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96-617: North Bridge House School is a private school located in London for children aged 2 to 18-year-olds. The school has six different locations for different age groups. The Nursery School, in Hampstead on Fitzjohns Avenue , is for 2 to 4-year-olds. The Pre-Preparatory School is on Netherhall Gardens and is for 4–7 year olds, and the Nursery and Pre-Preparatory School on Fordwych Road in West Hampstead

192-561: A broader range. These included the 23 schools of the Girls' Public Day School Trust (now the Girls' Day School Trust ). During the post-War period, many parts of the world moved from selective education to comprehensive schools catering for children of all abilities. Dissatisfaction with the Tripartite System grew during the 1950s, with concern over the harsh division of the school population at

288-455: A campaign by parents. Elsewhere the plans proceeded over local objections, with schools closing or becoming comprehensive schools or sixth form colleges , often by merging with other schools. Dr Williams School , a small school for girls in Dolgellau , northwest Wales, also closed at this time. The remaining schools, including all of the large secular ones, became independent when their grant

384-405: A charitable end in itself, irrespective of poverty. The transformation of free charitable foundations into institutions which sometimes charge fees came about readily: the foundation would only afford minimal facilities, so that further fees might be charged to lodge, clothe and otherwise maintain the scholars, to the private profit of the trustees or headmaster. Also, facilities already provided by

480-554: A first or an upper second-class degree than a student from the same social class background, of the same gender, who had achieved the same A-level score at a state school. The averaged effect was described as very variable across the social class and A-level attainment of the candidates; it was "small and not strongly significant for students with high A-level scores" (i.e. for students at the more selective universities) and "statistically significant mostly for students from lower occupationally-ranked social-class backgrounds". Additionally,

576-572: A further 25% of places to be paid for by the LEA if required. The remaining ("residuary") places would attract fees, but no child would be admitted unless they had achieved the required standard in the eleven plus. The schools would be inspected by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools , would have one third of their governing bodies appointed by the LEA, and would require the approval of the Secretary of State to raise fees or carry out building work. The scheme

672-570: A marginal difference and the pattern – particularly in relation to school background – is in any case inconsistent." A study commissioned by the Sutton Trust and published in 2010 focused mainly on the possible use of US-style SAT tests as a way of detecting a candidate's academic potential. Its findings confirmed those of the Smith & Naylor study in that it found that privately educated pupils who, despite their educational advantages, have only secured

768-423: A particular religion, or schools may require pupils to attend religious services. Only a small minority of parents can afford school fees averaging (as of 2021) over £36,000 per annum for boarding pupils and £15,000 for day pupils, with additional costs for uniform, equipment and extra-curricular activities. Scholarships and means-tested bursaries to assist the education of the less well-off are usually awarded by

864-462: A poor A-level score, and who therefore attend less selective universities, do less well than state educated degree candidates with the same low A-level attainment. In addition, as discussed in the 2010 Buckingham report "HMC Schools: a quantitative analysis", because students from state schools tended to be admitted on lower A-level entry grades, relative to entry grades it could be claimed that these students had improved more. A countervailing finding of

960-641: A private school admissions are at the discretion of the governing body of the school. In 2006, pupils at fee-paying schools made up 43 per cent of those selected for places at Oxford University and 38 per cent of those granted places at Cambridge University (although such pupils represent only 18 per cent of the 16 years old plus school population). In 2024, the Labour government removed the exemption from value-added tax (VAT) from private school fees. From January 2025, private schools will have to charge 20% VAT. A major area of debate in recent years has centred around

1056-399: A private school and 184,580 having attended a state school, 64.9 per cent of the former attained a first or upper second class degree, compared to 52.7 per cent of the latter. No statistical comparisons of the two groups (State vs Private) were reported, with or without controls for student characteristics such as entry qualifications, so no inferences can be drawn on the relative performance of

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1152-519: A private school at secondary stage, via entrance examinations. Private schools, like state grammar schools, are free to select their pupils, subject to general legislation against discrimination . The principal forms of selection are financial, in that the pupil's family must be able to pay the school fees, and academic, the latter determined via interview and examination. Credit may also be given for musical, sporting or other talent. Entrance to some schools may be orientated to pupils whose parents practise

