British English · B2 · Unit 8
Schools and education
Schools and education
By the end you can
- Compare education in two countries
- Argue for what schools should teach
- Understand a debate about schools
Words and phrases
| British English | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a state school | a free school paid for by the government (British) | Both my kids go to a state school round the corner. |
| a private school | a school where parents pay fees | She went to a private school in Surrey. |
| the curriculum | the subjects a school teaches | Should coding be on the curriculum? |
| set homework | give students work to do at home | Some teachers set homework every single night. |
| fall behind | make less progress than others | If he misses school, he'll fall behind. |
| pressure to | the stress of having to | There's too much pressure to get top grades. |
| GCSEs | the exams students in England take at about 16 | He's doing his GCSEs this year. |
| A levels | the exams at 18 that students in England need for university | What A levels are you taking? |
| parents' evening | an evening when parents meet the teachers (British) | At parents' evening, his teacher said he was doing well. |
| by heart | from memory, exactly | We had to learn poems by heart. |
| tuition fees | the money you pay to study at university | Tuition fees in England are over £9,000 a year. |
| a well-rounded education | an education that covers many different things | I want my kids to have a well-rounded education. |
Then talk it through
Parents discuss homework at a school meeting. In the app you have this conversation out loud or typed, with the unit's goals to tick off and corrections at the end.