Preparatory school (United Kingdom) in the context of "Schoolmaster"

Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich.

In the United Kingdom, private schools (also called independent schools) are schools that require fees for admission and enrollment. Some have financial endowments, most are governed by a board of governors, and are owned by a mixture of corporations, trusts and private individuals. They are independent of many of the regulations and conditions that apply to state-funded schools. For example, the schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum for England, although many such schools do.

Historically, the term private school referred to a school in private ownership, in contrast to an endowed school subject to a trust or of charitable status. Many of the older independent schools catering for the 13–18 age range in England and Wales are known as public schools, seven of which were the subject of the Public Schools Act 1868. The term public school meant they were then open to pupils regardless of where they lived or their religion (while in the United States and most other English-speaking countries public school refers to a publicly funded state school). Prep (preparatory) schools (also known as private schools) educate younger children up to the age of 13 to prepare them for entry to the public schools and other secondary schools. In 2023, the Independent Schools Council reports that private schools contribute £16.5 billion to gross value added (GVA) in Britain.

In the United Kingdom, private schools (also called independent schools) are schools that require fees for admission and enrollment. Some have financial endowments and most are governed by a board of directors consisting of school governors. Many are owned and operated by a mixture of corporations, trusts and individuals. They are independent of many of the regulations and conditions that apply to state-funded schools. For example, the schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum for England, although many such schools do.

Historically in the UK, the term private school referred to a school as private property, privately owned, in contrast to public property or a financial endowment, subject to a trust or of charitable status. Many of the older private schools catering for the 13–18 age range in England and Wales are known as public schools, seven of which were the subject of the Public Schools Act 1868. The term public school meant they were then open to pupils regardless of where they lived or their religion (while in the United States and most other English-speaking countries public school refers to a publicly funded state school). Preparatory schools educate younger children up to the age of 13 to prepare (prep) them for entry to the public schools and other secondary schools. In 2023, the Independent Schools Council (ISC), a lobbying group for private school industry, claimed that their members schools contributed £16.5 billion to gross value added (GVA) in Britain.

51°30′41.2″N 0°11′42.3″W / 51.511444°N 0.195083°W / 51.511444; -0.195083

Wetherby School is a group of private schools for boys aged two to eighteen in Notting Hill, Kensington, and Marylebone, London, owned and operated by the Inspired Education Group. Its prep school is a member of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools.

Dean Close School is a co-educational private boarding and day school (for pupils aged 3–18) in the public school tradition, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1886 and is divided into pre-prep, preparatory and senior schools located on separate but adjacent sites outside Cheltenham town centre, occupying the largest single private area of land within the town, at some 50 acres.

Established in 1886 as an all-boys school, the school became co-educational in 1970. It takes day pupils, as well as boarders. Children as young as three join the pre-preparatory school, and the senior school teaches up to the age of eighteen.

Hill House International Junior School, known simply as Hill House, is an independent preparatory day school primarily in the Knightsbridge district of London (with a boarding house in Glion, Canton Vaud, Switzerland). It was founded in September 1949 by athlete and Liberal Party politician Lt-Col Stuart Townend along with his wife, Beatrice. Initially only in Switzerland, the school soon established branches in South West London. It is the largest preparatory school in London and was originally an all-boys school, turning fully coeducational in 1981. The school educates children belonging to over 60 nationalities, and most pupils are bi- or trilingual.

In 2025, Hill House was ranked by Spear's to be amongst the “100 leading private schools in the world” alongside other British prep schools including the Dragon School and Westminster Under School and senior schools including Eton College, Wellington College, and Wycombe Abbey. Besides notable alumni in politics and the arts, Hill House is famous for its distinct and eccentric uniform, designed by Beatrice Townend to be all-purpose and from the belief that “Grey school uniforms make for grey minds.” The uniform includes thick golden cable-knit jumpers, burgundy-coloured corduroy knickerbockers, cravats in the school colours, and backpacks in British racing green.

Wystan Hugh Auden (/ˈwɪstən ˈhjuː ˈɔːdən/ WIST-ən HYOO AWD-ən; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form, and content. Some of his best known poems are about love, such as "Funeral Blues"; on political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles"; on cultural and psychological themes, such as The Age of Anxiety; and on religious themes, such as "For the Time Being" and "Horae Canonicae".

Auden was born in York and grew up in and near Birmingham in a professional, middle-class family. He attended various English independent (or public) schools and studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. After a few months in Berlin in 1928–29, he spent five years (1930–1935) teaching in British private preparatory schools. In 1939, he moved to the United States; he became an American citizen in 1946, retaining his British citizenship. Auden taught from 1941 to 1945 in American universities, followed by occasional visiting professorships in the 1950s.

Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are set by the Independent Schools Examinations Board. Most of the secondary schools that use Common Entrance for admission are public schools; most of the schools that routinely prepare their pupils for Common Entrance are preparatory schools. Both kinds of schools are normally fee-paying, that is, they are particular kinds of private schools. The examination papers are prepared by the board, but the scripts are marked by the schools concerned; and all other aspects of the admissions process are handled independently by each school.