1248-549: A process which combines academic and other criteria. Private schools are generally academically selective, using the competitive Common Entrance Examination at ages 11+ or 13+. Schools often offer scholarships to attract abler pupils (which improves their average results); the standard sometimes approaches the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) intended for age 16. Poorly-performing pupils may be required to leave, and following GCSE results can be replaced in

1344-552: A quarter of them. The second group consisted of 30 schools (23 for boys and 7 for girls) with a significant proportion (over 25%) of boarders. Boarders made up the majority of pupils at 15 schools (all but one for boys), including five of the six Methodist schools. Boarding schools tended to be smaller and less academically selective than other direct grant schools, and to take a larger proportion of fee-paying pupils. They also tended to be more socially selective, with nearly three quarters of their pupils having fathers in management or

1440-729: A reorganisation of the maintained sector, including a new accommodation with the voluntary schools. In response, the Headmasters' Conference persuaded the President of the Board of Education, R.A. Butler , to establish a commission under Lord Fleming in July 1942 "to consider means whereby the association between the Public Schools ... and the general education system of the country could be developed and extended". The Education Act 1944 aimed to introduce

1536-490: A reorganisation of their schools. The Circular also requested consultation between LEAs and direct grant schools on their participation in a comprehensive system. For this reason, direct grant schools were excluded from consideration by the Public Schools Commission set up in 1965, even though 152 of them would otherwise have fallen within its remit. There was little progress in the local negotiations proposed in

1632-408: A result, 119 of these schools became independent. Pupil numbers at independent schools fell slightly during the mid-1970s recession . At the same time participation at all secondary schools grew dramatically, so that the share of the independent sector fell from a little under 8 per cent in 1964 to reach a low of 5.7 per cent in 1978. Both these trends were reversed during the 1980s, and the share of

1728-423: A single source of grant: they could receive a "direct grant" from central government, or be "grant-aided" by their local authority. By 1932 there were 240 secondary schools receiving a direct grant, compared with 1138 aided by local authorities. Although this division was intended purely as an administrative convenience, local authorities gradually gained more influence over the schools they aided, in part because of

1824-450: A small number of Roman Catholic former direct grant schools entered the state sector as grant-maintained schools . A few secular schools have subsequently become academies . Those that remain independent are typically highly selective, and have strong academic reputations. In 2001, they included 61 of the 100 highest performing independent day schools. No longer a bridge between state and private sectors, these schools have become part of

1920-584: A universal system of secondary education for England and Wales . Under the Tripartite System , there were to be three types of schools, with pupils sitting an eleven plus exam to determine which type of school they would be sent to. The most academic tier would be the grammar school , and the Act revised the terms of the direct grant to operate alongside LEA-maintained grammar schools, many of which were former LEA-aided schools. The latter schools, unable to cope with

2016-666: Is 25%. Such 'exam access' arrangements are given for a range of disabilities and educational special needs such as dyslexia , dyspraxia and ADHD . In 2002, Jeremy Smith and Robin Naylor of the University of Warwick conducted a study into the determinants of degree performance at UK universities. Their study confirmed that the internationally recognised phenomenon whereby "children from more advantaged class backgrounds have higher levels of educational attainment than children from less-advantaged class backgrounds" persists at university level in

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2112-413: Is an essential part of boarding education, and many such schools have their own distinctive ethos, including social aspirations, manners and accents, associated with their own school traditions. Many former pupils aspire to send their own children to their old schools over successive generations. Most offer sporting, musical, dramatic and art facilities, sometimes with extra charges. Educational achievement

2208-572: Is for 2 to 7-year-olds. North Bridge House Preparatory School on Gloucester Avenue near Regent's Park is for 4 to 13-year-olds. North Bridge House also has two Senior School campuses: one in Hampstead for 11 to 16-year-olds, and one in Canonbury , Islington , for 11 to 18-year-olds. The Executive Headteacher of the North Bridge House School group is Brendan Pavey. Each of the six locations

2304-512: Is generally very good. Independent school pupils are four times more likely to attain an A* at GCSE than their non-selective state sector counterparts, and twice as likely to attain an A grade at A-level . A much higher proportion go to university. Some schools specialise in particular strengths, academic or other, although this is not as common as it is in the state sector . Independent schools can set their own discipline regime, with much greater freedom to exclude children, primarily exercised in

