school leaving age

School leaving age set to rise to 18
Part one: Reading (15pts)
Read the text  carefully then do the activities:
The British government is soon to pass legislation that would raise the school leaving age to 18. The new plans will come into effect by 2013. Pupils will have the choice of staying in formal classroom education that covers academic lessons, or of receiving vocational training. It is the first major revision of the compulsory education age limit since 1972, when it went up to the present 16 years old. The government hopes the additional two years of schooling or training will bolster the quality of young Britons and ensure more British youth have qualifications or workplace skills. If successful, Britain may be able to boast the best educated and most highly trained school leavers in the world, which is bound to have positive knock-on effects for industry and the economy. It should also bring down levels of crime.
Britain’s Minister for Education Alan Johnson told The Times newspaper that it was "repellent that a youngster of 16 is not getting any training". He lamented on his mistakes of the past, saying: "I regret not staying on in education... when I left school there were loads of jobs you could walk into without qualifications. That's not going to be the case in the future." The leader of Britain’s teaching union Steve Sinnott concurred. He described the upcoming legislation as "inevitable". He warned: "We cannot afford to neglect those young people who currently leave school at 16 unprepared for the rigors and demands of life in the 21st Century." Toby Ashford, a 16-year-old student from Londonwasn’t as enthusiastic. He complained that: “It is another example of politicians trying to be Big Brother with young people.”
A- Comprehension /Interpretation ( 7pts):
1- Are the following statements true or false according to the text:
a-The British government plans to reduce the compulsory education age.
b- There have been several revisions for school leaving age since1972.
c- In the future people without qualifications will find jobs easily.
2-In which paragraph is it mentioned that :
“Politicians should not discard those young people who left school unprepared for the demands of life”.
3- Answer the following questions according to the text
a- What are the choices that pupils will  have thanks to the new legislation?
b- What does the British government hope when passing this legislation?
c- How didThe leader of Britain’s teaching union, Steve Sinnott, describe the new legislation?
4-What or who do the underlined words in the text refer to:
                                                              c-he(§2)                                        b-who(§ 2)                      (§1)      a- it

B/ Text Exploration (8pts):

1- Find in the text words closest in meaning to the following ones:
    a- professional  (§1)                  b- obligatory   (§1)                 c- agreed      (§2)                                         
                                                           
2-Divide the following words into roots and affixes:

   Education     -    government    - unprepared 
suffix
root
Prefix










3- Rewrite sentence ( b) so that it means the same as( a)
 a- He said : “ I regret not staying on education”
b-  He said that………………………………………………………………………..
a- The new law should bring down the level of crimes
b- The level of crimes……………………………………………………………………………
4- Fill in the gaps with only four words from the list given
Decreases- education- training -attend- pupils
Pupils have to ………………….school regularly to benefit from their………………….. Missing out on lessons leaves …………………to achieve less and ……………..their chances of success.
Part two : wtitten expression : (5pts)
Choose one of the following topics:
Topic one:
Using the following notes write a composition of about 70-80 words  about the causes that can make teenagers leave their schools.
-pupils academic failure/ levels
- wrong decisions
-family financial problems / economic realities
-pupils want to help their families
Topic two:

Do you think that the study of ancient civilizations is so important? Justify……

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