VII.
Culture and social life:
Education policy:
British education aims to develop the abilities of people for their own benefit
and that of society as a whole. Parents are required by law to send their children
to school to get full-time education between the ages of 5 and 16. Going or
not going to school has become a matter of the law. It is no longer an individual's
free choice. All school children must receive religious instruction and attend
daily worship at school. Government pays more attention to the quality of teachers
and public examinations. University graduates usually have to take a one-year
postgraduate course before they become teachers. Compulsory education begins
at the age of five. At the age of seven they go to junior schools or junior
departments of primary schools. At the age of 11 they complete their primary
education and then go to secondary schools.
Oxford and Cambridge:
Oxford and Cambridge are two of most famous universities in Britain. Oxford
University was found in the 12th century. It is in a town known as Oxford. The
town, with a population of about 110000, lies about 85 kilometers to the northwest
of London. Many Prime Ministers were from Oxford. Cambridge University is in
another city, known as Cambridge and with a population of about 100000. The
city is in southeast central England and on the Cam River. It came into being
in the early years of the 13th century. Mathematics and sciences are famous
since the days of Newton. A number of Cambridge mathematicians and scientists
have won Nobel Prizes.