2400-618: Is led by a Head of School. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita group, founded in 2004. In 1939, North Bridge House School was set up as a junior and preparatory school in St John's Wood. By the 1950s, the school had moved to 8 Netherhall Gardens, Hampstead, which today houses the Pre-Prep (Junior) School. A reorganisation of the school during the 1960s resulted in the move of older Prep School students to two Nash houses near Regent's Park. Around

2496-528: The Assisted Places Scheme in England and Wales in 1980, whereby the state paid the school fees for those pupils capable of gaining a place but unable to afford the fees. This was essentially a response to the decision of the previous Labour government in the mid-1970s to remove government funding of direct grant grammar schools , most of which then became private schools; some Assisted Places pupils went to

2592-637: The Headmaster's Conference . The archetype of the direct grant grammar school, was the largest, The Manchester Grammar School , whose High Master from 1945 to 1962, Eric James (elevated to the peerage in 1959), was an outspoken advocate of the "meritocracy". In 1968 the school sent 77% of its boys on to university, a rate surpassed only by the independent Winchester College . Close behind were such schools as Bradford Grammar School , Leeds Grammar School , Haberdashers' Aske's School and Latymer Upper School . A large girls' school of similar academic attainment

2688-578: The High School of Dundee . In Scotland, it was common for children destined for private schools to receive their primary education at a local school. This arose because of Scotland's long tradition of state-funded education, which was spearheaded by the Church of Scotland from the seventeenth century, long before such education was common in England. Private prep schools only became more widespread in Scotland from

2784-534: The Sutton Trust study was that for students of a given level of A-level attainment it is almost twice as difficult to get a first at the most selective universities than at those on the other end of the scale. Private sector schools regularly dominate the top of the A-level league tables, and their students are more likely to apply to the most selective universities; as a result private sector students are particularly well represented at these institutions, and therefore only

2880-464: The United Kingdom . The authors noted "a very well-determined and monotonically positive effect defined over Social Classes I to V" whereby, for both men and women, other things being equal, academic performance at university is better the more advantaged is the student's home background". but they also observed that a student educated at a private school was on average 6 per cent less likely to receive

2976-677: The sixth form by a new infusion of high-performing sixth-form-only pupils, which may distort apparent results. On the other hand, pupils performing poorly cannot legally be excluded from a state school solely for poor performance. Private schools, as compared with maintained schools, generally have more individual teaching; much lower pupil-teacher ratios at around 9:1; longer teaching hours (sometimes including Saturday morning teaching) and homework (known as prep); though they have shorter terms. They also have more time for organised extra-curricular activities. As boarding schools are fully responsible for their pupils throughout term-time, pastoral care

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3072-481: The 18th and 19th centuries, and came to play an important role in the development of the Victorian social elite. Under a number of forward-looking headmasters leading public schools created a curriculum based heavily on classics and physical activity for boys and young men of the upper and upper middle classes. They were schools for the gentlemanly elite of Victorian politics, armed forces and colonial government. Much of

3168-496: The 19th century, few boys and very few girls in England and Wales received secondary education, which was typically available only from charity, endowed or private schools. During this time, secondary provision expanded and adjusted to growing demand. At the start of that century, some boarding schools like Eton College and Winchester College thrived educating the sons of the aristocracy, but most endowed grammar schools were in decline, their classical curricula seen as irrelevant to

3264-706: The Circular. Two Catholic girls' schools, St Anne's Convent School , Southampton and St Anthony's School , Sunderland, converted to a fully comprehensive intake, expanding to over 1000 pupils each. A few others proposed minor adjustments, but the vast majority were unchanged. In view of this lack of progress, the Public Schools Commission was asked in October 1967 to add direct grant schools to its investigation. The commission, now chaired by David Donnison, issued its second report in 1970, concluding that "Grammar schools of

3360-590: The Conservative Education Secretary, raised the level of grant, which had been lowered by the Labour government. Labour returned to power in 1974 and enacted the Direct Grant Grammar Schools (Cessation of Grant) Regulations 1975, which required schools to choose whether to become LEA-maintained comprehensive schools or independent schools without grant. Of the 174 remaining direct grant grammar schools, 51 (two Church of England and

3456-862: The Direct Grant Scheme, the Act also made provision for LEAs to fund places at independent schools in areas where there was a shortage of appropriate places in maintained schools. For example, there might be a lack of selective places, or of selective places in Roman Catholic schools. In the late 1960s, 56 independent schools had over 25% of their places funded by LEAs in this way, with seven of them over 75% LEA-funded. In 1966, when direct grant schools were at their height, they educated 3.1% of secondary pupils across England and Wales, while independent schools accounted for 7.1%. For A-level students, these proportions rose to 6.2% and 14.7% respectively. Before Culford School became coeducational in 1972, all but 2 of

