Win ye an amazing prize!

[William_Shakespeare]

'tis true my friends. For the noblest anagram of Running Commentary, I shall award a signed copy of my next play!

He be examples to the creative juices stir...

Runny morn, get manic
Many run morning etc
Gunmen torn in Camry

Submit your attempts, sans crack or flaw, herewith before the Ides of March.

[Seafront Plodder]

I'm not sure I've forgiven you for the endless hours that I had to endure Henry IV for English Lit O level!

[Sweder]

Well said, SP. After all, "A man can die but once". (Act III, Scene II).

[Sweder]

Hows about a weekend for two at the Lilybank Bed and Breakfast, in the leafy Cairns ' suburb of Stratford?

[El Gordo]

...Submit your attempts, sans crack or flaw, herewith before the Ides of March.

Priceleff...

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I'm not sure I've forgiven you for the endless hours that I had to endure Henry IV for English Lit O level!

Likewise me and Julius Ceasar in year 10. Although I quite liked the stabbing scene.

BTW, what's an O level SP? We keep hearing about these things in your wretched English sitcoms - those and 'A' levels which apparently no-one ever gets (if the TV shows are to be believed). Sometimes I think your TV shows need sub-titles.

Or maybe I should just stop watching them. Come to think of it, I have.

What were we talking about?

I need a coffee...

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

SP? Anyone? Does anyone here know what an 'O' level is? Does anyone have one?? Nigel????

[Sweder]

'O' refers to 'Ordinary' and 'A' to 'Advanced'.
These 'levels' are/ were examinations in the UK school system by which pupils are/ were judged at the end of their school life. In my day (old duffer alert) the emphasis was on the examination itself. These days, under new fancy names such as GCSE (no idea what that stands for) course work accounts for a large percentage of the final grade, which does seem to be an altogether fairer method of assessment.

Results help to determine if you get into University/ college should you so desire. Also employers use these as a guide to your powers of study and application, as well as a grounding in subjects relevant to employment.

Os and As were available in a wide variety of subjects - the sciences, maths, english, history, geography, religious education, languages. These days the subjects have broader scope. My son is studying (loose use of the term), amongst others;
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, French, English & Maths along with more modern subjects such as ICT (Information & Communication Technology) and Digital Photography.
You can also opt for sports qualifications. Sport was always something you did in betwen lessons at my school. These days they are valued more highly (a good thing in my book). You can build a fairly sturdy adult education programme based on such varied subjects as Sporting Turf Management, Athletics, Golf (and golf course management), amongst many others.

None of this has tempted me back into the education system. However, should the subject of Fine Beer Development (and tasting) I may review my options.

Incidentally, an unrestricted Google for O and A levels reveals an altogether different and less savoury explanation. Decorum and respect for my fellow forumites prevents me from going into more detail here.

[Seafront Plodder]

'O' stands for ordinary. It was the benchmark exam for 16 year olds. Usually 5 or more O's, and you had the option to study for 'A' level (advanced), in the subjects you were good at.

Those who were too thick in a subject took CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education), and it wasn't uncommon for pupils to have a combination of O and CSE's in different subjects.

Nowadays O level has been superseded by GCSE's, (General Certificate of Secondary Education) as has CSE. Nowadays also all exams are easier, kids are 'students' not pupils, schools are now 'colleges', and parent/guardians are now 'parent/carers'.

Oh yes, and teachers are leaving the industry in droves as they cannot discipline the kids without being hauled before the beak on some mickey mouse assault charge. Teachers' salaries are crap compared with the private sector, so new teachers now are the ones who can't cut it in the real world, and this shows in the quality of teaching, although curiously not in the exam results since as (as I said), exams are easier now because kids are not allowed to fail as this might scar the little darlings for the rest of their lives.

Oh yes, and most teachers are in it because they get around half the year off, and they are still bitching as they reckon they do too much overtime.

I guess that just about slags off most of the education system!

What's it like in your neck of the woods MLC?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Ah, thank you gents, that makes it much clearer. It's not too dissimilar to the system here - lots of mnemonics that parents, sorry, caregivers, have not a chance in Hades of understanding (well, not this buckaroo at least)... but the idea is to get a "TER" or tertiary entrance rank at the end of year 12 which qualifies you for different university courses depending on your score relative to everyone elses, and the number of people applying for entry to those courses, and how sadistic the faculty deans are. The end result is that the country is over-run with BAs and MBAs who are very clever at writing essays and completing open-book exams, but can't write their own names without asking their mums. Sigh, I've descended to cynicism again.

So, the systems seem fairly similar. Not sure we have the same academic emphasis on sport however. That would be like making lunch a college subject I think. We do have Sports Institutes, but these operate separately from the regular education system. I think. Like the Cricket Academy. Sort of.

My head hurts.

[Riazor Blue]

What I don't understand (being "of an age" and having no sprogs) is all this Year 9, year 12 stuff.
When I was a lad (yawn), it was class 1 to Class 4 infants, Class 6 to class 10 juniors then 1 to 5 in secondary education - then there was sixth form for 'A' levels.

Confused as ever, no idea about the Spanish system either, with it's BUPs, COEs and such mularky.

[Antonio247]

In Spain, children start Educación Infantil at three years old. Then, they start primary school when they are 6 years old. Primary school is from form 1 to 6. Then, when they are twelve, they start ESO ( Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria = Compulsory Secondary Education ). There are four forms, from first to fourth.They can get the diploma at 16 years old, which is just a decision taken by the student´s teachers, who have to assess if the pupil deserves it just by judging what he/she has achieved in that last academic year. If they´re lucky, they can do "bachillerato", which means two more years and if they are successful and pass the "selectividad" exam, they can study at university. Another choice, after getting the diploma at secondary education is to do "ciclos formativos", a sort of professional education. Those who failed to get the diploma, might try one more year if they haven´t repeated too many academic years before or can take an exam to do a "ciclo formativo". If they aren´t lucky, there are some programmes to learn a job or they can try to get a job, which is difficult without the secondary diploma or at least a "ciclo formativo" diploma.

Anyway,the level at schools in Spain has lowered a lot in the last years due to the "reforma", which has made secondary education compulsory until students are sixteen years old instead of fourteen as it used to be and the fact that students couldn´t repeat more than one year in primary education and another year in secondary education. It´s really amazing to see how low the students knowledge is. Besides, they have a lot of subjects with few lessons a week. As a conclusion, I can say that most teachers in Spain feel that education is nowadays very different from what it used to be and the role of the teacher is really harder since they have to fight against the lack of interest in many students to learn, finding it hard to motivate them and make them behave well. As an old teacher who I met long time ago - when education was much better than today- said : " Secondary schools have become teenagers´ kindergarten.