University-preparatory school
Encyclopedia
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school (also known as tertiary preparation and usually abbreviated to preparatory school, college prep school, tertiary prep, or prep school) is a secondary school
, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school. This designation is most common in North America.
In many parts of Europe, such as Germany
, the countries of former Austria-Hungary
, the Netherlands
and Scandinavia
, secondary schools specializing in college-preparatory education are called gymnasia
and/or in some countries athenaea
. College prep schools are usually a secondary school along with work for a host school, to help get into a desired college. Most students attend a college-preparatory school but also accomplish the host school's work for a high school diploma.
and Canada
, commonly referred to as prep schools, are private independent
secondary school
s, funded by tuition fees and philanthropic donations and governed by independent boards of trustees. Prep schools may be day school
s or boarding school
s, or both, and may be co-educational or single-sex
; however in both the United States and Canada, day schools are more common than boarding, and co-educational schools are more common than single-sex.
Top-tier prep schools are known for their selective admissions process, challenging academics, and reputations for sending students to highly selective colleges and universities. Tuition fees at some top-tier prep schools are comparable to the costs of attending an Ivy League
university. (For example, the tuition at the Brearley School
in New York City
and the Hopkins School
in Connecticut
, both day schools, is just over $30,000 (USD) while tuition for students who board at the Groton School
, Deerfield Academy
, Tabor Academy
(all of Massachusetts), Salisbury School
and Lawrenceville School
is up to an additional $15,000 (USD) on top of that.) The financial resources of private preparatory schools allow for sizable investments in facilities and equipment, hiring highly-qualified, experienced teachers with advanced degrees, and retaining these teachers in tenured positions
. Top-tier prep schools often have sizable endowments
, which finance scholarships permitting demographic heterogeneity.
Among the principal benefits of prep schools is a very low student-to-teacher ratio, hence, smaller class sizes than in public schools, often only 8 to 12 students per class. Like public high schools, most prep schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and many offer a large number of other advanced courses, such as IB (International Baccalaureate), beyond those typically found at a public high school.
The schools generally address all aspects of the "well rounded" person. This honors the classical ideal that is expressed in the Latin phrase, "Mens sana in corpore sano
" ("A sound mind in a sound body") by providing rigorous academics and a strong emphasis on athleticism (see The Ten Schools Admissions Organization
, Independent School League
s or Ivy Preparatory School League
). Many prep schools require students to participate in one or more of the school's sports team and some require students to participate in a sport during all three athletic seasons. Prep schools also provide many other activities, such as elaborate plays and musicals, and many other clubs and leadership opportunities that prepare the students for college.
Fewer than 1% of students enrolled in school in the United States attend an independent private preparatory school, a small fraction compared with the 9% who attend parochial school
s and 88% who attend public schools. Some independent preparatory schools are affiliated with a particular religion
or denomination
, although unlike parochial schools, independent preparatory schools are not governed by a religious organization, and students are usually not required to receive instruction in one particular religion. While independent prep schools in the United States are not subject to government oversight or regulation, they are accredited
by one of the six regional accreditation agencies
for educational institutions.
A few prep schools have highly competitive, very selective admission processes. The Hun School of Princeton, Sidwell Friends School
, The Peddie School
, Western Reserve Academy
, Milton Academy
, Noble and Greenough School
, Choate Rosemary Hall
, Phillips Exeter Academy
, Phillips Academy
, Holland Hall, The Winsor School
, Rutgers Preparatory School
, Deerfield Academy
, Northfield Mount Hermon School, The Loomis Chaffee School, Brunswick School, Faith Preparatory, Ethical Culture Fieldston School
, The Birch Wathen Lenox School
, The Hotchkiss School, Greenwich Academy
, The Lawrenceville School, The Hill School
, Harvard-Westlake School
, Marlborough School (Los Angeles)
, Marymount High School
, Georgetown Preparatory School
, Cranbrook Kingswood School, University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy
, Canterbury School
, Groton School
, The Hockaday School
, St. John's School, Middlesex School
, Hopkins School
, Porter-Gaud School
, Concord Academy
, Buckingham Browne & Nichols
, Sacred Heart Preparatory
, Delbarton School
St. Paul's School
, St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)
, St. Mark's School (Texas), Mercersburg Academy
, Menlo School
, Pembroke Hill School, The Pingry School, Roxbury Latin, Salisbury School
, Tabor Academy
, Trinity-Pawling
, Taft School, Trinity School
and Kent School
, Westminster School
all have admission rates for their upper schools consistently under 30%. The application and attendance to these select top-tier schools is arduous, challenging and not open to all.
