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The first stage of children's education is from the ageof five to eleven, and is known as primary education.The primary school is divided into Infants ( for ages

5-7) and Juniors ( for ages 7-11).

The British education system may seem rathercomplicated. It consists of two parts: the stateschools and the non-state schools. The state

schools form the public education system, which isfree .

Schooling is compulsory between the ages of fiveand sixteen. For under-fives there are playgroupsand nursery schools, both private and state-run.

At eleven, children begin secondary education. Atsixteen most pupils take national examinations atordinary level ( O-level ) called GCSEs ( General

Certificate of Secondary Education ). The GCSE isnot an overall qualification : pupils pass or fail in

individual subjects. Some might have one, five, or tenGCSEs, meaning they have passed examinations in

that number of subjects.

Most state secondary schools are comprehensiveschools: they admit local children of all abilities.However there are still a few old-style grammar

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schools, which accept only pupils who do well atschool.

The private sector in education is small but sociallyimportant. Private secondary schools are known bythe confusing name of public schools, of which the

most famous are Eton and Harrow. Many publicschools are boarding schools, with the majority of

their pupils living in.Most schools are "mixed" or "co-educational" - they

accept boys and girls - but there are some single sex

schools in both the private and state sectors.

The United States does not have a national systemof education. As a result, each of the states is free to

determine its own system for its own public schools.There are some 16.000 school districts within the

states. School boards made up of individual citizenselected from each community decide what is to be

taught.Typically , local high schools will offer courses ofstudy which they feel best reflect their students'

needs. Students at the same school will commonlybe taking courses in different areas. Some might befollowing pre-university programs, with an emphasis

on those academic subjects required for college

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work. Others might be taking course work whichprepares them for vocational or technical positions.

In America education begins at the age of six withthe first grade, and continues to the twelfth grade.

Secondary education is in one or two stages. Fromthe age of eleven or twelve to eighteen pupils attendthe so-called 'high school'. The first two or three yearsof this are called junior high school and the seniorclasses are called senior high school. A high schoolpupil earns a certain number of academic credits orcourses, in order to graduate from high school. Whenhe/she does this, he/she receives a certificate called ahigh school diploma.