a couple of questions for folks in britian...

[Mike70]

just a couple:

1. what is the difference between A-level, O-level, etc?
2. how does high school work? is it four years like over here and to what age is going to school compulsory?
3. is there a college entrance exam equivalent to the american SATs?
4. do the counties have any actual administrative function? who do you have to deal with to get a drivers licsense, marriage licsense, etc?


i might think of few more down the road.

[Danny]

1.no idea what an o level is,i think there the discontinued equivalent of g.c.s.e's form the 80's or something. an a level is what you take at college for 2 years.
2.5yrs old till about 11= years 1 to 6 at primary school, then 11 to 16 theres years 7 to 11 at high school. then you are done, you can choose to go to college for 2 years for a levels and then to uni for 4 for a degree but there not mandatory.
3.nope, the g.c.s.e's you take at high school in year 11 show if you can get it, right off the bat you need a C at the lowest in maths and enlgish to get into any college and damn near every job nowadays, normally its 4 C's at g.c.s.e to get into college, but i ehar its gone up to 5 now.
4.each counties run by a council that deals with housing, trash collection, litter cleanup and landscaping ect. and you pay council tax for stuff like that.

[SymphonicX]

I *think* an O-level is what the a-levels have become...at least that's what I remember from reading Adrian Mole...

To add to hellsing - in terms of getting a driver's licence, its the DVLA and for marriage its some governmetn thing - all run independantly of councils...

[MinionZombie]

1. what is the difference between A-level, O-level, etc?

O-Levels were what came before A-Levels. A-Levels are the current 16-18 educational qualification - Sixth Form College is where these are attained, be they attached to your high school (as it was for me), or a specific 6th Form College on it's own.

Now though, this retarded Labour government - who have cheapened the A-Levels by fudging statistics so that year-on-year apparently kids are smarter than ever before (it's just not realistic in the least) by changing the marking boundaries - it's utterly retarded...anyway, Labour's 'brilliant' new idea are "diplomas" for the same age range which would apparently focus on more practical things as well as "media studies" - now, if you're going on to university to study film/tv (as I did), they say they prefer you didn't do it in 6th form (which I didn't), because usually the teaching is crap.

Also, apparently some schools have been told they must actively discourage students to take A-Levels and instead go for this stupid new diploma idea...that's Labour for you, fingers in everybody's pie and all about social engineering, they never let anybody choose for themselves...WANKERS! *deep breath* ... okay, relax Minion...*sigh*...:eek:


2. how does high school work? is it four years like over here and to what age is going to school compulsory?

Some regions vary and have a slightly different system (like they do in East Anglia I believe), but for me it was as follows:

Enter High School at "Year 7" (age 11). In "Year 10" you begin your GCSE's (10 or 11 - maybe more for the boffins - subjects that you partially choose to taken an examination in at the end of "Year 11") ... a GCSE is what most people should get as their minimum educational qualification, but some disaffected sorts don't even bother coming in and therefore get NO gcse's and face a life of rubbish job prospects.

The earliest age you can leave high school is 16 - hence tying in with getting your GCSE's. By the time you're taking those exams, you'll be 16.

However - Labour has had another 'brilliant' idea, raise the leaver's age to a compulsory 18 - aka - retardation. If you can't keep the thicko's and the disaffected in till 16, you won't manage it till 18. Instead, why not provide education these sorts would find interesting or useful prior to age 16. Even the useless can't be forced.

A-Levels come, as I've said, at 16 to 18 - this is purely choice, although the numbers of kids getting crammed into A-Levels these days is ridiculous - yet again down to Labour - even my local 6th Form - which had a multi-million extension to it's 6th Form facilities, is once again at breaking point because the majority of Year 11's are staying on for another two feckin' years.

When I was in 6th form, merely 60 of us (out of about 180) went on to 6th form. By the following year it was already up to 100 out of about 180, I dread to think what it is now.


3. is there a college entrance exam equivalent to the american SATs?

Some universities have entrance exams or something, but I think it's really only the likes of Oxford and Cambridge, the really fancy boffin universities I mean. The vast majority just go by your A-Level results.

