Education in UnitedTerra

UnitedTerra has a very advanced education system. There are both private and public schools.

State funded
State funded schools are schools funded by the UTR government. The results of how one does varies on the teachers. Unlike Prep Schools, they're completely free. They accept students aged 3-11, and are divided into several years. Sometimes, they're bigger then Prep Schools, however, smaller then Secondary schools. A majority of chicks go to these schools. It is the first stage of every chick's education. Penguins are set into two groups, which are "Ground Stage 1" and "Ground Stage 2". There are year groups, from Year 1 to Year 6, though in the UTR, they are from Terrain 1 and to 6. If someone asks what year group they are in, an example of a conversation is:


 * "What terrain are you in?"
 * "I'm in the 2nd terrain."

There are stages under year groups, such as Reception, which is aged 4-5. The UnitedTerra Parliament first thought of having nurseries in every primary school, however it was denied and only some schools have nurseries. Instead, a nursery would be made next to the primary school that it is linked to, and would usually be named by the primary school that was next to the nursery, though not all primary schools have a linked nursery with them.

Many primary schools are small, and only have one large building, maximum of 5 levels. Every primary school has a school office, where they can go for inquiries, first aid and more. Not many primary schools move classrooms for each lesson, which only happens during secondary school and above. Though for lessons like Maths and English, the sixth terrain usually change classrooms.

Prep School
A preparatory school, commonly referred as a prep school, is an independent school preparing chicks up to the age of 11 or 13 for entry into fee-paying secondary independent schools. These are highly uncommon and there are only 6 prep schools in UnitedTerra, and many chicks just go to free state-funded primary schools - but it is thought that prep schools prepare students better for secondary school and their education is much better than state-funded schools. More exams take place in Terrain prep schools but are less complicated that many would think they would be.

Independent schools
All penguins in UnitedTerra starting from the seventh terrain go to secondary school, and until the thirteenth terrain. In independent secondary schools, there is a headmaster, a principal, a Head of Lower & Head of Upper. Almost for every lesson in secondary school, the students move classrooms - and usually buildings as well for every lesson they have. There are many differences between primary school and secondary school in UnitedTerra, such as detention is much stricter, penguins have to carry their own books, they get their own organizer to keep track of homework, and get more homework at the same time too. Penguins have to wear formal shoes, unlike in primary school. Many teachers in primary school say to penguins in the sixth terrain, the year before going into secondary school, that things will get harder once they're in secondary school. Independent schools are one of the most popular type of secondary schools.



The graph above shows the number of educated penguins in the country from 2007. At first, it is slightly down, but as the years pass on, throughout 2008 and 2009, the number of educated penguins in UnitedTerra is increasing rapidly. It is mostly being increased because of many penguins going to state-funded primary schools, and the number of penguins going to independent secondary schools.

Currently, there are the minimum of 4 independent schools in every state & city in UnitedTerra. In the most richer states & cities - such as New Club Penguin & Neo Domino City - the number of independent schools are especially high, with the maximum of 19 independent schools in the area. Independent secondary schools are most popular because the government recommend them, and because they are free. Secondary independent schools are for penguins aged 11-17, though it can be from 11-16, depending if the secondary school has a sixth form college or not.

Grammar schools
Grammar schools are not quite popular, as they focus in manners and language rather than the normal lessons chicks would have in independent schools. Slightly sophisticated and posh families send their chicks to grammar schools for a couple of years. They learn to speak more formally, and learn more complex phrases. Some grammar schools learn Terrslan, the rare Terrain official language.

Comprehensive schools
Comprehensive schools are another popular type of secondary school to academies and independent. A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. A comprehensive school offers a full range of subjects across the academic spectrum. They are much stricter than other types of secondary schools, especially in uniform and behaviour. They are free aswell, which is another reason why they are popular. There is atleast 2 comprehensive schools in every city and state.

Academies
Academies are the second most populated in the list below secondary schools - however there are a limited amount of academies in the country. There are only academies in the popular parts of the UTR. Hundreds of penguins have to travel a long distance to get to academies, and they are especially hard to get in. Academies are aimed at a specific topic, such as Science, Technology, Sport, etc. Some academies in UnitedTerra have to be paid for, but some are free. Penguins have honorary membership at academies. Some academies can be public, and sometimes even private, depending if the academy is highly rated. There are more Science, Music & Sports academies in UnitedTerra than any other country, due to the country's popularity in those subjects. Penguins that go to academies get high marks of their end-of-year exams and tests, and do especially well. Academies are supposed to teach students strictly - but well.

State funded and Academies
State-funded sixth form is almost the same as state-funded secondary school. Many secondary schools have a sixth form, which students have to apply to get in during the eleventh Terrain. Sixth form is also known as college - this only applies to sixth forms that are not attached to a secondary school. During students time in sixth form (which is usually 2 years) they take certain courses in different subjects, such as I.T, Technology, English, etc. These colleges are free and the UnitedTerra Parliament pay for them. Penguins can always choose if they want to go to sixth form, but many do to get a better education and a good job - and some are just encouraged by their parents to go.

Independent
These types of colleges/sixth forms have little association with the UnitedTerra Parliament, and are usually very rich colleges with little amount of students studying at each one (maximum 500). Because they are rich colleges, they only accept highly-sophisticated students. Anyone that misbehaves only get 7 chances to redeem themselves if they break any of the rules (which are much stricter aswell). Independent colleges are not free and are usually quite expensive, which is the reason why only rich families send their students to Independent colleges. In 2010, Ninjinian lowered the price of Independent colleges from 2,000 dauroes to 950 dauroes.

National
A national university is created and/or run by the government. There are only 6 of these type of universities in UnitedTerra. To those who go to these types of universities and don't live near them, would take them quite a while to reach there. But to go to these universities are absolutely free. Many of the UnitedTerra Parliament were thinking of atleast having a small entry fee for national universities, but Ninjinian decided otherwise.

Regional
These universities have a small entry fee for them, as there are only one or two of these in every city/state - so places are very limited. Regional universities are thought to have the best education - and many parents try to get their penguins into these universities, despite the fact that there is an entry fee. They allow up to 600-700 students. Regional universities focus on intelligence more than behaviour, and are not that strict with behaviour. Their exam results are almost always the best in the country. UnitedTerra are very famous when it comes to regional universities - and have set records for Best Exam Results in Antarctica.

Local
Local universities are funded by the UnitedTerra Parliament, and are the most popular university in terms of locations (atleast 10 in each city/state). Their education isn't as exquisite as national and regional universities, but it's good enough to teach penguins everything they need to know. Many more students are placed in every local university (atleast 600 students). The Parliament spend more money on local universities because they want them to be at their best standards - because usually they are not. Usually the middle-classed families send their penguins to local universities. Richer families believe that national/regional universities are much, much better.