EDUCATION in ENGLAND

British children are required by law to have an education until they are 16 years old. Education is compulsory, but school is not,children are not required to attend school. They could be educated at home. Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 16 (inclusive) across England. This can be provided by state schools, independent schools, or homeschooling. About 94 per cent of pupils in England, and the rest of the UK, receive free education from public funds, while 6 per cent attend independent fee paying schools or homeschooling. (Homeschooling numbers uncertain - BBC report) All government-run schools, state schools, follow the same National Curriculum. The school year runs from September to July and is 39 weeks long. For many areas the year is divided into six terms: September to October October to December January to February February to March April to May June to July (Some counties in England still follow the traditional three terms a year.)

British Life and Culture in the UK - Woodlands Junior School Tell Me about Christmas - Part 2 Advent Calendar Hi, I’m gonna tell you about our advent calendar. This has got all the days until Christmas Day on. And when I was a child we’d have these, and in the family, each child would take it in turns, different day, to open the window and would be very excited about it. Mistletoe People often put mistletoe in their homes at Christmas. Christmas Cracker Christmas crackers are something that most people have at Christmas but I think they… It’s a bit of a silly tradition really because nobody, nobody takes Christmas crackers very seriously. And then inside the cracker, you find usually three things I think. So I think what happens is people kind of think, “oh, we’re not gonna bother having Christmas crackers because they are rubbish anyway” but then you just feel like, “oh well, but it wouldn’t be Christmas without Christmas crackers”.

customs-and-culture Every November 5th, on a cold winter’s night, the dark skies of England are lit with bright fireworks and filled with the smell of wood smoke. People recite the famous lines: “Remember, remember the fifth of November,Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.” By Charlotte Mountford riends and families gather in private gardens or public parks to light bonfires and set off the fireworks – ‘rockets’, ‘sparklers ’, ‘catherine wheels’ and more. This is called ‘Guy Fawkes Night’ or ‘Bonfire Night,’ which is quite an unusual tradition, and all because four hundred years ago, on November the fifth, 1605, a man named Guy Fawkes tried to assassinate the King of England and all his government. Fawkes’ plan is known as the “Gunpowder Plot.” Like most plots, wars and conspiracies of the age, his motive was religion: Catholics had been fighting Protestants in England for decades, and though both were Christian, each side bitterly persecuted the other. Your Comments