Prior to your A-Level exams you've already chosen what course you want to do and have listed your top five university choices, so you work towards what grades are required of you...but of course, due to Labour botching and meddling of exam results, when my year took their A-Levels, the bar was set too high (after it was set too low in the new-fangled & frankly ill-considered and rushed "A/S Level" system they introduced to tie in with A-Levels) ... and so a number of people were f*cked out of their #1 choice. I was one of the lucky ones and got the exact grades required of me, but there were many - nationwide - who were f*cked over because of Labour's meddling. Fact.


4. do the counties have any actual administrative function? who do you have to deal with to get a drivers licsense, marriage licsense, etc?

Driver's License - you go to the DVLA. You get examined by them and they dish out the licenses and so on, they also deal with all/most car-related matters and have some scary monolithic computer (so the adverts would say anyway) that track you down and send you fines if you're without some sort of thing required of you, or if you've not told them some new detail or whatever.

Marriages, no idea...I'd have figured the county court or something...really don't know though...a registry office or something.

...

It's actually quite fun answering questions such as these. :)

[Mike70]

Driver's License - you go to the DVLA. You get examined by them and they dish out the licenses and so on, they also deal with all/most car-related matters and have some scary monolithic computer (so the adverts would say anyway) that track you down and send you fines if you're without some sort of thing required of you, or if you've not told them some new detail or whatever.

who actually administers the driving test? over here (at least in ohio) it is done by the state police and is one of the least fun things you can ever go through.

[Chic Freak]

Examiners administer it. Sorry if that sounds stupid, I just mean I don't think they're police or anything, just people trained to be driving test examiners.


1. what is the difference between A-level, O-level, etc?

An O Level is what GCSEs used to be called. People of my parents' generation often still refer to them as O Levels.

A GCSE is a 'General Certicificate of Secondary Education.' Most people take 6-12 or so GCSE exams in various subjects when they are 16 years old. It is compulsory to take English, Maths, two sciences, Religious Studies and a language (or at least it was when I was 16).

A Levels are what some people do the year after they finish their GCSEs. They are not compulsory at all (you can leave school at 16, after your GCSEs, whether you pass any or not).

An A Level usually takes two years to do at college. Most people at college do 3-5 A Levels, and use the resulting grades to apply to university to do a degree.


2. how does high school work? is it four years like over here and to what age is going to school compulsory?

High school here lasts three years, from ages 13 - 16. At the end of your last year you can leave education forever, although in practice some people just play truant until then and get a job anyway!


3. is there a college entrance exam equivalent to the american SATs?

I'm not sure if you mean "college" or "university" (they are two different things over here). Basically as standard:

You do your GCSEs when you are 15-16, and use the resulting grades to apply to college to do A Levels

You do your A Levels when you are 16-18, and use the resulting grades to apply to university to do a degree.


4. do the counties have any actual administrative function? who do you have to deal with to get a drivers licsense, marriage licsense, etc?

There are local councils and county councils, but as far as I know, no different laws in each county like there are in different states in America. I've never looked into marriage licenses (lol) but to get a driver's license you have to pass a theory test and then book a practical test with the DVLA, a national driving body.

Hope this helps!

Btw, what is the legal age to leave education in the US?

[slickwilly13]

Legal age to leave? Not sure. But I have heard of people getting out at 17 or 16. In some extreme cases even earlier. I could have got out a year early, myself. But I decided to stay, party, and enjoy my senior year with my classmates. I was only taking 2 classes a semester plus sports. I was able to sleep in for 1st peroid and get out after 3rd peroid. Keep in mind me had block scheduling with 4 periods *classes* per day.

[clanglee]

The average age is 17 or 18. I graduated at 17 in '92. Some folk leave early and take the GED (it's like a general equivilency test) but that doesn't make it easy to get into College. We have SATs here which is another test that is really important to get a high grade on to be accepted into a good college or university.

[MinionZombie]

Yeah we have Driving Instructors, and then Driving Examiners (who are usually instructors as well I think).

You learn to drive first, obviously, then have to stump up the cash (most likely way more expensive than it was when I was learning several years ago). It's a racket though, from my own driving instructor I heard that they have targets and in a day they have 5 examinations each or something - the ones doing final tests anyway - out of those 5, THREE MUST BE FAILS. :eek:

Obviously it's kept quiet, but that is the state of play in this country - more bloody stupid targets that mean nothing. It also means that a lot of people have to take a test twice - such as I did - which means, obviously, MORE MONEY.

