An independent school in the United Kingdom is a school that is not financed by taxpayers or through the taxation system by local or national government, and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so not subject to the conditions of "maintained status" imposed by accepting state financing.

In England and Wales but not Scotland, some well-established independent schools, especially boys' boarding schools, are often referred to as "public schools", derived from the few schools reformed by the Public Schools Acts, but the term is also used for independent schools that are normally members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

There are now more than 2,500 independent schools in the UK, educating some 615,000 children,[1] or some 7% of children throughout the country.[2]

Most of the larger independent schools are either full or partial boarding schools, although many are now predominantly day schools; by contrast there are only a few dozen state boarding schools. Boarding-school traditions generally give a distinctive character to most UK independent education, even in the case of day-pupils.

Most independent schools, particularly the larger and older institutions, have charitable status. It is claimed by the Independent Schools Council that UK independent schools receive approximately £100m tax relief due to charitable status whilst returning £300m of fee assistance in public benefit and relieving the maintained sector (state schools) of £2bn of costs.[3] The Charity Commission is currently formulating tests of public benefit for charitable schools as required by the Charities Act 2006.

Inspection of independent schools in England

The Independent Schools Council (ISC), through seven affiliated organisations, represents 1,289 schools that together educate over 80 per cent of the pupils in the UK independent 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 agreed between ISC, the Government's Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Independent Schools not affiliated to the ISC in England and Independent schools accredited to the ISC in Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland are inspected through the national inspectorates in each country.[4]

Independent schools in Scotland

Independent schools in Scotland educate about 31,000 children. Although many of the Scottish independent 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 independent schools in Scotland. Unlike England, all Scottish independent schools are subject to the same regime of inspections by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education as local authority schools and they have to register with the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate.[5][6]

The large independent schools in Scotland include St Aloysius' College, Hutchesons' Grammar School, Loretto School, Dollar Academy, Strathallan School, Glenalmond College, Merchiston Castle School, Robert Gordon's College, George Watson's College, Gordonstoun and Fettes College.

Historically, in Scotland, it was common for children destined for independent schools (usually sons of the upper classes) to receive their primary education at a local school. This arose because of Scotland's long tradition of public education, which was spearheaded by the Church of Scotland from the seventeenth century, long before such education was common in England. Independent prep schools only became more widespread in Scotland from the late 19th century (usually attached to an existing secondary independent school, though exceptions such as Craigclowan Preparatory School and Cargilfield Preparatory School do exist), though they are still much less prevalent than in England. They are, however, currently gaining in numbers.^{[citation needed]}

Selection and conditions

Independent schools are free to select their pupils, subject only to the general legislation against discrimination. The principal forms of selection are financial^[specify] and academic^[specify], although credit may be given for musical, sporting or other promise. Some schools are more or less formally confined to a particular religion, or may require all pupils to attend services regardless of their personal religion. Nowadays most schools pay little regard to family connections, apart from siblings currently at the school.

Only a small minority of parents can afford school fees averaging over £23,000 per annum for boarding pupils and £11,000 for day pupils, with unpredictable extra costs for uniform, equipment and extra-curricular facilities.[7][8] Some parents make immense sacrifices to send their children to these schools. Scholarships and Means-tested bursaries to assist the education of the less well-off are usually awarded^{[citation needed]} by a process which combines academic and other criteria.

Independent schools must be highly competitive, or parents would not choose to pay dearly for education which is available from state schools free of charge. An important criterion for parents is likely to be their children's likely exam success, often assessed by annual league tables of schools' university, A-level and GCSE results. Thus independent schools are generally academically selective, using the competitive Common Entrance Examination at ages 11–13. Schools often offer scholarships to attract abler pupils, so as to improve their average results; the standard sometimes approaches the GCSE intended for age 16. Poorly performing pupils may be required to leave, and following GCSE results can be replaced in the sixth form by a new tranche of high-performing pupils, which may distort apparent results.[9]

Independent schools, as compared with maintained schools, are generally characterised by more individual teaching; much better pupil-teacher ratios at around 9:1;[10] longer teaching hours (sometimes including Saturday morning teaching) and homework, though shorter terms; more time for organised sports and extra-curricular activities; more emphasis on traditional academic subjects such as maths, classics and modern languages; an a broader education than that prescribed by the national curriculum, to which state school education is in practice limited. As boarding schools are fully responsible for their pupils throughout term-time, pastoral care is an essential part of independent education, and many independent schools teach their own distinctive ethos, including social aspirations, manners and accents, associated with their own school traditions. Many pupils aspire to send their own children to their old schools in their historical buildings, over successive generations. Most offer sporting, musical, dramatic and art facilities, sometimes at extra charges, although often with the benefit of generations of past investment.