3552-788: The Hampstead Senior School. In the same year, the North Bridge House Senior School in Canonbury was set up. It is in a 500-year-old Grade II-listed building next to Canonbury Tower in Islington. North Bridge House School, operated by Cognita, is a mixed-ability, co-educational school. In 2018, the Canonbury school achieved 70% 7-9 grades at GCSE, and 29% A-A* at A Level, and the Hampstead Senior School achieved 56% 7–9 at GCSE. North Bridge House includes Nursery, Pre-Prep, Prep, Senior and Sixth Form. Private schools in

3648-790: The High Court to bring a judicial review of the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance as it affected the private education sector. This was heard by the Upper Tribunal at the same time as a reference by the Attorney General asking the Tribunal to consider how the public benefit requirement should operate in relation to fee-charging charitable schools. The Upper Tribunal's decision, published on 14 October 2011, concluded that in all cases there must be more than de minimis or token benefit for

3744-718: The Secret Shame". In 2022, he co-wrote (with Caitlin Smith) and presented a BBC Radio 4 series, In Dark Corners , about abuse and cover-up at some of Britain's elite schools, including Eton College , Fettes College , Gordonstoun and its junior school. An investigation into official exam data by the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, in 2017, showed that 20% of private school pupils were given extra time for their GCSE and A level exams, as compared with fewer than 12% of pupils in public sector schools. The most commonly given amount of extra exam time

3840-469: The UK educating some 628,000 children, comprising over 6.5 per cent of UK children, and more than 18 per cent of pupils over the age of 16. In England the schools account for a slightly higher percentage than in the UK as a whole. According to a 2010 study by Ryan & Sibetia, "the proportion of pupils attending independent schools in England is currently 7.2 per cent (considering full-time pupils only)". Most of

3936-470: The UK, which educate around 615,000 children, some 7 per cent of all British school-age children and 18 per cent of pupils over the age of 16. In addition to charging tuition fees, they may also benefit from gifts, charitable endowments and charitable status . Some of these schools (1,300) are members of the Independent Schools Council . In 2021, the average annual cost for private schooling

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4032-546: The United Kingdom Private schools in the United Kingdom (also called independent schools ) are schools that require fees for admission and enrollment. Some have financial endowments , most are governed by a board of governors, and are owned by a mixture of corporations, trusts and private individuals. They are independent of many of the regulations and conditions that apply to state-funded schools . For example,

4128-641: The age of 11, and the loss to the economy of the "submerged three-quarters" in secondary modern schools . Experiments with comprehensive schools spread from Anglesey to the Midlands and Yorkshire . In 1964, a Labour government was elected promising "to reorganise the State secondary schools on comprehensive lines". In the following year, the Department of Education and Science distributed Circular 10/65 , requesting that Local Education Authorities prepare plans for such

4224-653: The average proportion was 86%. They also tended to be more socially mixed, with 37% of their pupils from managerial and professional homes and 16% children of semi-skilled or unskilled workers. These schools were thus similar to the LEA-maintained Roman Catholic grammar schools, which they outnumbered. Lacking endowments and having lower fee income, they were less financially secure than other direct grant grammars. The fourth group were non-denominational local grammar schools, often with an intake more able on average than in maintained grammar schools, but covering

4320-454: The better degrees than state students of the same gender and class background having the same A-level score. In 2011, a subsequent study led by Richard Partington at Cambridge University showed that A-level performance is "overwhelmingly" the best predictor for exam performance in the earlier years ("Part I") of the undergraduate degree at Cambridge. Partington's summary specified that "questions of school background and gender" ... "make only

4416-458: The charitable foundation for a few students could profitably be extended to further paying pupils. Some schools still keep their foundation students in a separate house from other pupils, or distinguish them in other ways. After a time, such fees eclipsed the original charitable income, and the original endowment would become a minor part of the school's finances. By 2022 senior boarding schools were charging fees of over £40,000 per annum. Most of

4512-552: The church and were under its complete dominion. During the late 14th and early 15th centuries the first schools independent of the church were founded. Winchester (1382) and Oswestry (1407) were the first of their kind (although they had a strong Christian religious ethos) and such early "free grammar schools" founded by wealthy benefactors paved the way for the establishment of the modern " public school ". These were typically established for male students from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds. English law has always regarded education as

