UK universities require that overseas students have certain school graduation qualifications. For Russian-speaking children who finish school in their home country this means the need to choose one of two options for additional training:

• A two-year course (the last two years of the British school – Year 12 and Year 13, collectively called the Sixth Form). Most often, the choice falls on the traditional British A-level programme (GCE Advanced Level in full), in which students thoroughly study 3-4 subjects. Some schools offer a combination of A-level subjects and subjects equivalent to it – Pre-U (Cambridge Pre-U) programme. Many British schools offer an alternative – the Swiss IB (International Baccalaureate) course, which takes 6 subjects.

To start studying in Year 12 in a British school, it is necessary to reach the full age of 16 at the planned start date of the Year 12. Although some students and parents see Years 12 and 13 as a means to an end (going to university), this school stage is important in the student’s academic and personal development. The chosen subjects and the results achieved in them, as well as the teachers (and sometimes students) surrounding the student, will have a great influence on the choice of future career and university, which students take in the middle of the two-year course.

• The one-year Foundation course is intended for foreigners who have received a Certificate (for the full 11 classes) abroad. This course is designed for students for whom English is not a native language and is suitable for those who have a fairly clear idea of their future specialty. The choice of a future university subject is actually carried out even before arriving in the UK for the Foundation course, since each Foundation programme is designed for a small set of specific subjects at university.

The course is offered by many International colleges. Having completed it students can enter most British universities (EXCEPT a few of the most demanding ones, such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE). The Foundation course can also be taken at many universities, in which case a certain score obtained at the end of the course allows you to proceed to a higher education programme in specified specialties at that university.