Recently, a group of 20 highly selective preparatory schools in the English speaking world was founded, namely The G20 Schools
group. Participating schools in the United States include The Hotchkiss School, Phillips Exeter Academy
, Phillips Academy
, Harvard-Westlake School
, Marymount High School
, Deerfield Academy
, The Lawrenceville School, and Buckingham Browne & Nichols
.
The classic idea and image of the college preparatory school in the United States derives from New England prep schools, which are the oldest and most famous prep schools in the country.
Notable prep school graduates include U.S. Presidents Barack Obama
, George H. W. Bush
, George W. Bush
, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy
and other prominent figures such as John McCain
, Al Gore
, John Kerry
, James Baker
, Howard Dean
, Daniel Webster
, T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams
, William Randolph Hearst
, Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.
, Edward Harkness
, Bill Gates
, Jimmy Wales
, Walter Annenberg
, Cyrus Vance
, Ted Danson
and Ben Brown.
Columbia International College
is Canada's largest boarding prep school, with more than 1,400 students from over 60 countries in the world.
Within Canada, the oldest university-preparatory schools include Ridley College
, Upper Canada College
, Branksome Hall School and Havergal College
in Toronto, St. John's-Ravenscourt School
in Winnipeg, King's-Edgehill School
in Windsor, and Lower Canada College
and Selwyn House School
in Montreal. Also Stanstead College, which pre-dates most of the schools listed here for Canada. Also Bishop's College School.
, certain private or public secondary schools offer special post-secondary classes called classes préparatoires, equivalent in level to the first years of university
, for students who wish to prepare for the competitive exams for the entrance in the Grandes écoles
. French classes préparatoires are exceptionally intensive and selective, taking only the very best students graduating from high schools but generally not charging fees.
A Gymnasium (plural: Gymnasien) is a particular type of school in Germany
and other countries in Europe
, with the goal to prepare its pupils to enter a university. According to the PISA
examination the Gymnasium is the best school form in the world, because it is by far the number one in the PISA league table. However some hold the opinion that "that this success came at the cost of a catastrophe in the Hauptschule
n".
The γυμνάσιον (gymnasion)
of Ancient Greece
was a place for physical and eventually also intellectual education
of young men. The later meaning of intellectual education persisted in German
and other languages, whereas in English
, the older meaning of physical education was retained.
The German Gymnasien are selective and competitive schools. They enroll students after completing 4th or 6th grade (depending on the "Bundesland", i.e., state) and prepare them for college.
The vast majority of Gymnasien is public and does not charge tution fees. Article 7, Paragraph 4 of the German constitution, forbids segregation of students according to the means of their parents (the so called Sondierungsverbot). Therefore, most private Gymnasien have rather low tuition fees and/or offer scholarships.
Recently, there has been some debate about the Gymnasium and some people put forward the opinion that the Gymnasien are not enrolling enough students from non-east-Asian immigrant families and from working class and lower class families. As a result of that discussion, the Senate of Berlin
ruled that the Gymnasien should only be able to pick 70% to 65% of their students, the other places at the Gymnasien are to be allocated by lottery. Every child will be able to enter the lottery, no matter how he or she performed in primary school. It is hoped that this policy will increase the number of lower and working class students atteding a Gymnasium.
Germany's oldest Gymnasien include Gymnasium Paulinum
(founded around 797), Gymnasium Theodorianum (founded in 799) and Gymnasium Carolinum
(founded in 804).
There are four main types of Licei: Liceo Classico
(focusing on classical subjects, such as Italian
, Latin
and Ancient Greek
studies), Liceo Scientifico
(lacking Greek to devote approximately equal time to the remaining classical subjects and scientific subjects), Liceo Artistico and Liceo Linguistico.
