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Boarding Schools & Public Schools in the UK

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Boarding Schools & Public Schools in the UK

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In the UK 93% of the children in England and Wales go to "state schools". State schools are non fee-paying, funded from taxes and most are organized by Local Authorities (LA).

Parents are expected to make sure that their child has a pen, pencil, ruler etc. but the cost of other more specialized equipment, books, examination fees are covered by the school.

Parents are, however, expected to pay for their child's school uniform and items of sportswear. Charges may also be made for music lessons and for board and lodgings on residential trips. Schools may ask for voluntary contributions for school time activities - but no pupil may be left out of an activity if their parents or guardian cannot or do not contribute.

Stage 1 - Primary schools (5 - 11-year-olds)

In the UK, the first level of education is known as primary education. These are almost always mixed-sex, and usually located close to the child's home. Children tend to be with the same group throughout the day, and one teacher has responsibility for most of the work they do.

Parents are strongly encouraged to help their children, particularly with reading and writing, and small amounts of homework are set to all children, even during the early years at school.

Stage 2 - Secondary schools (11 - 16-year-olds)

Most children transfer at the age of 11 - usually to their nearest secondary school, though the law allows parents in England and Wales to express preferences for other schools too. A place has to be offered at the parents' preferred school unless the school has more applicants than places; in that case, it will admit the children who have the highest priority under its published admission arrangements which can vary a little in different places. Most secondary schools cater to both sexes. They tend to be much larger than primary schools.

Comprehensive schools: Nearly 88% of secondary school pupils in England go to comprehensive schools, as do all pupils in Wales. These take children of all abilities and provide a wide range of secondary education for all or most of the children in a district from 11 to 16 or 18.

Grammar Schoolsare selective, they offer academically oriented general education. Entrance is based on a test of ability, usually at 11. Grammar schools are single sexed schools i.e. children either go to a Boys Grammar School or a Girls Grammar School. There are grammar schools in Northern Ireland and some parts of England.

Independent Schools

Independent Schools 7% of the children in England go to independent schools. Independent schools are known as private schools and public schools. Parents pay for their children to attend these schools. The most famous public schools are Eton, Harrow and Winchester.

Prep Schools: A preparatory school is a school to prepare pupils to go to a public school.

Public/Private Schools: A public school is an independent secondary school. Public schools in England are not run by the government. The entrance exams used by most public schools are known as Common Entrance exams and are taken at the age of 11 (girls) or 13 (boys).

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The British Education System, its Levels and Equivalency - Study in the UK with UNI Britannica

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In the UK 93% of the children in England and Wales go to "state schools". State schools are non fee-paying, funded from taxes and most are organized by Local Authorities (LA). Parents are expected to make sure that their child has a pen, pencil, ruler etc.

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By Rebecca Wearn & Rob England
BBC News

It's the time of year when many parents are buying their children's school uniform, which some say can cost more than £200. What can they do to make it cheaper?

The cost of school uniform

Research by market analysts Mintel suggests British parents spend about £1.2bn on clothing and equipment for school.

The Department for Education (DfE) asked 1,183 parents about uniform costs in 2015 and found it came to almost £213 per child. Adjusting its figures for inflation, it would make the average cost of uniform in 2019 almost £230 per pupil.

Cost of school uniform

What parents recalled spending

Source: DfE survey of 1,183 parents in 2015, figures adjusted for inflation

Adding in PE kit, the parents surveyed spent the equivalent to £70 more for primary school children and between £111 and £140 extra for those of secondary school age.

The results were based on parents' memories of how much they had spent during the school year.

Separate estimates from The Children's Society in 2018 put the total cost of uniform at £256 per primary school child and £338 per secondary school pupil.

How to cut the cost: Online swaps

One way of cutting the cost is to swap uniform with other parents. Thousands of people are members of social media groups that do this.

Yvonne Hall, 38, from Stockton-on-Tees, set up a Facebook group for parents to donate used school uniforms.

Her 16-year-old son changed schools in the first term of last year and Mrs Hall said she found herself with "another hefty uniform bill" of about £100 on top of the cost of the old uniform.

"I decided to donate the brand new uniform my son had only worn for a week on Facebook and it was snapped up instantly," she said.

The page now has parents sharing uniforms, PE kits and revision guides.

A sample of 100 Facebook groups set up in Britain and containing the words "school uniform" and "swap" or "free" showed they had 34,110 members between them, an average of more than 340 each.

Does it have to be a new uniform?

Kate France wants to challenge what she calls the UK's culture of "always buying new" school uniforms.

She set up the charity Uniform Exchange in Huddersfield in 2011 to help families who were struggling with the cost of basics items, but now says the project is also about reducing waste.

