Study centre courses

A. However difficult you find it to arrange your time, it will pay off in the long run if you set
aside a certain part of the day for studying - and stick to it. It is best to make a weekly
allocation of your time, making sure that you have enough left for recreational activities or
simply to be 'with' yourself: reading a novel or watching a television programme.
B. As part of your weekly schedule, it is also advisable to consider exactly what you have to
do in that week, and make sure that you tackle the most significant tasks first, leaving the
easier or less urgent areas of your work until later
C. On a physical level, make sure that you have an area or space for studying. Don't do it just
anywhere. If you always study in the same place, preferably a room of your own, you will
find it easier to adjust mentally to the activity when you enter that area. You should have
everything that you might need at hand.
D. Make sure that all the physical equipment that you use, such as a desk, chair etc. is at a
good height for you. If you use a personal computer, there are plenty of guidelines available
from the government on posture, angles, lighting and the like. Consult these and avoid the
typical aches and student pains.
E. If you are doing a long essay or research paper which involves the use of library books or
other articles, it helps to keep details of the titles and authors on small cards in a card box. It
is also a good idea to log these alphabetically so that you can find them easily - rather like
keeping telephone numbers. It's all too easy to read something and then forget where it came
from.
F. Make use of equipment that is available to you. If you find a useful article in the library, it
is best to make a copy of the relevant pages before you leave. Then, when you get back to
your study, you can mark the article and make any comments that you have in the margin.
G. If you are working on a topic your teacher has set, but finding it hard to concentrate, it
may be that you actually need to take your mind right off it for a period of time. 'Airing the
mind' can work wonders sometimes. After a period away from the task, having not thought
about it at all, you may return to it refreshed and full of ideas.
H. Similarly, it may help to discuss a topic with other people, especially if you feel that you
have insufficient ideas, or too many disorganised ideas. Bring your topic up in conversations
at meal times or with other students and see what they have to say. You don't want to copy
their ideas but listening to what they think about something may well help you develop or
refine your own thoughts.

Private schools
Most countries' education systems have had what you might call educational disasters, but,
sadly, in many areas of certain countries these 'disasters' are still evident today. The English
education system is unique due to the fact that there are still dozens of schools which are
known as private schools and they perpetuate privilege and social division. Most countries
have some private schools for the children of the wealthy; England is able to more than triple
the average number globally. England has around 3,000 private schools and just under half a
million children are educated at them whilst some nine million children are educated at state
schools. The overwhelming majority of students at private schools also come from middle-
class families.
The result of this system is evident and it has much English history embedded within it. The
facts seem to speak for themselves. In the private system almost half the students go on to
University, whilst in the state system only about eight per cent make it to further education.
However, statistics such as these can be deceptive due to the fact that middle-class children
do better at examinations than working class ones, and most of them stay on at school after
16. Private schools therefore have the advantage over state schools as they are entirely
'middle class', and this creates an environment of success where students work harder and
apply themselves more diligently to their school work.
Private schools are extortionately expensive, being as much as £18,000 a year at somewhere
such as Harrow or Eton, where Princes William and Harry attended, and at least £8,000 a
year almost everywhere else. There are many parents who are not wealthy or even
comfortably off but are willing to sacrifice a great deal in the cause of their children's
schooling. It baffles many people as to why they need to spend such vast amounts when there
are perfectly acceptable state schools that don't cost a penny. One father gave his reasoning
for sending his son to a private school, 'If my son gets a five-percent-better chance of going
to University then that may be the difference between success and failure." It would seem to
the average person that a £50,000 minimum total cost of second level education is a lot to pay
for a five-percent-better chance. Most children, given the choice, would take the money and
spend it on more enjoyable things rather than shelling it out on a school that is too posh for its
own good.
However, some say that the real reason that parents fork out the cash is prejudice: they don't
want their little kids mixing with the "workers", or picking up an undesirable accent. In
addition to this, it wouldn't do if at the next din-ner party all the guests were boasting about
sending their kids to the same place where the son of the third cousin of Prince Charles is
going, and you say your kid is going to the state school down the road, even if you could
pocket the money for yourself instead, and, as a result, be able to serve the best Champagne
with the smoked salmon and duck.
It is a fact, however, that at many of the best private schools, your money buys you
something. One school, with 500 pupils, has 11 science laboratories; another school with 800
pupils, has 30 music practice rooms; another has 16 squash courts, and yet another has its
own beach. Private schools spend £300 per pupil a year on investment in buildings and
facilities; the state system spends less than £50. On books, the ratio is 3 to 1