nal Curriculum, their students do not have to pass tests. The quality of individual schools varies, but very often the most prestigious schools are very good. p align="justify"> EDUCATION
Around 30 per cent of all young people in Britain go into full-time higher education. Higher education covers all post-school courses above GCE A level standard. Higher education institutions include universities, teacher training colleges and other colleges of technology, art, and profession allied to medicine. Britain has 89 universities, including the Open University, and 70 other HE institutions. All these institutions enjoy complete academic freedom, which includes appointing their own staff and deciding which students to admit, what and how to teach and which degree to award. British universities can be divided into three groups: (1167) and Cambridge (1229) - the oldest and most famous universities. In Scotland there are St. Andrew s (1411), Glasgow (1451), Aberdeen (1494) and Edinburgh (1583) "Redbrick universities" which were founded in 19th century - London (1836), Manchester (1851), Wales (1893). opened in 20th century, mostly after 1960 - Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Reading, Nottingham, Exeter, Sussex, York. There are also new universities in Scotland such as Strathclyde in Glasgow, Herriot-Watt in Edinburgh, Dundee and Stirling. There were two waves of opening new universities after World War II. One in the 1960s when such universities as Sussex in Brighton, York (both 1963), Warwick in Coventry, Kent in Canterbury were established. The other wave came in the 1990s when 39 new universities were created.Open University is Britain's main distance-learning institution for adults (established in 1969). No formal academic qualifications are required to enrol in undergraduate courses, but the standards of its degrees and other qualifications are as high as other universities.university courses last between two and four years. Sandwich courses, which include a period of work experience outside the institution, can extend the length of the course by up to a year, and medical and veterinary courses require five or six years. Although most students take degree courses, some are on sub-degree courses such as Higher National Diploma (HND) or Diploma in Higher Education (Dip HE). Students, who start to study at university, are called "undergraduates". Degree titles vary according to the practice of each university. A Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts - BA, Bachelor of Science - B.Sc.) is given to students who pass examinations at the end of three or four years of study. Bachelors are called "graduates" and they can study further to get Master's Degree. The Master's degree (Master of Arts - MA, Master of Science - M.Sc.) may be obtained by attending a postgraduate course or by writing a paper, or thesis. The degree of Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) is given for a thesi...
