Private schools in the UK
Private school or independent school
Private schools and independent schools are different words for the same thing. These terms are used interchangeably and apply to any school that charges fees instead of receiving funding from the state although technically, independent schools are all overseen by a board of governors or trustees, whilst other private schools may be run by their owner with no governing body. They are called ‘independent schools’ because of their independence from government education framework and curricula. Private schools are funded by the school fees paid by the families of their pupils. Many private schools are charitable foundations that provide scholarships to support excellence and means-tested bursaries to fund places for children whose families would otherwise be unable to afford a place.
Like every registered school in the country, private schools still have to conform to official standards of education, health, and safety, are regularly inspected (by the Independent Schools Inspectorate if not by Ofsted) and – at secondary level – prepare pupils for many of the same public assessments and examinations as state schools. Private schools operate in broadly the same way across the whole of the United Kingdom although some in Scotland offer the Scottish qualification of Highers instead of A levels. As with the state sector, you can find schools in the private sector which are primary, secondary, and all-through, meaning children of any age can be privately educated.
What are ‘public schools’ in the UK?
In the UK, ‘public school’ is an archaic and misleading term. Public schools are not freely open to the public – in the UK this is called a ‘state school’ – but rather the term is principally applied to a group of long-established boarding secondary schools which charge school fees. ‘Public school’ originally referred to a small number of boys’ schools which, in 1868, were given independence from the Crown, church, or government in favour of management by a board of governors (people taken from the public, hence the name). The original seven were Charterhouse, Eton College, Winchester College, Harrow School, Rugby School, Shrewsbury School, and Westminster. To this day, these seven of the most exclusive (and expensive) private schools are regarded as the archetypal public schools but the term has lost a little of its meaning over the years and several hundred other schools are often also now referred to as public schools, including many girls’ and co-educational schools, of which most have a majority of day pupils.
What makes private schools good?
Money is the short answer to that question. Private schools charge far more for each child than the per-pupil tariff received by state schools. School fees pay for small classes, more (and better qualified) staff, top-of-the range equipment and facilities for art and practical subjects, more space for sport, and longer school days. While not all private schools are for incipient academics or potential elite athletes and performers, the fees ensure that each school is able to offer something that sets it apart from what’s available in the state sector. It is worth mentioning that not all private schools are ‘good’. There are certainly some duds but even those are perceived by their parents as offering something worth paying for.
Private schools charge far more for each child than the per-pupil tariff received by state schools.
There is a longer answer: Private school parents are literally and figuratively invested in their children’s education. Parental engagement plays a crucial role in the academic success of children. There's plenty of parental engagement in the state sector too, of course, but with such a concentration in private schools, the effects of the whole school community pulling in the same direction can be seen in culture, behaviour, and academic performance.
Private schools, unlike most state schools, do not have a comprehensive intake of pupils and so avoid some of the costly consequences. There is no compulsion to admit children who do not speak English as a first language, neither are they obligated to offer places to children with special educational needs (although many children with SEN are educated privately). A quarter of pupils in state schools are from low-income backgrounds whereas private schools, though ethnically and religiously diverse places, tend to take fewer pupils from this end of the socioeconomic spectrum. The prevalence of professional parents in private schools means that achieving is habitual and expectations are high.
How much does private school cost in the UK?
At the start of 2025, the UK government started to charge VAT on private school fees. This resulted in a large increase in the cost to parents of educating their children at private school. The average annual day school fee (including VAT) in the UK is around £20,000. A private primary or prep school can cost anywhere from £10,000 to £32,000 a year. Boarding at a prep school can be more than £40,000 a year. At senior school, fees for a day pupil can range between £12,000 to £50,000; for boarders the cost is anything from £35,000 to in excess of £60,000 a year with some schools charging even more for international pupils.
Fees are often most expensive in London and its surrounding counties. The various contributing factors in the cost of school fees is explored in our article Private school fees: what are you paying for?
Are private schools selective?
Some private schools are academically selective but many are not. Academically selective schools assess applicants through interviews and tests or, in the case of some selective sixth forms, through performance at GCSEs. Even those schools which are not academically selective still want to exert a degree of control over which children they admit and so they will usually want to meet the child and family to make sure they will be a good fit for the school.
Selection for early years places tends to involve a gentle assessment to see whether your child is school-ready; speech, play, and social interaction are the orders of the day. Many mainstream private schools are happy to accept children with mild special needs, but numbers with the welcome mat out dwindle rapidly as degrees of additional support required increase. If your child has special needs, our extensive SEN section can help point you in the right direction.
For entry at age 7 or 8, your child will be assessed in maths and English, possibly along with some sort of reasoning test to measure potential. Many schools will invite the child to a taster day to see how they interact with their potential classmates. As with most things, London preps dance to their own beat and openly select the brightest and best, with tutor firms unable to swipe the credit cards fast enough.
Another aspect of selection at a handful of prep schools (mainly in or close to London) is making sure to put your child’s name down early. Some schools still insist on this although thankfully most no longer expect parents to get their child’s name down at birth. Plenty of schools in the primary phase take a fairly relaxed approach to assessment. Many of the more rural prep and senior schools seem happy to take on nearly any pupil who can pay the fees.
When it comes to secondary school it’s crucial to get your ducks in a row sooner rather than later as in some cases the 13+ application deadline is up to three years prior to entry and latecomers are rarely accommodated, though for most 11+ entries you can register during the early autumn term of year 6.
What is a prep school?
A prep school is a private primary school. Short for ‘preparatory school’, the name is derived from its traditional purpose of preparing pupils from the age of 7 or 8 for entry into private secondary schools. Pre-prep (pre-preparatory) schools are most commonly found attached to prep schools and usually admit pupils from 4 years old in Reception class (although some pre-preps also have a nursery taking younger children) and feed into prep schools in year 3.
Do all private schools offer boarding?
No. About a third of UK private schools offer some kind of boarding. There’s a real spectrum available, with some exclusively full or weekly boarding and others offering bed and breakfast for no more than a couple of nights a week, and every shade in between. No school offers boarding to children under the age of 7 and it is increasingly unusual for children to board at all before 11, although some boarding prep schools make it very appealing. Boarding in sixth form is the most popular option; those last two years of school where it allows pupils to focus on their studies as well as having their social life built in to the long school day.
Why is the British school system so confusing?
The school system in the UK baffles those who have grown up here, let alone people who have moved here as adults. If you find it confusing, you are not the first and you certainly won’t be the last. Investing in private education is a huge commitment of both finance and trust and should depend on both first-rate information and your own parental instincts. Fortunately, The Good Schools Guide is on hand to help give you the inside track with its straight-talking school reviews that lift the lid on the true face of schools and tell you everything you won’t read in the prospectus.
