……去搜索了一下……
Public school (privately funded)
In most of the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a public school is a traditional independent school for secondary-age pupils that is funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and other non-governmental funding. It does not rely on taxpayer contributions, and is independent from both central and local government control.[1] These schools, wherever located, often follow a British educational tradition. Originally, many were single-&&& boarding schools, but many are now co-educational with both boarders and day-pupils.
Recent usage
The term Public School is generally used now in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and sometimes Scotland to refer to any school that is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The schools and their representative associations prefer the more inclusive term "independent schools", but common usage and the news media in England often refer to them by the traditional name of "Public Schools". This grouping primarily includes the prestigious independent schools, in a similar manner to the Ivy League grouping of American universities - other private schools might be called 'independent', but would not be called "Public Schools". An indication of this distinction may be seen in E. W. Hornung's third "Raffles" collection, A Thief in the Night' (1905): Raffles complains that anyone who received a private education now claims that he 'went to a Public School'.
These schools are now only public in the sense of being open to any students, and in practice there are many qualifications:
pupils usually need to pass the Common Entrance Examination before being admitted at all, and many such schools are highly academically selective; references from previous schools may be expected
all but the best scholars must be able to afford the considerable fees for tuition and (for boarders) room and board. Most public schools are constituted as charities, and explicit Public Interest requirements for all charities are being introduced under the Charities Act 2006 which may enforce some greater degree of public accessibility independently of ability to pay;
schools generally operate at a full fixed capacity, with a limited number of vacancies each year. There may be a waiting list system, registration fees and prequalifications such as interviews
there are many single-&&& schools, although the proportion is falling, especially in the sixth forms
a few schools maintain religious conditions, often based upon their original foundation by clergy of the established Church; there may be compulsory services of a particular denomination;
a school is perfectly entitled to exercise full discretion over admissions, subject only to general law against discrimination. Thus preference might be given to musicians, deserving children, or relations of old members, staff or benefactors, or on any other published or unpublished criteria.
Typically public schools have offered by competitive academic examination a small number of wholly or partly funded scholarship places, sometimes covering only tuition and not boarding fees. They grew by accepting tuition fees for additional pupils (who might subsequently win competitive scholarships). Nowadays there are often means-tested fees or bursaries and other forms of scholarships.
恩，确实没有对身份的限定。不过这些要求对于中学来说也足够变态了。
