Public school (UK)

   

A public school, in common British usage, is a prestigious school which charges fees and is not financed by the state. It is traditionally a single sex boarding school (although many now accept day pupils and are coeducational). The majority date back to the 18th or 19th centuries, and several are over 400 years old.

The British usage is in direct opposition to what any foreign English speaker would expect. For the US usage of the term, see public school.

The term 'public' (first adopted by Eton College) refers to the fact that the school is open to the paying public, as opposed to a religious school, which was open only to members of a certain church. It also distinguished it from a private education at home (usually only practical for the very wealthy who could afford tutors).

Some public schools are particularly old, such as Westminster (founded 1179), Winchester (1382), Eton (1440), Rugby (1567), Harrow (1572) and Charterhouse (1611). These were often established for male scholars from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds.

Most public schools, however, developed 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 public school as a mark of participation in the elite. Much of the discipline was in the hands of senior pupils (in some schools, known as prefects), which was not just a means to reduce staffing costs, but was also seen as preparation for military or public service.

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.

Prior to the Clarendon Commission, a Royal Commission that investigated the public school system in England between 1861 and 1864, there was no clear definition of a public school. The commission investigated nine of the more established schools: the day schools (Merchant Taylors' and St Paul's) and seven boarding schools (Charterhouse, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Westminster and Winchester). A report published by the commission formed the basis of the Public Schools Act 1868.

The Public Schools Yearbook, published in 1889, named the following 25 boarding schools:

However, it omitted the Merchant Taylors' and St Paul's day schools.

While under the best circumstances these schools were superb examples of education, the reliance on corporal punishment and the prefect system could also make them a cruel and hostile environment. The classics-based curriculum was also criticised for not providing skills in sciences or engineering.

It was Martin Wiener's opposition to this tendency which inspired his 1981 polemic "English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit: 1850-1980". It became a huge influence on the Thatcher government's opposition to old-school gentlemanly Toryism and, by default, a key reason for the recent upsurge of privately-educated pop singers in the UK.

Today most public schools are highly selective on academic grounds, as well as financial grounds (ability to pay high fees)

Defining a British public school is as complex today as it has ever been. Many fee-paying schools in the UK today do not refer to themselves as a 'public school', preferring the term ’independent school'. This is partly due to the fact that they do not share the centuries of social associations and traditions of the public school system, or the scope of the teaching and extracurricular activities.

The head teachers of major British independent schools usually belong to the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), as distinct from the Secondary Heads' Association, and it is generally considered that any school that is a member of HMC is entitled to call itself a Public School.

In British usage, a government-run school (which would be called a 'public school' in other areas, such as the United States) is called a state school.

Amongst the oldest independent schools in the UK are (chronologically):

For a full list of independent/public schools in Britain see List of UK Independent Schools.


Slang peculiar to or originating from public schools

The following list includes some commonly used slang terms, and some historic slang, used at public schools in the UK:


Term Meaning Specificity
ABROAD Out of the sick room. Winchester
BAD EGG A nasty and unpleasant person. -
BEARDS! An exclamation of surprise. The Leys School
BEDDER A bedmaker and cleaner. Also used in Cambridge University
BIBBLING Six strokes of the cane Winchester
BRUSHING Flogging. Christ's Hospital
CARRELL A booth for private study St Paul's School; also used at universities
CHEESE A dandy. Cambridge
CHINNER Wide grin Winchester
CLIPE To tell tales. -
CORPS Combined Cadet Force -
COXY Conceited -
EXECUTION Flogging by the Head Master with a birchrod. Eton
FAG A junior boy who acts as servant for a sixth-former. -
GOD A prefect or sixth former. Eton
GOOD EGG A trustworthy or reliable person (later inversion of BAD EGG). -
MAJOR Such as Smith Major, the elder brother. -
MAXIMUS Such as Smith Maximus, the eldest brother (of three or more). -
MINIMUS Such as Smith Minimus, the youngest brother (of three or more). -
MINOR Such as Smith Minor, the younger brother. -
MUZZ To read. Westminster
NEWBIE New boy; now a general term. -
PEPPER To fill in the accents on a Greek exercise. -
PLEB A junior boy. -
QUILL To flatter. Winchester
RAG A misdemeanour, hence: -
RAG WEEK where sponsored 'misdemeanours' are common. Also used at some universities
SAPPY Severe flogging. -
SHELL A boy in the youngest year Harrow, St. Edward's, Winchester;
org. from Westminster.
TITCHING caning Christ's Hospital


See also

ja:パブリックスクール zh:公学


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