Public school (United Kingdom)
type of independent school in England and Wales / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom, public schools are independent fee-paying schools like Eton College. By "independent" is meant fee-paying, and therefore not run by the public authorities. They are called 'public' because they accept students from anywhere – not just people living nearby in the school area. Some are boarding schools, where students can sleep and live at school during the school term. The public schools have an association called the Headmasers' and Headmistresses' Conference. Junior schools which prepare children for entry into public schools are called Preparatory schools ('prep' schools).
The term "public school", for what are actually privately owned schools,[1] is historical. It dates from the UK Public Schools Act 1868 which set the framework for seven leading English boys' schools, which were:
- Charterhouse School
- Eton College
- Harrow School
- Rugby School
- Shrewsbury School
- Westminster School
- Winchester College
To these should be added other fee-paying schools which have first-class reputations. These would include:
- Merchant Taylors' School
- St. Paul's School
- Tonbridge School
- Dulwich College
- Wellington School
- Withington Girls School