The Comparison of the educational system in the
UK and in Hungary
The Preschool
In the UK the kids start their nursery
school at the age of 3 almost the same
as in Hungary. In the nursery school of
the UK children start learning letters,
counting and things that will be later
useful in school. In Hungary the time is
usually spent on the children’s creative
skills and prefer moving and being in
the nature instead of learning, which I
think leads to a more intuitive kid. This
kid will be able to learn the basics of
Maths and Writing later in primary
school. Kids in the UK finish preschool
at the age of 5 and in Hungary in the age of 6 or 7. In the UK people spend more effort on
the deep education of the child so maybe this is why they start everything earlier. It may be
not the best because children must live in their childhood.
The Primary School
In England the students have a different infant school from the age of 5-7 and a junior
school at the age of 7-11. Children start proper learning in the age of 5 but they still play at
the infant school’s playground so they are not totally excluded from these activities. They
have a very great benefit that they start school at 9am and finish at 3.30pm. In Hungary
children usually start school at 7am or 8am and there are scientific studies about that it’s
not the best time for learning. Unfortunately Hungarian parents can’t solve this problem in
the primary schools because they usually go to work in the morning hours. In Hungary
students only have to take test at 8th grade for continuing their studies in secondary school.
English pupils take test in the age of 7, 11, 14. English students usually study easier as they
do most of their working through project and topic works, opposite to Hungarian students
who mostly learn by heart.
The Secondary School
The most conspicuous think is maybe the uniform they wear. In the UK the most school
obligate their students to wear some kind of uniform not only on the school celebrations
like in Hungary but everyday. The other thing is that they start learning less subject in the
secondary school as they have to choose which school leaving exam will they do on high
level. In Hungary after the
secondary school it is
necessary to take the
mature exam and there
are no alternatives. The
consequence is that
students in the UK decide
choose path much sooner
but they will get a deeper
education as in Hungary.
