English: School & Education

Level: B1. Education is one of the first topics you meet in an exam or a conversation with someone new. This lesson gives you the stages of study, the names of school subjects, and the small set of verbs — study, revise, pass, graduate — that carry almost every sentence about learning.

By the end of this page you can…

…name the stages of education, say which subjects you study or studied, describe exams and results, and talk about your own learning in both the present and the past.

The stages of education

English describes education as a ladder of stages. Learn them in order:

• nursery / kindergarten — for very young children, before school proper.
• primary school (BrE) / elementary school (AmE) — roughly ages 5 to 11.
• secondary school (BrE) / high school (AmE) — roughly ages 11 to 18.
• university or college — higher education after school, where you study for a degree.

A person who teaches at school is a teacher; at university they are a lecturer or professor. A child at school is a pupil (BrE) or student; at university everyone is a student.

School subjects

Subjects are the things you study. Note that maths (BrE) / math (AmE) and PE are short forms you will hear every day.

We say I’m good at maths and I’m not very good at science — the fixed phrase is good at + subject, never good in.

The study verbs you need

Most sentences about education use one of these verbs, and several come in fixed pairs:

• study a subject; do / take a course.
• revise (BrE) / review (AmE) before an exam.
• take, sit or do an exam, then pass or fail it.
• get a grade or a mark (an A, a B, 70%).
• enrol on a course, attend classes, hand in (submit) your homework.
• graduate from university and get a degree.

Present simple or continuous?

Use the present simple for a general fact about your education, and the present continuous for a course happening now.

• I study biology. — a general fact (perhaps it is your main subject).
• I’m studying for my exams this week. — happening around now.
• She teaches history. — her job in general.
• She’s teaching a new class this term. — a temporary, current situation.

Example sentences

Press play and say each line out loud. These are the exact sentences you will use to talk about school and study.

Quick recap before you practise.

A short conversation

Omar: So, what are you studying at the moment? Lena: I’m doing a degree in biology. I’ve got exams next week, so I’m revising all the time. Omar: Are you good at it? Lena: Pretty good, yes. I passed everything last year. What about you? Omar: I left school at eighteen and started work, but I’m thinking of enrolling on an evening course.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Usage notes

• homework is uncountable: say a lot of homework or a piece of homework, never a homework or homeworks.
• at school / in school: British English prefers at school and at university; American English often uses in school and in college. Both are correct — pick one and stay consistent.
• learn vs study vs teach: you learn a skill or fact (the result), you study a subject (the activity), and a teacher teaches you. Do not use learn to mean teach.
• course vs class vs lesson: a course runs over weeks or months; a single meeting is a class or a lesson.

Practice

How to say it

A few education words trip up English learners. Copy the audio rather than spelling them out.

• university has four beats with the stress on the third: yoo-ni-VER-si-tee.
• degree stresses the second part: di-GREE, not DEE-gree.
• maths keeps the th and ends in an s sound: maths, one syllable (American math has no final s).
• science is two syllables — SY-uhns — with a silent c blended into the s.

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Previous lesson: English: Future Plans & Goals
• Next lesson: English: Jobs & Professions
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• Build the sounds: English Pronunciation Overview