You have a theory test, and a practical test - now though you also have another theory test, where you sit at a screen and point out hazards or something. Fortunately that came in after I did my test.

What we don't have is 'Driver's Ed' like you guys have in America. As soon as you turn 17 you can start learning to drive with a permit and someone else in the car. I passed when I was still 17.

You know what's scary though, there isn't a minimum amount of tests someone can take...I mean, if someone has failed seven or eight times - you know what, perhaps they aren't meant to drive. :eek:

[Chic Freak]

You know what's scary though, there isn't a minimum amount of tests someone can take...I mean, if someone has failed seven or eight times - you know what, perhaps they aren't meant to drive. :eek:

I *finally* passed when I was 18, on test #6 (feel free to take the piss) although I think by that time I was sooo well-practised I was a great driver :lol:

[MinionZombie]

Six eh? *gulp*

As long as you're a good driver that's all that matters. :)

I did a couple of practice tests prior to my real one, and the week before my first real test I scored almost 100%, or I did actually score 100% - point is, I rocked. :D

Next week comes round, my first real test...nervous as all hell doesn't even begin to explain it, and who do I get - a fat, smelly Welshman (test was taken in Wales, so the chances were probably high he was gonna be Welsh :lol:, not dissin' Welsh folk though) - who was blatantly there to fail me.

He was such a miserable bastard, had no confidence in my ability whatsoever, and even grabbed the wheel at one point - which completely destroyed my confidence from then on - because I was apparently too close to a parked car's wing mirror. First off - no I wasn't, and second, because of the angle of the road and the parking bay, even if I was, mine would have passed over the other - but I wasn't too close.

Anyway, with my confidence completely ruined, I ended up failing. What a c*nt that bloke was.

Fortunately, test #2 and I got this really nice bloke (who I think was a part time Church preacher or something) and he made small talk, didn't talk down to me and so on and I passed with I think only 2 minors or maybe just the one.

Point is - it's all rigged.

Besides, the way they teach you to drive is so unnatural it's silly. You just can't drive efficiently if you're shuffling the wheel through your hands like you were in some low rent porn film. :lol:

[Chic Freak]

Besides, the way they teach you to drive is so unnatural it's silly. You just can't drive efficiently if you're shuffling the wheel through your hands like you were in some low rent porn film. :lol:

LOL I still drive like that, it's been drummed into me :lol:

I don't think the tests are "rigged" though, bit of an urban legend. "They" would just make the test itself harder if they wanted less cars on the road...

I agree that who tests you makes all the difference though. For me:

Examiners # 1-3: refused to talk to me, super-serious, which wound me up even more to the point where I actually cried at the end of the test (again, feel free to point and laugh)

Examiner #4: was really nice to me. Unfortunately I chose to take the test in my mum's car, since that's the one I had been practising in, and it burst into flames on the way back to the test centre. So I obviously didn't pass :P But he called me up a couple of days later to see if I was feeling okay and encourage me to come back and take the test again, which I thought was sweet.

Examiner #5: don't really remember, I was too busy checking my bonnet for signs of smoke and ended up failing again :P

Examiner #6: moaning, sexist old fart who pissed me off to the point where I actually felt more confident and actually passed :)

[slickwilly13]

I have a question. Why do you people over there say things like "bloody" all the time? Bloody this bloody that. What does it have to do with blood and gore? Why can't yall just say damn?

[MinionZombie]

Well, if a driving instructor reluctantly (and quietly) says to me and my Dad (after we ask him) if the whole '3 must fail out of 5 a day' thing is true, and he confirms it, I'd have to say I'd take him on his word. We'd used that instructor before to teach my sister and he's a nice chap - he must be a trustworthy chap, he had no qualms about getting into a car with me, a mere learner, with no dual controls in it (cos it was my Mum's car).

In this day and age of targets and ticking and dealing, it'd be easier to just say '3 out of 5 must fail' rather than make the tests harder - which they're doing anyway, adding that 'point and click' video test to proceedings as well.

To be honest, I think better driving comes from respect instilled in you since birth - not just another test you have to pay for - so they're making cash out of both tactics.

Anyway, bloody nora, your car caught fire in a test?! Now that's bad luck! :eek:

Moaning, sexist old fart eh? Maybe he was a relation of my first examiner? :D