4608-514: The continuing charitable status of private schools, which means they are not charged business rates by local councils, amongst other benefits. This is estimated to save the schools about £200 per pupil and to cost the Exchequer about £100 million in tax breaks, assuming that an increase in fees would not result in any transfer of pupils from private to maintained sector. Since the Charities Act

4704-617: The costs of the reorganisation required by the 1944 Act, had been offered the status of voluntary controlled or voluntary aided schools , under which the state would pay all their running costs and all or most of their capital costs. They were thus integrated into the state system. The new direct grant scheme was a modification of proposals in the Fleming Report of 1944. A direct grant grammar school would provide 25% of its places free of charge to children who had spent at least 2 years in maintained primary schools, and would reserve at least

4800-462: The degree results of all students who graduated in 2013/14, suggested that 82 per cent of state school pupils got firsts or upper seconds compared with 73 per cent of those from private schools. Later, HEFCE admitted that it had made a transposition error, and that in fact, 73 per cent of state school graduates gained a first or upper second class degree compared with 82 per cent of private school graduates. This admission attracted far less publicity than

4896-419: The discipline was in the hands of senior pupils (usually known as prefects ); this was not just a way to reduce staffing costs, but was also seen as vital preparation for the senior pupils' later roles in public or military service. More recently heads of public schools have been emphasising that senior pupils now play a much reduced role in maintaining discipline. To an extent, the public school system influenced

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4992-622: The early 1960s, as well as a hangover from centuries ago when only Latin and Greek were taught at many public schools. It was Martin Wiener 's opposition to this tendency which inspired his 1981 book English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit: 1850–1980 , which became an influence on the Thatcher government's opposition to old-school gentlemanly Toryism . The curriculum in private school

5088-440: The first of these emphasised team spirit and " muscular Christianity " and the latter the importance of scholarship and competitive examinations. Edward Thring of Uppingham School introduced major reforms, focusing on the importance of the individual and of competition, as well as the need for a "total curriculum" with academia, music, sport and drama being central to education. Most public schools developed significantly during

5184-417: The former direct-grant schools such as Manchester Grammar School . The scheme was terminated by the Labour government in 1997, and since then the private sector has moved to increase its own means-tested bursaries. The former classics-based curriculum was also criticised for not providing skills in sciences or engineering, but was perhaps in response to the requirement of classics for entry to Oxbridge until

5280-498: The independent schools reached 7.5 per cent by 1991. The changes since 1990 have been less dramatic: the share fell to 6.9 per cent by 1996 before increasing very slightly after 2000 to reach 7.2 per cent in 2012. By 2015, the figure fell back to 6.9 per cent, with the absolute number of pupils attending independent schools falling everywhere in England apart from in the South East . In 2011 there were more than 2,500 private schools in

5376-569: The independent schools today are still registered as a charity, and bursaries are available to students on a means test basis. Christ's Hospital in Horsham is an example: a large proportion of its students are funded by its charitable foundation or by various benefactors. The educational reforms of the 19th century were particularly important. Reformers included Thomas Arnold at Rugby , and then Samuel Butler and later Benjamin Kennedy at Shrewsbury ;

5472-674: The industrial age. These schools were reformed under the Endowed Schools Act 1869 , which also led to many endowments being diverted to the creation of girls' schools. In the meantime a range of other schools had appeared. After the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and mid-century Irish immigration, Catholic teaching orders from Ireland and mainland Europe began to establish their own grammar schools. New proprietary schools were established, initially as joint-stock companies , converting to charities if they were successful. One of

5568-731: The inspectorial bodies listed above are inspected through the national inspectorates in each country. Private schools in Scotland educate about 31,000 children. Although many of the Scottish private schools are members of the ISC they are also represented by the Scottish Council of Independent Schools , recognised by the Scottish Parliament as the body representing private schools in Scotland. Unlike England, all Scottish private schools are subject to

5664-579: The larger private schools are either full or partial boarding schools , although many have now become predominantly day schools . By contrast there are only a few dozen state boarding schools . Boarding-school traditions give a distinctive character to British private education, even in the case of day-pupils. A high proportion of private schools, particularly the larger and older institutions, have charitable status. The Independent Schools Council (ISC), through seven affiliated organisations, represents 1,300 schools that together educate over 80 per cent of

