Public school

The term public school has different (and in some cases contradictory) meanings due to regional differences.

• In Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and most other English-speaking nations, a public school is a school which is financed and run by the government and does not charge tuition fees. This is in contrast to a private school (also known as an "independent school"). Here the word "public" is used in the sense of "public library", provided to the public at public expense. In Australia and Scotland, public schools are also known as state schools, the name by which they go in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
• In England and Wales, as well as in Northern Ireland, "public school" refers only to certain independent secondary schools, notably the nine prestigious schools regulated by the Public Schools Act 1868: Charterhouse, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Westminster, Winchester, Merchant Taylors' and St. Paul's; although the term is sometimes used of over 200 schools whose headmasters are members of the Headmasters Conference, the majority of whom are boarding schools. Entry to the top public schools, normally at age 12 by the Common Entrance examination, remains fiercely competitive, whereas other independent schools can be less selective. Until 1902 there were no publicly supported secondary schools in England and private schools were run for private profit, but these are now rare since charitable educational trusts enjoy tax advantages. Public schools were and are supported by a governing body and charitable endowments, some of great antiquity. The earliest known reference to a "public school" dates from 1364 when the Bishop of Winchester wrote concerning "the public school" at Kingston, which was then part of the diocese of Winchester. Most, however, date from the nineteenth century, and were in principle available to all members of the public who could pay the tuition fees, the term "public" being used to distinguish the schools from private education by tutors provided at home for the children of the rich. In practice nowadays, the tuition and boarding fees of public schools are also unaffordable by most parents, although scholarships and bursaries are awarded to the best candidates, and these schools may be intellectually or socially exclusive, having complete discretion to admit or reject candidates. The endowments may support magnificent and sometimes historic premises and facilities, rather than just subsidising fees or running costs. Such exclusive public schools incur political controversy and unpopularity in some quarters, and in recent years many public schools now refer to themselves as independent schools, but the national press and common usage still use the term "public school" when referring to all sorts of independent secondary schools.
• In India, due to the British influence between 1700–1947, the term "public schools" implies non-governmental, historically elite educational institutions.
• In Sri Lanka, due to the British influence between, the term "public schools" implies historically elite educational institutions modelled on English public schools..
• In the United States, institutions of higher education that are subsidized by U.S. states are also referred to as "public". Unlike public secondary schools, public universities charge for tuition.
• In some countries like Brazil and Mexico, the adjective "public" is used to denote education institutions owned by the federal, state, or city governments. They never charge tuition. Public schools exist in all levels of education, from the very beginning until post-graduation studies.

See also

• Boarding school.
• Charter school
• Free school
• Independent school
• Independent school (UK)
• Magnet school
• Parochial school
• Preparatory school
• Private school
• Public education
• Public university
• Separate school