What does an English school look like ?

Last time Matthew told us about the school he went to before becoming a student from the University of Bath.

Dulwich College was built in 1619. It is a really big boys’ school with more than 1500 students. The college is a Private school but actually in England you would call that kind of school public because public means private there, I know it’s weird !

Junior school starts from 5-6  years old to 11. Then from 10-11 years old to 18 it’s called the Senior school . At 15-16 you take the GCSEe which is the equivalent of the « brevet » in France  and at the end of the secondary school just before going to University students take A-levels which is the equivalent of the « bac ».

The school offers a large choice of sports but the more popular  is rugby which Matthew practiced a lot.

Classes start at 8:30 but there is a 30 minute  « vie de classe » every day before. The pupils talk about what happens in the school or if there are any problems in the class and they have a tutor like our ‘professeur principal’. The lessons finish at 15:45 more or less for everyone. So they have 6 hours class every day. 

Now what about the cantine  ? The cafeteria is exactly the same  as us except that they have less time to eat, only one hour. However, some pupils can bring a lunch box which they can eat outside on the grass or on a bench  contrary to our school.

The buildings are huge and the school is as big as a castle so it takes a lot of time to go from one building to another one. 

Unlike the French students, at Dulwich they wear uniforms which is very common in the UK:  a blue tie, a white shirt, a pair of black trousers and a  black blazer.

Ask Matthew more about his school if you want to know more, you can meet him on Tuesdays and Fridays 😉

Emma