5760-466: The largest such companies was the Girls' Public Day School Company (later Trust), set up to provide an affordable academic education for girls, which had established 32 schools by 1894. In the latter part of the century, many of the less wealthy schools received annual grants from the Department of Science and Art and from their county councils. The grant system was restructured when the Board of Education

5856-483: The late 19th century (usually attached to an existing secondary private school, though exceptions such as Craigclowan Preparatory School and Cargilfield Preparatory School do exist), though they are still much less prevalent than in England. In modern times many secondary pupils in Scotland's private schools will have fed in from the school's own fee-paying primary school, therefore there is considerable competition facing pupils from state primary schools who seek to enter

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5952-404: The original erroneous assertion. Across all English universities, state school students who scored two Bs and a C at A-level did on average eight per cent better at degree level than their privately educated counterparts. Two Bs and a C represents an entry tariff of 112, well below the average demanded by any of the UK's Russell Group universities. Direct grant grammar school The status

6048-516: The other groups of schools. There was a great deal of variation between direct grant grammar schools. According to the Donnison Report (discussed in the next section), the schools were of four types, though the boundaries between them were not always clear-cut. Donnison called the first group "regional schools": large, highly academically selective day schools with large sixth forms, located near large cities, and mostly boys' schools belonging to

6144-593: The poor, but that trustees of a charitable private school should decide what was appropriate in their particular circumstances. The Charity Commission accordingly published revised public benefit guidance in 2013. In Scotland , under the Charities and Trustee Investment Act (Scotland), there is an entirely separate test of charitable status, overseen by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator , which assesses

6240-402: The principles of natural justice as adopted by the state sector, and private law as applied to Higher Education. This belief is reinforced by the fact that the legal rights of pupils are governed by a private contract, as opposed to rights implemented by the national government. For instance, a pupil seeking admission to a state school that is rejected is legally entitled to appeal, whereas at

6336-452: The professions. The third group, Roman Catholic schools, made up nearly a third of the direct grant schools (19 for boys and 37 for girls). They were predominantly day schools, though 10 of them took a small proportion of boarders. Their fees were about 15% lower than other direct grant grammars, and they tended to take a much higher proportion of LEA-funded pupils. In 1968, 40 of these schools took over 80% of their pupils from their LEAs;

6432-444: The proportion also varied greatly between schools. Direct grant schools had similar teacher/pupil ratios to the maintained grammar schools, as their fees were regulated to match costs at the latter schools. The proportion of teachers with first and second class degrees was slightly lower than in their maintained counterparts. The principal difference from the maintained schools was greater freedom from LEA influence. Although there

6528-456: The public benefit provided by each registered school charity. Journalist Alex Renton has written about abuse of pupils at boarding schools; The Guardian reported that he says that boarding school are "simply unsafe" and that "he has, he says, a database of more than 800 criminal allegations from former schoolchildren of 300 mainly private boarding schools". He presented an episode of the television programme Exposure , "Boarding Schools,

6624-566: The public schools and other secondary schools. In 2023, the Independent Schools Council reports that private schools contribute £16.5 billion to gross value added (GVA) in Britain. Some former grammar schools converted to a private fee-charging model following the 1965 Circular 10/65 and the subsequent cessation in 1975 of government funding support for direct grant grammar schools . There are around 2,600 independent schools in

6720-576: The pupils in the UK private sector . Those schools in England which are members of the affiliated organisations of the ISC are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate under a framework approved by the Government's Department for Education (DfE). Private schools not affiliated to the ISC in England are inspected by Ofsted . Private schools accredited to the ISC in Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland or others in England out with

6816-423: The rest Catholic) applied to join the state sector, of which 46 were accepted. These schools had become dependent on state funding, and the move to comprehensive education was also supported by the Roman Catholic hierarchy, often over the objections of those connected with the schools. One school, St. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent , was approved to join the state system, but became independent instead following

6912-486: The same regime of inspections by Education Scotland as local authority schools and they have to register with the Learning Directorate . The nine largest Scottish private schools, with 1,000 or more pupils, are George Watson's College , Hutcheson's Grammar School , Robert Gordon's College , George Heriot's School , St Aloysius' College , The Glasgow Academy , Dollar Academy , the High School of Glasgow and

