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In Great Britain education is compulsory for all children from 5 to 16 years of age. Parents can choose to send their children to a nursery school or a pre-school play group to prepare them for the start of compulsory education.
AH state schools in Britain are free, and schools provide their pupils with books and equipment for their studies. Ninety per cent of schools in England, Scotland and Wales are co-educational. That means that boys and girls are taught together in the class.
At the age of 5 children go to infant school, which is the first stage of primary education. There is no written timetable and classes are informal. From 7 to 11 pupils attend junior school, which is the second stage of primary education. In primary school children are taught the so-called 3R's: reading, writing and arithmetic. The> also have music, physical training and art classes.
At the age of 11 most pupils go to secondary schools с comprehensive schools. These schools accept children of all abilities without entrance exams. About six per cent of students go to grammar schools, which take students who pass the eleven-plus examination. Grammar schools lead towards higher education, whereas comprehensives give general or vocational education.
At 16 pupils take national exam called GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and then they can leave school if they wish. This is the end of compulsory education. Some 16-year-olds continue their studies in the sixth form at school or at a sixth-form college. The sixth form prepares pupils for the national exam called A-level (Advanced Level) at 18. You need A-levels to enter a university.
Other 16-year-olds choose to go to a college of further education to study for more practical (vocational) diplomas re to the world of work, such as hairdressing or mechanics.
About seven per cent of students go to private schools, where parents have to play for their children. The most expresive private schools are called public schools. Most of these are single-sex boarding schools and students can live there druring term-time.