Education, School

Let’s talk about studying at school. What is your school like? \What can you tell me
about the place where you study?
I think I can make a long speech about my school and I should say that in general I have
sweet memories of the … years I have spend at one and the same school.
When I am talking about my school I mean a whole complex of things which made up
my life there, influenced my views and outlook, formed my character to some degree. I studied
at school №… in … It is famous for its high quality of education.
It is common knowledge that success of school education depends mainly on the
teachers, their professional skill, their attitude to the subjects they teach and the kind of
relationship they can establish with the pupils. Here I’d like to say that my teachers are highly
educated people. They are strongly devoted to their work and what is no less important their
attitude to the pupils is always friendly and tolerant My favourite subject at school is … We have
a very good and enthusiastic teacher who inspired in me an interest of… She is a very fair person
and the manner of her teaching is perfect. The pupils are well-disciplined and well-behaved at
her lessons
The atmosphere in the school is based on common sense, tolerance, and mutual respect.
Poor behaviour especially any form of bullying is treated very firmly.
I like the friendly atmosphere at my school. It gives me a real pleasure to go there and to
communicate with my coevals. I like my class. I always feel at home there. Everybody is so
friendly and easy to get along with. I was on good terms with my classmates and we often spent
our free time together.
Our school looks nice and lovely. It’s a clean and attractive three-storeyed building. The
school building itself is of a typical design with the same layout and the distribution of
classrooms, administrative offices, canteens, gyms and libraries as you can see in most other
schools. When you enter the school you will see a large entrance hall, cloakrooms, on the left
there is a gym, a library, Headmistress’s office and straight is the canteen.
There are two wings in our school. One is given to junior children. During the breaks
they rush along the corridor making a lot of noise. On the first floor there is an Assembly Hall
where all kind of performances, concerts and meetings are held, teachers′ room, a computer
class, and a lot of classrooms to study. On the second floor you can find physics and chemistry
labs which are equipped with many devices for carrying out experiments and classrooms.
I’d like to say once again that school means a lot to me, and now my heart is full of
gratitude to most of my teachers and to many of my friends who make my school life enjoyable.
Do you agree that our school gives a person a good start in life? Why?
I entirely[ɪn'taɪəlɪ] agree with it . School provides us with a certain amount of knowledge
in science and humanities. We study a variety of subjects such as Physics, Chemistry,
Mathematics, Computr Science, Biology, the Belarusian and Russian Languages, English.
Students attend optional classes in different subjects in order to pass centralised tests with flying
colours and enter the best universities. At school we make friends, gain interpresonal and
leadership skills, develop moral qualities, learn to get on with different people, overcome
difficulties, set priorities, develop our talents and skills.
Let’s talk about school traditions
Our school has a lot of exciting traditions.
 It has become a tradition to open a new school year with the’ First Bell ‘ holiday. In the
morning on the first of September the first and eleventh formers parade in front of the school the
headmistress, teachers, pupils, parents greet the children and wish them success in studies.
Every first Saturday of February we celebrate the School-leavers Reunion Day. School
leavers of different years come to our school and speak about their school years and share their
life experience with us. Then the schoolchildren give a concert. It’s usually a very interesting
and useful event.
Of course such parties as New Year, the 8th of March are celebrated with great
amusement.
We also get acquainted with the traditions of English-speaking countries and celebrate
such holidays as Christmas ,Valentine’s Day , St Patrick’s Day and many others.
One of the most important traditions of our school is the Last Bell holiday, when the
11th forms say good-bye to their school, thank their teachers, ask children to love their school, to
keep carefully its traditions. Flowers, the words of greeting, love and respect are seen and heard
in every corner of the school.
Our school also participates in the international exchange programme. Every year a group
of Danish schoolchildren and teachers comes to our school. They stay at our students’ and then
our students and teachers go to their country, they host us in return. Our guests take part in all
school events. We organise concerts, excursions , presentations about our country its culture and
traditions. To sum it up I think our school has a lot of traditions that students and teachers
should keep up carefully.
What can you tell me about the system of education in Belarus?
The system of education in the Republic of Belarus is based on national traditions and
global trends in education area. Today Belarusian educational system includes pre-school
education, general secondary school, vocational education, secondary special education, higher
education.
The system of education of the Republic of Belarus includes different types of
educational establishments: kindergartens, nurseries , primary, basic and secondary schools,
gymnasiums, lyceums, child’s home, boarding school ,vocational schools and technical lyceums,
(technicums, uchilishche and colleges) ,universities, academies, [ə'kædəmɪ], institutes
['ɪn(t)stɪtjuːt] and higher colleges.
There are two official languages within the education system in Belarus, Russian and
Belarusian.
Pre-school education is not compulsory in Belarus but around 70% of children attend
nursery or kindergarten before they start school. These institutions are for children under six
years. Children are taught pre-reading and pre-writing as well as basic mathematics. The children
learn to follow a timetable and there are classroom rules which teach respect and consideration
for their classmates and the teacher. The public nurseries and kindergartens are free of charge but
parents should cover about 60% of the meal’s cost.
Most children in Belarus start school at the age of 6. The school year begins on the first
of September for all grades and lasts thirty-four weeks. School education in Belarus consists of
elementary( or primary), basic and secondary school. The five-year basic secondary school is
compulsory.
During the first four years of school children learn such basic skills as writing, reading,
counting, get some information about nature and society, get acquainted with healthy way of life.
 At secondary school students study such subjects as the Belarusian and Russian
languages and literatures, a Foreign Language, History of Belarus and the World’s History, Man
and Society, Mathematics, Information Technologies, Geography, Biology, Physics, Chemistry
,music, fine arts, physical training and labor education. Children can also attend optional classes
if they want to study some subjects at a profound level.
The 10-grade assessment system of knowledge is used. Upon completion of grade 9
students have to pass the examinations to receive the certificate of basic education. Students can
continue their education at secondary schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, uchilishches( vocational
schools) technicums,(technical schools) At the end of grade 11 students sit the final examination
and if successful receive the certificate of (complete) general secondary education.
2. Do you agree that Belarusian secondary school provides a person with good
knowledge? Why?
Yes, I absolutely agree that Belarusian secondary school provides a person with good
knowledge. First of all, students at our schools study a variety of subjects such as Physics,
Chemistry, Mathematics, Information technology, Biology, the Belarusian and Russian
languages, a Foreign language. Moreover, we have highly qualified teachers who are strongly
devoted to their job. What is more, we can attend optional classes in different subjects and study
these subjects at a profound level.
Today some young people think that having a good education is (not )important. Do
you agree with this?

