SCHOOL-LEAVING EXAMINATIONS Great Britain.—A somewhat similar multiplicity of examina tions formerly prevailed in the sphere of secondary education. Pupils, even those of ten years of age, were subjected to examina tion. All such intermediate examinations, with the exception of the junior locals taken mainly by private schools, have been abolished as far as the universities are concerned, and since 1917, the secondary school examination council has been steadily engaged in a continuous audit of school examinations, in the way of standardizing the papers set by the different universities, co-ordi nating methods of marking, etc. State-recognized examinations are now confined to the school-leaving certificate (a higher stand ard in which, under certain conditions, qualifies for the matricu lation or. entrance to the university), and the higher school certificate, taken in a more limited number of subjects. The former is generally taken at the age of 16 or 17; the latter at the age of 18 or 19. (For further details see below.) In Wales, Scot land, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Free State, similar exam inations are to be found.
In France the baccalaureat, after the reform of 1902 (see EDUCATION : France) consisted of four different sections : Classical ; Latin–Modern Languages ; Latin–Science ; Modern Languages–Science. However, since the recent reforms of M. Berard, slightly modified by M. Herriot, it has been reduced to two—classical or modern. The examination is divided, as before, into two parts, and the second deals mainly either with philosophy or with science, including mathematics. It is taken a year later than the first part. Each part further consists of two sections, a written and an oral one, and the pupil's school record is taken into account in the final award in each case.
In Germany (of which Prussia may be taken as the best example) the school-leaving examination which also, as we have seen, qualifies for entrance to the university, is the Abiturienten examination. It varies in subject according to the type of school to which it applies, whether it is fully classical, half classical or modern. In German education a point to note is that the teachers themselves take part in the examination (a very desirable factor). The usual age at which the examination is taken is 17 to 18. There is also a Mittlere rei f e priu f ung, taken at the age of 16, which gains admission to certain professions ; pupils in the first grade schools mentioned above are automatically awarded the certificate on being promoted to the Ober-secunda class, of which the normal age is 16.
Leaving examinations in other European countries largely resemble those of either France or Germany.
