Where do the UK local residents send their children to school?
Families are assured a place for their children in a state school within a catchment area, but not a specific school. Due to availability of league tables which rank schools, certain schools become more popular than others and it is difficult to get a place in these. A large majority of the state schools are co-educational. At the secondary level, most schools are comprehensive in that they take all academic abilities and the majority are co-educational. State schools which have competitive admissions are called grammar schools and are often single sex schools.
Independent schools in the UK are known as private schools and public schools. The fees for private schools vary substantially and include many boarding school options. Prep schools take children from 8+ years and prepare children for entry to senior school. The Common Entrance Examination is used by most public schools and is taken at the age of 11 (girls) or 13 (boys) and therefore this is a common age when students may transfer from a state school to an independent school. Approximately 7% of children in England are educated at independent schools.