In my opinion it is very important to have a good education nowadays because we live in

a fast changing competitive world. It is extremely important to be able to find your place in this
world to be able to adapt to constantly changing conditions. Deep knowledge of in different
spheres can help you to understand the world around you and yourself, can help you get a well-
paid, prestigious job with good working conditions, job promotion. Most professions require
qualifications or even a degree. A good education can become the foundation of your career.
Good education develops your ability to find information , to think creatively in order to solve
problems. What is more good education can help you bring-up your own children and help them
with their schoolwork. While studying you will be in touch with intelligent, cultured, original
people, which is a very beneficial experience. If you have a good knowledge of English you can
communicate with people from all over the world and get a lot of interesting information, read
books and watch films in the original. To sum it up it is very important to have a good education.
Ask me what problems I had when I was a student?
1 . What was the most difficult subject for you when you studied at school?
2. Did you get on well with your teachers?
3. I would like to know what subjects you didn’t like at school.
4. Were there any bullies at your school?
5 Did you have any problems with your classmates or teachers?
Ask me whether I liked school when I was a pupil? What kind of pupil I was at
school?
What were your favourite subjects?
Who was your favourite teacher at school?
Did you like Physics?
Were you good at languages?
You got on well with your classmates, didn’t you?
 What subject did you dislike?
You are talking to a British student. What you advise him\her to do to prepare for
an exam well?
First of all, if you want to do well at your exams you should attend all your classes, work
hard at the lessons, make notes, because when you put down the key points , you memorize
them better , ask your teacher or classmates to help you if you don’t understand something. What
is more, you should do your homework properly and regularly. It would be wise to make a
revision timetable before the examination. If you organize your time properly, you will feel more
confident, and will be more likely to get good grades. Whenever you feel under stress, you
should take a break and do something relaxing for a while. And finally the night before you sit
the exam, go to bed early and get a good night sleep. If you follow this advice, you will pass
your exams with flying colours.
Today some young people want to study abroad because they believe that the level
of education is higher there, would you do the same?
As for me, I would prefer to study in Belarus because I think that the level of education
here is quite high , what is more, the knowledge I can get in our country is more suitable for
work in Belarus because laws and paperwork are different in different countries. Moreover, there
is a wide choice of higher educational establishments such as universities, higher colleges,
institutes, academies in our country. In Belarus I can study full time or by correspondence or at
evening classes. To my mind, it is much easier to study in your own language. The most
important thing for me is that I want to be close to my family and friends.
Which school club would you advise your classmate to join?
First of all, it depends on his or her talents and interests but I think that joining our
volley-ball team could be very beneficial. Playing volley-ball is exciting as you will take part in
different competitions, moreover it is good for health as you will take more exercise. You can
relax and get rid of your everyday stress.What is more, playing volley-ball can teach you to work
in a team which is very important.