Why do they call them public schools???

Question

It's not as if Joe public can afford to send their kids to these 'public' schools ....
So why do they call them 'public' schools?

For the americans: public schools are NOT run by the UK government. All charge a fee that goes from £1000+ per term (for the cheapest for a child starting school). There are 3 terms per academic year. This fee is for the children attending the school. On top of that parents have to pay for books, uniforms and of course the extracurricular activities.

'Public' schools in the UK are NEVER free. At secondary level most students get grants to help with financial side. Also siblings get discounts.

Answer 1

In order to answer this question it is important to look at the historical context. During the early medieval period the only education available outside the home was through the monasteries or abbeys, by and for people pursuing a life dedicated to Christ.
The public schools were founded to provide education for both rich and poor and were usually connected to a college or university which their pupils generally proceeded to go to.

Winchester College, for example, was founded in 1382 in conjunction with New College, Oxford. Initially 70 poor scholars were educated free at the college along with paying pupils.

This system is still very much the same: the bulk of the pupils pay to attend, others can get a scholarship to attend and receive their education without having to pay the fees. It is, therefore, a "public" school system which existed centuries before the beginning of the state school system providing free education to all.

Answer 2

In the UK an Public school is actually a private school. LIke it's been said, I think it's to do with only the upper classes being educated, usually at home, so this was a 'public' school where lots of upper class children could be educated collectively.

Government run schools here are called State schools, as they are supported by the state (government) and are the ones where you attend for free. You usually don't have to buy text books unless you are actually going to write in them/annotate them, the school will have a supply of books which they pay for with government money and are appropriate for the curriculum. Parents do pay for their kids' meals and any class trips they take, but any extra funding is done through state grants which the school applies for, national lottery grants and fundraising done by the PTA.

Edit: I see you have 'educated' the Americans already, my reply is probably pointless!

Answer 3

Some confusion does seem to have been caused by your question as there are people from both UK and USA on here! I know you are referring to UK Public Schools. I found this online which put it more clearly than I could:

"Independent secondary schools are often - somewhat confusingly - called public schools, though this term is primarily used of the older and more prestigious schools, like Winchester, Eton, and Harrow. Many of these schools are boarding schools. The reason that private schools are called public schools in England is historical. These older schools were formed when there was little or no school system; they were called public schools then, because at that time schooling was really only available for the elite by private tutoring. By comparison, these early schools were considered public ... as opposed to private tuition. "

So, it makes no real sense in the modern day, but that is where the name came from. It is simpler to refer to 'Independent' or 'Private' schools to refer to fee-paying schools, as opposed to our free 'State' schools, for clarity. And, it really is only the older private schools that are referred to as 'Public' schools.

Hope that clarifies.

Answer 4

In the USA a public school is one that all kids go to without payment. I think the British use of public has to do with a group of children attending since the upper classes were usually privately educated at home.

Answer 5

Most people in America do not have knowledge of UK public schools, we in the U.S. do not pay for our public schools and most assume the same is true everywhere. When you post questions without country identification most people assume you are addressing them in what ever country they are in, and even when you post in the UK area it comes up on the common answers board.

I'm not really sure why public schools in UK are not really public...maybe because they are open to the public, if they can afford it. To be honest I don't know much about the school system in the UK...

Answer 6

Your question, I assume, relates to schooling in the UK. The reason such schools are known as public, is that education was originally only available to the upper-classes. The schools were developed with the intention of allowing the "public" (ie the masses) to pay (if they could afford) to have their children educated.

This is probably why such establishments still appeal to the middle-classes.

http://www.schoolsearch.org.uk/

Answer 7

Public schools (as in all the public can attend) are free to go to it is Private schools that you have to pay for.

Answer 8

I don't know about your public schools, but the public school I went to didn't cost anything. Yeah, we would have to pay for books and lunch, but thats it. And if you couldn't afford to pay for the books, they worked something out. And if the 1.75 lunch was to much, you could get reduced priced lunches which were only .10 cents... I don't see how this is really expensive, but I guess every location is different.

Answer 9

The government runs them and can be attended by anybody in the public.

Answer 10

Government owned. I wish private schools were more affordable. Most cases, you can get a better education. :(