No article about private schools in Britain would be complete without mentioning the most exclusive private school in England and Wales. Confusingly, most of these schools are called public schools, which are very expensive and tend to require students to live there full-time. Public schools are often perceived as more expensive than private ones, with some well-known examples such as Oxford University, the Royal College of Art and the London School of Economics and Management. [Sources: 8, 9, 14]
Private schools, also known as independent schools in the UK, are funded by the government or, alternatively, charge a fee. These are fees – fees for schools that do not receive government funding and are not public schools that are subject to the same rules as public schools. [Sources: 16, 18]
The terms are often used interchangeably, but private schools are those that are not state-funded and are paid for by parents through school fees. An independent school is overseen by a board of governors or trustees, while other private school owners can operate their schools without a governing body. Independent schools may be run and managed by their own board, trustees or board members, or may behave themselves. [Sources: 4]
In addition to public schools, both private and free schools will be included in the list of schools that pay fees, as well as the total number of fees paid by the school. If a school is a state-funded state school, it is an independent school and is open to all students, and if it is a private school, it must be an independent school. [Sources: 0, 14]
Private schools exist throughout the UK, but they are more widespread in England, the focus of this paper. Private schools, called public schools, are the oldest and most exclusive, and this is what we will look at in this article. As we have discussed in previous articles on English schools and in our previous article on private schools in the UK, a public school is a private school, not a state school. [Sources: 3, 6]
Private schools are not state-funded and therefore do not have to follow the UK national curriculum. Independent schools in the UK are not forced to adhere to a national curriculum, but they can choose what is important in real – post-global – education. [Sources: 9, 12]
More than 20,000 international pupils in Britain attend private schools, a fact most private schools are keen to stress. Private schools are successful in preparing their pupils for public exams and university entrance. Academic learning and exam results are not all that is needed for high-quality education; there are actually more offers in private schools. There are over 1.5 million pupils in public schools, which provide secondary education for 7% of the children living there. [Sources: 9, 12, 17]
Private schools generally offer the same kind of education as grammar schools, but there are some exceptions, such as Eton and Gordonstoun, as well as private schools in London. But in many private schools, schools like Ascot are the exception rather than the rule, and Gordon Stoun is an exception. [Sources: 7, 11, 13]
Confusingly, private schools are also known as public schools, but this confuses some. Private schools can opt instead for IB or Cambridge pre-U degrees, which can be the same level of education as their public schools. The academic results of private school students are similar to those of those who attend most state comprehensive schools. Some of them are likely to graduate with a bachelor’s or higher degree, while others are in higher education. [Sources: 5, 9, 14]
However, most private schools will prepare their pupils fully for the public exams that other pupils take in the UK and internationally. The joint entrance examination is usually taken at the child’s current school, but internal examinations and school reports are mainly used to offer places to pupils in secondary schools. During the day, you can go to boarding schools without taking an exam, but if you pass the entrance exam in English and mathematics well, you have to go to a top boarding school. You are also in a recognised examination centre and usually take the Common Entrance exam, usually at your child’s “current” school, as well as a number of other tests. [Sources: 3, 9, 10, 15]
There is therefore considerable competition between state primary schools which are seeking entry to private schools in the secondary level of entrance examination. Sullivan and Heath, for example, compared the test results of selective state schools with those of private school entrance exams in the UK. They found there was therefore a significant difference between private and state entrance exams in England and Wales. The study suggests that this can be explained by a combination of factors, such as feeding into a fee – paying primary school – and embedding it in exams and results of selective state schools. [Sources: 2, 13]
For pupils who have not grown up in the British school system or applied from abroad, the competition seems overwhelming. Some schools set their own tests, but many use national tests set by the Department of Education or the National Council for Education Research and Assessment (NCEA) and other government agencies. [Sources: 1]
Sources:
[0]: https://www.hmc.org.uk/about-hmc/projects/the-british-education-system/
[1]: https://www.relocatemagazine.com/articles/education-schools-int-guide-choosing-applying-school-entrance-exams-understanding-the-process
[2]: https://humanrights.brightblue.org.uk/blog-1/2016/6/3/why-do-private-schools-achieve-better-exam-results
[3]: https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/best-private-schools-admission/
[4]: https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/choosing-a-school/independent-schools/uk-independent-schools-explained
[5]: https://www.capenet.org/facts.html
[6]: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2019.1669551
[7]: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/11/britain-labour-party-plans-abolish-private-schools/600412/
[8]: https://whichschooladvisor.com/hong-kong/guides/relocating-to-the-uk-with-children-a-guide
[9]: https://www.expatbriefing.com/country/united-kingdom/education/private-schools-for-expats-in-the-united-kingdom.html
[10]: https://www.teacherstoyourhome.co.uk/articles/independent-school-entrance-exams-a-guide-for-parents-2019
[11]: https://www.learnenglish.de/culture/educationculture.html
[12]: https://www.justlanded.com/english/United-Kingdom/UK-Guide/Education/UK-private-and-international-schools
[13]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(United_Kingdom)
[14]: https://www.britishcouncil.hk/en/stateschools_priavteschools
[15]: https://www.unipage.net/en/secondary_education_uk
[16]: https://www.internations.org/go/moving-to-the-uk/education
[17]: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/13/public-schools-david-kynaston-francis-green-engines-of-privilege
[18]: https://www.simplylearningtuition.co.uk/advice-for-parents/state-vs-private-school/