"If anything has got life left in it then we should be recycling," she said. "By the time my kids get home in the evening, their uniform is covered in pen or mud.

"Any school uniform will look second hand by the end of the first week."

What help is available?

Some councils or schools offer financial support.

In England schools can use the funding they get from the DfE's pupil premium - money allocated for children from poorer backgrounds, or who are or have been looked after under local authority care.

Hackney Council spent £72,300 on school uniform grants in 2018-19. Manchester City Council spent £208,529 on school uniform grants in 2014-15 but stopped offering them the following year.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said funding cuts from central government had resulted in councils finding it "increasingly difficult" to provide grants for school uniforms.

In Scotland families can apply for a £100 grant in the same way they apply for free school meals.

From September families in Wales can apply for a £125 Pupil Development Grant, which comes alongside advice to schools to have gender neutral uniforms and minimal branding.

In Northern Ireland funding varies from £35.75 to £56 depending on the age of the child.

Is uniform cheaper in the supermarket?

The BBC compared school clothing on the websites of four large UK supermarkets and found the average prices were about £58 less for a primary school uniform and £118 less for a secondary school uniform than in the government's survey of parents.

The saving is likely to be higher as the analysis is based only on buying one of each item, excluding any spares parents would typically purchase.

It also depends on whether schools would permit parents to use supermarket uniform or whether they have to have items with the school's logo.

What do suppliers say?

Suppliers of school uniforms said their costs were lower than the estimates in the government's survey.

A spokeswoman for Price and Buckland said uniforms should be affordable for everyone, adding: "We work with some schools that offer pupil premium and offer vouchers to parents to support them with purchasing uniform."

Michael Franklin from National School Uniforms said supermarket clothing, while cheaper, was generally "far inferior to the norm", with bespoke items lasting "three times as long".

Carolyn Budding from YourSchoolUniform.com said schools should take out contracts with single suppliers, who could "offer more competitive prices".

"This is contrary to government advice to schools to offer a choice of suppliers," she said.

What is the government doing?

Emma Hardy, Labour MP for West Hull and Hessle and a former primary school teacher, said schools needed to "poverty proof" their uniform policies and remove the need for clothing with school branding so they could be bought "from any shop".

"I think if you can make uniform more accessible parents can make it just as smart as if it's been bought from a specific school retailer," she said.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "Our guidance states that schools should prioritise cost when setting uniform policies, including making sure uniforms are easily available at different outlets, and keeping compulsory branded items to a minimum.

"We have been clear that when there is a suitable time in Parliament, we intend to make this guidance statutory."

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School uniform: Can it be bought more cheaply?

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By Rebecca Wearn & Rob England BBC News It's the time of year when many parents are buying their children's school uniform, which some say can cost more than £200. What can they do to make it cheaper? The cost of school uniform Research by market analysts Mintel suggests British parents spend about £1.2bn on clothing and equipment for school.

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"My Harry Potter Years"
by Carolyn MacLean

When I was a child, I went to a private, girls boarding school in England.

My two years in boarding school shaped me. I was the only American child in the preparatory division of a Church of England school, Truro High School for Girls, in Cornwall, England.

It was very different from my home and school in Los Angeles.

The school was cold and dark, built of granite, with narrow windy staircases of creaky, well-worn wooden steps.

Besides standard classes, we studied French, Latin, English, History, and Divinity.

Gym was field hockey on the cold, sometimes snowy, hockey pitch behind the school, where we also picked wildflowers from the meadow for our botany reports.

I remember one teacher in particular, as our teacher entered the classroom we ________ stood to greet her with a chorus of "Good morning, Ms. Dunstead." She would return our greeting, "Good morning, girls. You may sit down."

She was Australian, and taught us words such as kookaburra and corroborate, because they had Australian origins.

The boarding house was behind the school. We slept in drafty dorms of ten girls each.

The women who worked in the kitchen were fascinating to me. They spoke an odd dialect called Cornish. It, it was pirate speak. It was very rough and guttural. For example, they would say, "Aarrgh. Good morning to ya."

Everyday we wore drab brown uniforms; brown oxford shoes, brown socks, brown skirt, brown blazer, a cream-colored shirt with a yellow and brown striped tie, and a funny little brown felt cap that looked like an upside-down soup bowl.

I learned a lot of lessons in boarding school. I learned to be self-reliant, adaptable, and discreet.

The Harry Potter magic of my years in this classic English boarding school was in the shaping of my personality as I learned to fit in as a foreigner in a very different English-speaking land.

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My Harry Potter Years by Carolyn MacLean | ESL Video

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"My Harry Potter Years" by Carolyn MacLean When I was a child, I went to a private, girls boarding school in England. My two years in boarding school shaped me. I was the only American child in the preparatory division of a Church of England school, Truro High School for Girls, in Cornwall, England.