7008-492: The same system of inspections as state-funded schools. Under the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act 1907 , secondary schools in receipt of grant were required to admit a specified proportion of their intake, usually 25%, free of charge from state elementary schools. Suitable pupils were selected using a scholarship examination. Circular 1381, a directive issued by the Board of Education in 1926, required that schools choose

7104-651: The same time, the nursery was opened in a Victorian villa on Fitzjohns Avenue. Later, in 1987, the whole Prep School was moved to a former convent in Gloucester Avenue, Primrose Hill, previously occupied by the Japanese School of London . At the same time, the Senior School was set up, taking pupils to the age of 16. In 2012, the Royal School, Hampstead , was merged with North Bridge House, its former location now

7200-414: The scheme, starting with Trinity School of John Whitgift , which became independent in 1968, but still had half its places funded by the LEA. It was followed in 1970 by Oakham School , which became co-educational in the following year, and Queen Victoria High School, which merged with The Cleveland School to form Teesside High School . A respite was provided in the early 1970s, when Margaret Thatcher ,

7296-513: The school systems of the British Empire , and recognisably public schools can be found in many Commonwealth countries. Until 1975 there had been a group of 179 academically selective schools drawing on both private and state funding, the direct grant grammar schools . The Direct Grant Grammar Schools (Cessation of Grant) Regulations 1975 required these schools to choose between full state funding as comprehensive schools and full independence. As

7392-472: The schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum for England , although many such schools do. Historically, the term private school referred to a school in private ownership, in contrast to an endowed school subject to a trust or of charitable status. Many of the older independent schools catering for the 13–18 age range in England and Wales are known as public schools , seven of which were

7488-564: The schools were single sex, with a slight majority of girls' schools. There were 56 Roman Catholic schools, 14 Church of England and 6 Methodist . Many of the schools were in the north of England, with 46 in the historic county of Lancashire (including Manchester) and 18 in the West Riding of Yorkshire , while there were only 7 in inner London and 4 in Wales. In 1961, an average of 59% of pupils at direct grant grammar schools were state-funded, but

7584-468: The schools' weak financial position during the Great Depression . The Depression and the falling birth rate in the pre-war years had also weakened independent schools and schools receiving the direct grant. At the same time, the state-funded sector had grown to the point where universal secondary education seemed achievable, and changes in society had made the idea more popular. Proposals were made for

7680-574: The spirit of the state system. Francis Green and David Kynaston have written that "among affluent countries, Britain’s private‑school participation is especially exclusive to the rich", and that the "existence in Britain of a flourishing private-school sector not only limits the life chances of those who attend state schools but also damages society at large". Many of the best-known public schools are extremely expensive, and many have entry criteria geared towards those who have been at private "feeder" preparatory schools . The Thatcher government introduced

7776-408: The study could not take into account the effect of a slightly different and more traditional subject mix studied by private students at university on university achievement. Despite these caveats, the paper attracted much press attention. The same study found wide variations between different independent schools, suggesting that students from a few of them were in fact significantly more likely to obtain

7872-539: The subject of the Public Schools Act 1868 . The term "public school" meant they were then open to pupils regardless of where they lived or their religion (while in the United States and most other English-speaking countries "public school" refers to a publicly funded state school ). Prep (preparatory) schools (also known as "private schools") educate younger children up to the age of 13 to prepare them for entry to

7968-467: The traditional kind cannot be combined with a comprehensive system of education: we must choose what we want. Fee-paying is not compatible with comprehensive education." They recommended that the schools choose between becoming voluntary aided comprehensives and full independence, but the Conservatives came to power before any action had been taken. Meanwhile, a trickle of schools had begun to leave

8064-529: The two groups. The stand-out finding of the study was that private school students achieved better in obtaining graduate jobs and study, even when student characteristics were allowed for (sex, ethnicity, school type, entry qualifications, area of study). In 2015, the UK press widely reported the outcome of research suggesting that school-leavers from state schools that attained similar A level grades go on to achieve higher undergraduate degree classes than their private school counterparts. The quoted figures, based on

8160-498: The very ablest of them are likely to secure the best degrees. In 2013, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) published a study noting, amongst other things, that a greater percentage of students who had attended a private school prior to university achieved a first or upper second class degree compared with students from state schools. Out of a starting cohort of 24,360 candidates having attended

