In the UK, a state school provides a free education for children aged between 4 and 18. State schools are government-funded, paid for by taxes, and every child in the country is entitled to a place.
What are state schools in the UK?
There are many different types of state school in the UK. The terminology attached to state education is confusing, copious and indicative of education being a popular plaything of every government since universal state-funded education in Britain was first introduced in 1870.
In the 21st century, while there is no single education system for the UK (England, N Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have their own), there are typically two phases of mainstream state education: primary (educating children aged 4 to 11) and secondary (11 to 18, although 16-18 ‘sixth-form’, is sometimes still separate).
Remnants of older systems are evident in many places throughout the country. Various terms for ‘school’ are applied (the word ‘college’ is variously used to mean secondary schools, sixth-form institutions, and universities; ‘high school’ is commonly used for secondary school in Scotland and a minority of English local authorities; ‘academy’ can mean a Scottish secondary school or a state school in England with a particular type of governance. The terms ‘infant school’ and ‘junior school’, and ‘middle school’ and 'upper school' still live on in a minority of places although are now considered phases within primary and secondary education respectively.
A note of warning: the term ‘public school’, as used in the USA and other countries to describe state-funded schools, has a different meaning altogether in the UK.
Different types of state school
Academies and Free Schools
A primary, secondary or all-through school that is funded directly by the Department for Education and run by an independent board of governors or organisation, commonly a Multi Academy Trust (MAT). Free schools are academies which were founded in a particular way, typically set-up by a charity, group of parents or faith organisation. University Technical Colleges and Studio Schools are types of Free School usually specialising in technical education for secondary school pupils.
Community schools
A primary or secondary school that is funded and controlled by the local authority. Many of these have now become academies.
Comprehensive schools
The vast majority of UK state schools are ‘comprehensives’. ‘Comprehensive’ refers to a school’s pupil intake, specifically that they are academically all-inclusive with no academic selection. This contrasts with how grammar or partially selective schools admit pupils.
Faith schools
A primary or secondary school, the vast majority of which are Church of England or Roman Catholic. There are also small numbers of Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh schools. These schools build aspects of faith into their school timetable and are allowed to select pupils based on religion and religious practice. Faith schools are increasingly converting to academy status but many are still ‘voluntary aided’ or ‘voluntary controlled’. This means all or nearly all of their funding comes from the state but that a separate organisation (such as a church or religious foundation) runs or helps to run the school.
Grammar schools
Academically selective secondary schools that are still found in some parts of England and in Northern Ireland. Read more about grammar schools in the UK.
State boarding schools
As you might imagine, these are state schools with provision to allow some, or all, pupils to live onsite. State boarding schools are rare but their places are highly sought after. As with any other state school, the standard school days costs nothing but everything else is covered by school fees, paid for by parents. Read more about state boarding schools.
What is a Multi-Academy Trust?
A Multi-Academy Trust or MAT is an organisation in England which runs two or more academy schools - they are also sometimes called ‘school groups’. A few MATs run fifty or more schools but many operate on a smaller basis with just a handful of academies in their control. The majority of state schools in England are now run by MATs and the government is keen for that number to continue to grow.
You can expect schools within a particular trust to share an ethos and have similar approach to the curriculum. It is also common for MAT schools to share some staff and facilities with other schools in their trust.
How to find a good state school?
We always recommend parents visit the schools in which they’re interested. Most schools have at least one open day a year and should provide details on their website. Make sure you read our advice on attending open days. But there are other things you can do to help you form a judgment.
Results and value added
How well do children do academically? Don't just look at the headline figures, delve beyond the headlines. You may want to find out how your primary school options have done in the KS2 Sats, or whether in the past they have seen many pupils move on to grammar schools. At secondary schools, you may want to check GCSE and A Level performance. If your child is keen on a particular subject, try to find out how the school fares with it at. Value-added performance measure such as Progress 8 are also a good indicator of how much a school will help pupils improve.
If a school has been under-performing, ask what measures have been put in place to improve results - and for whom. Use the data analysis provided on this website to get under the skin of schools.
Inspection reports
All state schools are routinely inspected by Ofsted so make sure to read the latest Ofsted inspection report. What are the headline grades, Outstanding, Inadequate or somewhere in between? Don’t judge a school entirely by its Ofsted report: a report can quickly fall out of date and, anyway, it may have got its Outstanding rating by ticking the right boxes, or a Requires Improvement rating because it didn’t tick a few boxes you don’t care about anyway. We review more than 300 state schools, giving our personal, independent views, written after visiting the school, talking to the head, staff, pupils and parents.
Lines of communication
How does the school report to parents? What, when? Is there an active PTA? Are parents invited to be involved with the school? How? What about newsletters and the website? Is it up to date and are the words friendly, welcoming and informative or dull and instructional?
Additional needs
What is the school's attitude to those who need extra help and support, whether social, emotional or academic? Are there programmes to stretch the more academic children? What and when? What about those with special educational needs and disabilities? Are they helped, supported and included? How? How supportive is the school? Does the praise/discipline system flex to meet individual needs? Does it fit with your expectations?
PE, games and sport
How much of the curriculum is devoted to keeping children fit, active, healthy? Do they run teams for all or just the lucky few? Is there sport for all - including those who find traditional team games tricky? Do they play against other schools? When? Which sports and teams?
What really happens after school and at break times?
Browse the school website and school noticeboards - what are the children doing? Are there plenty of extracurricular activities? What about trips and tours - for all or just the lucky few? Is the library well-stocked and well-used? Is there a refuge for children requiring a space for quiet reflection?
Homework
How much, how often, how are you expected to help? Are their clinics available for children who are struggling? Do they have any parent forums or meetings to help parents understand what children are doing?
What is taught at state schools?
While not all state schools in England are required to follow the National Curriculum, most stay fairly close to it.
Be sure to read our articles on English Primary Schools and the National Curriculum as well as our article on English Secondary Schools and the National Curriculum.
We also have articles on the Scottish primary education, Scottish secondary education, Welsh schools and their curriculum, and Northern Irish schools and their curriculum.
Applying to a state school
State schools in England take children from the September after they turn 4 up until the age of 18. Our articles about state primary school admissions and state secondary school admissions are essential reading for any parent about to embark on the admissions process.