School in London

School in London vs School in Sparta by Hannah Transier


Having the opportunity to experience school in two different countries is something I have been really lucky to be able to do. As expected, there are many differences between the school I went to in London (ACS Cobham International School) and Sparta High School, but there are also many similarities.

=Similarities

What's similar about school in these places is what is actually being taught. Despite being on totally different continents, we are all learning the same material. When I was visiting London and went to my old school for a day, in almost all of the classes, I recognized what they were learning because it was similar to what we were doing in class in Sparta.


=Differences

One difference is the actual periods/schedule. In Sparta, we have 8 classes a day that are each 42 minutes long, with 4 minutes in between. The order of our classes change based on whether it is a day 1, 2, 3, or 4. But at ACS, they have 6 periods a day, that are each 1 hour long, with 5-15 minutes in between. They have specific schedules for every day of the week, and majority of students have at least one study hall every day (usually even more than one).

Another difference is gym class. At Sparta High School, we have gym every day of the week, with fitness days on Tuesday and Thursday, and our activity for that unit (soccer, basketball, Frisbee, tennis, football, volleyball, etc.) on the other days. But at ACS it's very different.They have gym class only twice a week. One day they do something in their pool (such as water polo or swim laps), and the other day is their activity for the unit (which could be rugby, dance. gymnastics, ping pong, soccer, etc).

Another difference is the transportation to and from school. In Sparta it is most common to either take the bus to school or eventually drive yourself when you get your license. But it's pretty much the opposite in London. Majority of students are driven to school by their parents, and even if they have their license, they usually do not drive themselves to school. Few students take the bus to school because they don't use the usual yellow school buses, they use small coach buses,so you're required to pay extra to take it.

And lastly, a major difference is the students. Since ACS is an international school, there are students from all over the world attending. For example, my two closest friends were from Texas and Holland. And most people will only be there for a few years at most before moving to a new place, which was very obvious when I went back to visit and only knew about 6 people in the grade. But in Sparta, majority of the students have lived in Sparta most of their lives and have grown up together.

So overall, school in London and in Sparta are very different, but I am glad I was lucky to experience them both.