8256-559: The wider interests of the school. In England and Wales there are no requirements for teaching staff to have Qualified Teacher Status or to be registered with the General Teaching Council. In Scotland a teaching qualification and registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) are mandatory for all teaching positions. Private schools are often criticised for being elitist, and seen as lying outside

8352-433: Was North London Collegiate School , which had been founded in 1850 by Frances Buss . These schools achieved university admission rates that rivalled the older public schools , which in turn moved to raise their academic standards for admission, and to increase their focus of academic achievement. With their high profile, such schools formed the popular image of a direct grant grammar school, but they accounted for only about

8448-603: Was attractive to most of the direct grant schools. Of the 231 secondary schools receiving direct grant in 1945, 196 applied to join the new scheme, with the rest becoming independent schools . In addition 31 grant-aided schools applied to join the scheme. Of these, 164 schools (including four formerly grant-aided schools) were accepted as direct grant grammar schools. The list was re-opened between 1957 and 1961, when 44 applications were received, of which 15 were accepted. There were therefore 179 direct grant grammar schools, alongside almost 1300 maintained grammar schools. Beside

8544-704: Was consequently 'modernised' and according to a 2010 report from the Department for Education, private school pupils had "the highest rates of achieving grades A or B in A-level maths and sciences" compared to grammar, specialist and mainstream state schools, and pupils at private schools account for a disproportionate number of the total number of A-levels in maths and sciences. Some parents complain that their rights and their children's are compromised by vague and one-sided contracts which allow Heads to use discretionary powers unfairly, such as in expulsion on non-disciplinary grounds. They believe private schools have not embraced

8640-484: Was created in 1901 to fund early secondary schools, and the Education Act 1902 gave counties and county boroughs responsibility for schools, designating them as local education authorities (LEAs). Secondary schools controlled by voluntary bodies could receive a grant from either the Board of Education or their local authority, or both. In return they were required to meet the Board's regulations, and were subject to

8736-592: Was introduced in England and Wales by the Education Act 1944 as a modification of an existing direct grant scheme to some long standing endowed grammar schools. There were 179 direct grant grammar schools, which, together with almost 1,300 grammar schools maintained by local authorities , formed the most academic tier of the Tripartite System . They varied greatly in size and composition, but, on average, achieved higher academic results than either maintained grammar schools or private schools . State secondary education

8832-662: Was much variation, these schools as a group were middle-class institutions, with many tending to move closer to the independent schools in social composition. On average, three-quarters of pupils came from white-collar homes, including 60% with fathers in management or the professions, while only 7% were children of semi-skilled or unskilled workers. On average, the intake of the schools was also more academically selective than either maintained grammar schools or independent schools. Their results were correspondingly high, with 60% of their pupils staying on to age 18 and 38% going on to university, significantly greater proportions than either of

8928-525: Was passed in November 2006, charitable status is based on an organisation providing a "public benefit", as judged by the Charity Commission . In 2008, the Charity Commission published guidance, including guidance on public benefit and fee charging, setting out issues to be considered by charities charging high fees that many people could not afford. The Independent Schools Council was granted permission by

9024-792: Was phased out as the remaining state-funded pupils left. This coincided with the mid-1970s recession , a difficult time for independent schools but doubly so for the former direct grant schools, which had just lost 25–50% of their intake. Many local boys' schools became coeducational to replace the lost places. An echo of the direct grant, the Assisted Places scheme, was introduced by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1981, lasting until 1997. Approximately two-thirds of these places were held at former direct grant grammar schools. The independent sector soon recovered, and prospered without competition from state grammar schools. From 1993

9120-462: Was reorganised on comprehensive lines in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The direct grant was phased out from 1975 and the schools were required to choose between becoming maintained comprehensive schools or fully independent schools. Forty-five schools, almost all Roman Catholic , joined the state system, while a few closed. The rest (including all the secular schools) became independent and mostly remain as highly selective independent schools. In

9216-616: Was £15,191 for day schools and £36,000 for boarding schools . The Independent Schools Yearbook has been published annually since 1986. This was a name change of a publication that started in 1889 as The Public Schools Yearbook . Some independent schools are particularly old, such as The King's School, Canterbury (founded 597), The King's School, Rochester (founded 604), St Peter's School, York (founded c. 627), Sherborne School (founded 705), Wells Cathedral School (founded 909), Warwick School (c. 914), King's Ely (c. 970) and St Albans School (948). These schools were founded by

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