Educational achievement 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; however studies have shown a deterioration in the performance of independent school students at university, compared to state educated students who may have learned to overcome disadvantages.[11] Some schools specialise in particular strengths, whether academic, vocational or artistic, although this is not as common as it is in the State sector.

Independent schools are able to set their own discipline regime, with much greater freedom to exclude children, primarily exercised in the wider interests of the school: the most usual causes being drug-taking, whether at school or away, or an open rejection of the school's values, such as dishonesty or violence.

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) is mandatory for all teaching positions.

Preparatory schools

In England and Wales a preparatory school, or prep school in current usage, is an independent school designed to prepare a pupil for fee-paying, secondary independent school. The age range is normally eight to eleven or thirteen, although it may include younger pupils as well. An independent school which only caters for under eights is a "pre-prep" and the junior departments of prep schools which cover the first years of schooling are also called "pre-preps".[12][13]

The Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS) is the prep schools heads association serving the top 500+ independent prep schools in the UK and Worldwide. IAPS is one of seven affiliated associations of the Independent Schools Council.[12]

There are 130,000 pupils in over 500 schools of all types and sizes. Prep schools may be for boys or girls only, or may be co-educational. They may be day schools, boarding schools, weekly boarding, flexi-boarding, or a combination. They fall into the following general categories:[12][13]

• Wholly independent prep schools, both charitable and proprietary
• Junior schools linked to senior schools
• Choir schools, which educate child choristers of cathedrals and some other large religious institutions; they all accept non-chorister pupils with the exception of Westminster Abbey Choir School; these schools are usually affiliated to Anglican churches, but may occasionally be associated with Catholic ones such as Westminster Cathedral
• Schools offering special educational provision or facilities
• Schools with particular religious affiliations

Origins of independent schools

Some public schools are particularly old, such as The King's School, Canterbury (founded c.600), Sherborne School (founded c.710, refounded 1550 by Edward VI), Warwick School (c.914), The King's School, Ely (c.970), St Albans (948) Bedford School (granted Letters Patent by Edward VI in 1552, though the original school is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1085) Westminster School (1179 if not before), High School of Dundee (1239), Stamford School (re-endowed in 1532, but in existence as far back as 1309), Bablake School (1344), Winchester College (1382), Durham School (1414, possibly older) and Eton College (1440). Winchester College has maintained possibly the longest unbroken history of any school in England. These were often established for male scholars from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds; however, English law has always regarded education as a charitable end in itself, irrespective of poverty. For instance, the Queen's Scholarships founded at Westminster in 1560, are for "the sons of decay'd gentlemen".

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; and also facilities already provided by the charitable foundation for a few scholars could profitably be extended to further paying pupils. (Some schools still keep their foundation scholars in a separate house from other pupils.) After a time, such fees would eclipse the original charitable income, and the original endowment would naturally become a minor part of the capital benefactions enjoyed by the school. In 2009, senior boarding schools were changing fees of between £16,000 and nearly £30,000 per annum.[7]

The educational reforms of the 19th century were particularly important under first Thomas Arnold at Rugby, and then Butler and later Kennedy at Shrewsbury, the former emphasising team spirit and muscular Christianity and the latter the importance of scholarship and competitive examinations. Most public schools developed significantly during 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. Often successful businessmen would send their sons to a public school as a mark of participation in the elite. Much of the discipline was in the hands of senior pupils (usually known as prefects), which was not just a means to reduce staffing costs, but was also seen as vital preparation for those pupils' later rôles in public or military service. More recently heads of public schools have been emphasising that senior pupils now play a much reduced role in disciplining.

To an extent, the public school system influenced the school systems of the British empire, and recognisably "public" schools can be found in many Commonwealth countries.

Associations with the ruling class