitting for the Ordinary level. The order is physics, mathematics, chemistry, English, history, French, biology, geography, Latin. In addition to their special studies, sixth-form students usually follow courses in general education in a variety of patterns. They also devote part of their time in school to private study.

MODERN SCHOOLS

 

Transcribe the words, mark the stresses. Read and translate the words.

Bias, create, emphasis, workshop, initially, language, curriculum, formative, syllabus, majority, practicable, discovery, geographical, moderate, content, specialist, building, responsibility, factory, increasingly, required, generally, receive, divide, vary, ability, average, extend, particularly, vocational, introduce, recent.

 

Arrange the following words into two columns according to the reading of the letter c:

Secondary, education, creation, subject, science, course, place, crafts, music, receive, factory, certificate, content, recent, historical, curriculum, practicable, vocational, increase, introduce.

 

Form the nouns corresponding to the given verbs. Translate them.

To educate, to create, to form, to inform, to place, to teach, to receive, to response, to divide, to wish, to study, to prepare, to learn, to visit, to build, to treat.

 

Read and translate the following sentences. Mind the prepositions.

1. The majority of pupils that go to a modern school leave it at sixteen.

2. Not all the pupils study a foreign language in modern schools.

3. Most of the subjects of the modern school curriculum are the same as those of the grammar school.

4. In modern schools much time is given to workshop crafts for boys and housecrafts for girls.

5. Pupils of the same age are divided into forms according to ability, in the later stages according to choice of subjects.

6. The teaching methods with pupils of moderate ability are learning through discovery from books and other sources of information, and paying local visits to farms and factories, to historical buildings and to places of geographical interest.

7. Some of the extended courses reflect a bias towards vocational studies, others are a preparation for examination.

 

MODERN SCHOOLS

Secondary modern schools provide the broad general education required by the majority of pupils. The subjects of the curriculum are the same as those for the grammar school except that (a) the number of pupils who study a foreign language is very small and (b) more time is given to workshop craft for boys and housecraft for girls. The teaching methods and the content of syllabuses are varied so that they match, as nearly as is practicable, the wide range of ability among the pupils. Age groups are divided into forms according to ability and, to a lesser extent, in the later stages according to choice of subjects.

With pupils of moderate ability, emphasis is placed upon learning through discovery from books and other sources of information, and by paying local visits to farms and factories, to historical buildings and to places of geographical interest. Such subjects as history, geography, science, music, art and craft, workshop crafts or housecrafts, and physical education are generally taught by specialist teachers. Increasingly, English and mathematics receive specialist treatment too, though in many schools they are still the responsibility of the form teacher.

Initially, pupils who are of greater ability follow the same curriculum as those who form the average group, but more is expected of them, and of recent years there has been a strong trend towards introducing extended courses for these abler pupils. Some of these extended courses reflect a bias towards vocational studies; others are a preparation for examinations, and particularly for the examination to the General Certificate of Education.