First off, thanks for asking. Means a lot :P
Don't really like them. I believe they encourage inequality and are another floodgate for the rich to get richer just because they have money. But like you said, I don't live in an area with them and its an area in which you could probably be attacked just for liking something that isn't Labour, so I'm probably biased and don't have any experience with them.
Could you tell me what the English concept "grammar school" implies? We learnt it as the English equivalent of the Dutch "gymnasium", but they're usually in the same school as the other levels.
Is this "grammar school" thing actually in a separate building?
I think the big cities in the Netherlands have that too, but it's not very common.
From what I've read (only recently since the government announced plans to make more), you take a test in your last year of Primary School at the age of 11. Depending on the results of that test, you go to a school for 'smarter' kids where you get taught things deemed out of the grasp of understanding for kids going to a regular secondary school.
Over the last 100 years they've been mostly destroyed by Labour governments, hence why the area I live in has none, but now more are being made (I think?).
Grammar schools are selective schools based off of a test called the 11+ taken in Year 6. They are generally more academically centred than comprehensive and focus more on grades. However, the system is heavily criticised for being segregating and being easier for richer families to get a better standard of education to poorer families, as richer families can afford tutoring.
I live in an area where grammar schools are available, and go to one myself. We also have a comprehensive school in the area. I am personally in favour of grammar schools, but not overly. I understand if you can afford a tutor it's easier to pass, but steps have been taken to make the test more 'tutor-proof', and are getting harder each year.
I understand the arguments against and for, but I personally think the system of entry should be changed, but I doubt it's possible, and keep the schools themselves. I think removing them wouldn't be as beneficial for people like myself, who are more academically centred and enjoy learning in the manner I am do, but as I have no experience at a comprehensive, I have no comparison to comprehensive teaching methods.
Ah, it seems to be quite different than our system, then.
The two 'highest' levels in secondary education here are havo and vwo, under that is vmbo but I don't know too much about that as I don't really know any people who do it very well.
Between havo and vwo there's a difference in the level of stuff, but I don't know how big the difference is as I haven't looked too much at havo textbooks. In the lower classes, books aren't separated, though, and you get shared havo/vwo textbooks with extra assignments for vwo.
Also, havo's 5 years, vwo's 6 years.
Then within vwo, there are two levels: atheneum and gymnasium. The only difference is that gymnasium gets two extra subjects: Latin and Greek. When you need to choose subjects for 4th grade and onwards, you need to choose either or both languages, if you'll choose none you'll go to atheneum.
Oh, and atheneum has a different version of cultural education, as gymnasium's version is classical and has a lot more depth.
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