Education is compulsory in our country. Children start school at the age of seven. They can stay at school for twelve years but some of them leave school at the end of the ninth form. These pupils usually go to vocation or trade schools where they can get both secondary education and the qualification. Education in Great Britain is compulsory too. British children start school at 5. They go to the primary school, which has two divisions: the infant school (from 5 to 8) and junior school. From 11t to 16t British children go to a secondary school. At the age of 16 schoolchildren may leave the school or remain two years longer to prepare for university or college entrance. Education is free; everybody can go to a university or any higher school after finishing secondary school. In Lithuania children go to school five days a week. The school year begins September and ends in the middle of June.
Education in Lithuania has been centralized for a long time. The curriculum may slighty differ from school to school but basic subjects are included in the curriculum of all schools At that time in Great Britain the education system has been decentralized for a long time. The school curriculum, the organization of lessons, and other things vary from school to school. There are two types of secondary schools: grammar school – giving education up to the age of 18, preparing pupils for university entrance and secondary modern school, which gave general education and some practical training up to the age of 15. After a secondary school, a vocation college or a manual training school, children can take entrance exams and enter the university.