Hmmm, it's so long since I've been to school, I can't remember how many hours of which classes we had! :blush:
In the UK, it varies quite a lot from school to school. There is a 'national curriculum', which is a guideline for schools. Individual schools can treat it in different ways as long as they cover the necessary requirements (I'm not sure what the requirements are; no doubt it's around somewhere on the net! ^^) - e.g. they could add extra classes/options.
In England, kids start secondary school at age 11 and continue it until age 16, when they take GCSEs. After that, there is the option to continue for 2 years in what we call '6th form' (or college), taking A-levels at age 18. These can be studied at the same school if it has such facility, or at a different college.
The subjects studied in secondary school have changed a lot in the 11 years since I left. :souka: When I was at school (God, I sound like an old woman! XD), we studied *thinks* English, French (or German), Math, Physical Education, Art, Creative Design (covered stuff like textiles, woodwork, pottery, etc.), History, Geography, Music, Science, Religious Education... hell, I can't remember anything else! :gomen:
We studied these 'core' subjects up until Year 9 (age 13-14), at which time we then had to choose which subjects to continue to GCSE level, to make a total of 10. Of course, some subjects were compulsory - Math, English, Science, one of the Humanities (we could choose between History, Geography and Sociology - even though we hadn't studied sociology previously!
), Religious Education and Creative Design. For the others, we had 2 columns and we chose one subject from each column. I was gutted because that meant I couldn't choose both Art and Music! (I chose Art and French.)
Physical Education was compulsory, but we didn't take an exam in it. I really liked PE and I think that it
should be compulsory in every school. Some sports, especially team sports like hockey, or field events like javelin, you wouldn't get the chance to try out if it wasn't for school, unless you were a rich kid with the resources to join a club and get the equipment. Also, I love exercise! I realise that not everyone shares my feeling, hehe - but it is important to keep in good health particularly when you are growing. Exercise also releases chemicals in your body which make you feel good, and which are good for you. It helps your brain as well as your body, too! I can feel the difference both in my physical state and work performance when I'm taking regular exercise. [/rantette] :bluush: -- not all kids have active lifestyles outside of school.
Science was divided within itself into Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which we rotated classes for a bunch of weeks at a time, and which had different teachers. Our final exam covered the three areas, but led to only 2 GCSEs. (@_@)
Although I went to a Catholic school (these are more unusual in the UK, where, unlike much of the continent, state schools are
not predominantly Catholic), I have to say that our Religious Education classes, far from being "propaganda", were in fact total crap. XD. We could choose between 2 options - 'Christianity' or 'Hinduism'. I chose Christianity, in the (forlorn, as it turned out) hope of actually learning about... well, about Christianity. But we just spent our time copying workbook pages while the teacher (who when questioned turned out not to know the simplest things about the Catholic religion she claimed to practice -_-) sat and read a book. The down side? It was a total waste of time. The up side? I had to find out stuff for myself, and at least, didn't get propaganda forced down my throat. ^^
Some schools in the UK are separate from government 'rule' - private schools (also called public schools, just to confuse you! @_@) where you pay to attend.
There is also one county - Lincolnshire - where the Grammar School System is still in operation. FYI, the grammar school system is the system we had previously (when my parents were at school). Under that system, kids took an exam (the 'eleven plus') at age 11, and if they passed it, they attended grammar school, if not, they went to a Secondary Modern school. As I said, Lincolnshire still operates this system. You see, some rules are up to local government at county level, rather than main government. (For example, schools break for summer at different times across the UK, depending on the county government.) :relief:
You have to get a certain number of GCSEs at certain grades in order to be accepted for A-level classes.
Since I was at school, now there are a lot more vocational options available to kids, to encourage them to think about a wider range of careers, rather than just the narrower option of 'A-levels and uni, or not?' When I was at school, the vocational subjects - such as textiles, Home Economics, woodwork, technology - were all crammed into Creative Design and we rotated subjects within it, spending only a few weeks on each. Now, schools tend to offer a wider range of specialised classes.
Classes that I think should have been available when I was at school include:
-- More emphasis on the modern languages.
-- Options to take other langs than French and German. Kids who were turned off by those might have perked up at the idea of being able to study Farsi or Mandarin or something.
-- More Performing Arts. Not necessarily a separate class; they could have been taught as part of English, Music or even Physical Education.
-- Both History
and Geography all the way to GCSE level. I feel sadly lacking in my knowledge in these areas. ><
-- Philosophy.
Were I a politician in charge of education, I would supress physical education and religion classes in schools altogether.
