The Independent Schools Directory

The ISD (independentschools.com) is the global independent schools directory with 36,000+ individual school listings worldwide.

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United Kingdom

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Information About Independent Schools

An Independent School is a school which is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operation and is instead operated by tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the investment yield of an endowment.

Though the terms "independent school" and "private school" are often synonyms in popular usage in the U.S. and in Canada, independent schools themselves have come to favor the term "independent school".

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the more prestigious independent schools are known as "public schools", sometimes categorised as major and minor public schools. Membership of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is often considered as what defines a school as a public school, though this includes many independent grammar schools.

In Scotland, all schools not dependent on state funding are known as private schools or independent schools.

In Australia, where the term is also used interchangeably with private school, an independent school is usually a church-run and often prestigious school, although since the 1980s the number of low-fee schools catering for 'average' Australians, and in some cases without any religious affiliation, has increased significantly.

International schools are schools that cater mainly to children who are not nationals of the host country, often the children of the staff of international businesses, international organizations, embassies, missions, or missionary programs. They are also often popular with local students who wish to improve their language skills. Often, international schools are private but public international schools exist.

UK Resources

The directory is used by the following ISN sites:

• Private Schools Guide
• Boarding Schools Guide [boardingschools.co.uk]
• Prep Schools Guide [prepschools.co.uk]
• Sixth Form Colleges [colleges.uk.com]
• Independent Schools Guide [emetis.com]