Part 1 Vocabulary on Education
Being able to understand terms in English related to the education system is an important
skill. Some of you may decide to work or to study in an English-speaking country and a
knowledge of educational terms will be helpful in the context. Sections a) b) and c) will
introduce you to key terms relating to education in the UK. Read these sections and then
complete the vocabulary exercises below.
a) Stages in a person's education
crèche 0-3 years old mostly play with some early learning
nursery school 3-4 years old mostly play with some early learning
primary school 5-11 years old basic reading, science, arithmetic art and play
secondary/high School 11-18 years old range of subjects in arts, sciences, technical disciplines
university or technical College 18 + years old degrees or diplomas in specialised academic areas
Comprehensive schools in the UK are open to all and are for all abilities. You can only get
into a grammar school by taking a competitive entry exam. Public schools in the UK are in
fact private and cost a lot of money to attend (examples include Eton which costs around
£40,000 per year). Colleges include teacher-training colleges, technical colleges, and
colleges of further education.
b) Exams and qualifications
take/do/sit an exam resit an exam (take it again because you did badly first time) pass (get
the minimum grade or more)/ do well in (get a high grade) an exam
fail (do not get the minimum grade/ do badly in (fail, or don’t do as well as expected) an
exam
Before an exam it’s a good idea to revise for it. If you skip classes/lectures, you’ll probably
do badly in the exam [informal miss deliberately]
Some schools give pupils tests regularly to check their progess, this is called continuous
assessment. The major two exams taken at school in the UK are called GCSEs (age 16) and
A-Levels (age 18)
When you begin university, you study for a degree. Before you compete your degree, you are
an under-graduate. When you complete your degree you are a graduate. If you go onto
further study such as a Masters (also an MA or Msc) or a Doctorat (PhD) you become a
post-graduate student.
c) Talking about education
In colleges and universities, there are usually lectures (large classes in an amphitheatre) and
seminars or tutorials (10-15 students actively taking part in discussion).
A teacher is someone who teaches at a primary school or a secondary school. A lecturer is a
university teacher. A professor is a senior academic at university.
All universities in the UK are now fee-paying institutions, meaning that the majority of
students have to pay for their university education. Most universities in England and Wales
charge fees of £9,000 per year, a figure that rises every year. Students can borrow money
from the government to pay this fee, referred to as a student loan. Graduates begin to pay
back their loan whenever they get a job and their income goes beyond a predetermined level.
These high fees can come as a shock to many students living in France!
Exercises:
1) Fill in the gaps int his life story of a British woman.
At 5, Jessica Jones went straight to _____________ school because they were few places at
her local _____________ school. When she was ready to go on to secondary school she
passed an exam and was awarded a place in a _____________ school. Her sister didn’t sit the
exam and instead went to a _____________ school.
When Jessica was 18 she took her ____________ in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and
Maths. She got very high _____________ and decided to go to Cambridge to do a
_____________ in Astrophysics. She would like to become a _____________, fulfilling her
lifelong ambition of teaching at a university.
2) Correct the mis-collocations (words used inappropriately) in the following sentences:
a) I can’t come out, I have to study. I’m passing an exam tomorrow.
b) Congratulations! I hear you succeeded your examination!
c) I got some good notes in my continuous assessment this term
d) She’s a professor in a primary school.
e) He gave an interesting 50 minute conference on electric cars.
f) When I was 12, we started having English seminars at school and I fell in love with the
language.
3) Answer the following questions:
a) How much does it cost to study for one year at the famous English public school Eton?
b) How much do students pay on average per year to attend university in England and Wales?
c) At University, what is the name for large classes that take place in an amphitheatre?
d) What is the name for university students who have not finished their degree yet?
e) What do you attend if you want to become a primary or secondary school teacher in the
UK?
4) The education system in the USA is a bit different than in the UK. Find out what the
following terms mean in the US education system.
high-school college sophomore assistant-professor
