Public School Guide
Origins of public schools
Some public schools are particularly old, such as Westminster (founded 1179), Eton (1440), St. Paul's (1509), Sherborne (1550), Bedford (1552), Shrewsbury School (1552), Rugby (1567), Harrow (1572), Uppingham (1584), Charterhouse (1611) and Winchester (1382), which has maintained the longest unbroken history of any school in England. These were often established for male scholars from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds. The educational reforms were particularly important under Arnold at Rugby, and Butler and later Kennedy at Shrewsbury, emphasizing the importance of scholarship and competitive examinatons.
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 (and is) in the hands of senior pupils (usually known as prefects), which was not just a means to reduce staffing costs, but was also seen as vital preparation for those pupils' later roles in public or military 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. Many prep schools in the United States (such as Groton School) are also recognisably 'public' in the British sense.
Differing definitions
The head teachers of major British independent boys' and mixed schools belong to the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), and a common definition of a public school is any school whose head teacher is a member of the HMC. However some do not consider every HMC school to be a typical public school, and thus other definitions are sometimes employed. Nor does this definition does include any girls' schools; it is debatable as to whether girls' schools can be considered public schools.
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: two 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. These 9 are sometimes cited as the only public schools, albeit mainly by those who attended them.
See here for a list
However, it notably omitted the Merchant Taylors' and St Paul's day schools. It also omitted the City of London School, another day school, which derived from a medieval foundation of 1442, was reconstituted by a private Act of Parliament in 1835, and was held to be a public school by the Divisional Court in the case of Blake v City of London (1886).
Criticisms
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. The Thatcher government introduced the Assisted Places scheme in 1980, whereby the state paid the school fees of those students capable of gaining a place but unable to afford the fees. The scheme was axed by the Labour government in 1997, since when the private sector has moved to organise various means-tested bursaries of its own. There is presently some debate, emanating from Labour circles, as to whether independent schools deserve their charitable status – a tax break which, some critics argue, amounts to a government subsidy for the privileged. Independent schools argue that they are charitable and educational foundations which do not seek profits; many schools raise money for charities, encourage their pupils to take up community service, and lease their facilities to the public.
See also
|
|