, the official terminology is voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs
(or vwo) meaning "preparatory academic education". The vwo is divided into the atheneum
and gymnasium
. These are identical in level of education, except that the gymnasium includes Latin
and Ancient Greek
as compulsory subjects in the first few years, and a pupil must include at least one of these classical languages in his final exams. In the Netherlands, education is usually public.
was created in 1968. It is a demanding pre-university course of study that leads to examinations. It is designed for highly motivated secondary school students aged 16 to 19. The programme has earned a reputation for rigorous assessment, giving IB diploma holders access to the world’s leading universities. The Diploma Programme is rigorous and is world renown. Each student’s performance is measured against well-defined levels of achievement. These are consistent from one examination session to the next and are applied equally to all schools. The International Baccalaureate has shown that students are well prepared for university work. They are accepted by universities in more than 110 countries.
One school is the Academy School
in the Balearic Islands
, which is a member of the National Association of British Schools in Spain
. It is inspected regularly both by British Inspectors and Inspectors from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. Among other prestigious schools are the Hastings School in Madrid
, the Caxton College
in Valencia, and the Bellver International College in Mallorca
.
The International Preparatory Schools are ranked and recognised by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) and all teach a minimum level of Spanish language, science, literature, geography and history. The curriculum also varies from one international school to another.
, more commonly "prep school", is an independent private fee paying school
that a student attends prior to the move to senior school, and thus has nothing directly to do with university entrance. The only institutions specialising in university entrance are crammers
for (usually) privately educated pupils who have failed to gain entrance to their university of choice directly from school, and whose parents are willing to pay for a year of specialist tuition to give them a second chance, but no-one attends these as a first choice option.
Historically independent secondary schools ("public schools
" in British usage), and (mainly state sector) grammar school
s would prepare some or most of their pupils for university entrance, though this was not explicitly their mission. With the introduction of comprehensive school
s in the 1960s and 1970s, all secondary schools had a responsibility, at least in theory, to prepare their more academically able pupils for university entrance (unless they were located in one of the relatively small number of places where state secondary schools only cater for under 16s, and sixth form college
s are responsible for the academic education of 16–18 year olds). In practice, in the late 20th century, some comprehensives in working class areas actually sent very few students to university. In the early 21st century, with the expansion of university education, most secondary schools are sending significant numbers of pupils to university: a school that does not do so risks being classified as a "failing school" and closed or placed in special measures
.
, prep schools for universities are known as "junior colleges".
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school. This designation is most common in North America.
In many parts of Europe, such as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the countries of former Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, secondary schools specializing in college-preparatory education are called gymnasia
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and/or in some countries athenaea
Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs
Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs or pre-university secondary education is the highest variant in the secondary educational system of the Netherlands. After leaving elementary school students are enrolled in different types of secondary schools, according to their academic ability...
. College prep schools are usually a secondary school along with work for a host school, to help get into a desired college. Most students attend a college-preparatory school but also accomplish the host school's work for a high school diploma.
United States and Canada
College preparatory schools in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, commonly referred to as prep schools, are private independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s, funded by tuition fees and philanthropic donations and governed by independent boards of trustees. Prep schools may be day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
s or boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
s, or both, and may be co-educational or single-sex
Single-sex education
Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...
; however in both the United States and Canada, day schools are more common than boarding, and co-educational schools are more common than single-sex.
Top-tier prep schools are known for their selective admissions process, challenging academics, and reputations for sending students to highly selective colleges and universities. Tuition fees at some top-tier prep schools are comparable to the costs of attending an Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
university. (For example, the tuition at the Brearley School
Brearley School
The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, New York, United States. It is located on the Upper East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The school is divided into the Lower School , Middle School and Upper School...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the Hopkins School
Hopkins School
The Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational day school, located in New Haven, Connecticut....
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, both day schools, is just over $30,000 (USD) while tuition for students who board at the Groton School
Groton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
, Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
, Tabor Academy
Tabor Academy
Tabor Academy is a highly selective independent preparatory school located in Marion, Massachusetts, United States. Tabor is known for its marine science courses...
(all of Massachusetts), Salisbury School
Salisbury School
Salisbury School is an all-boys, private college-preparatory boarding school founded in 1901 and located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Its school newspaper is The Cupola. Its mascot is the Crimson Knight. The School's motto is Esse quam videri, which translates to To be rather than to seem to...
and Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
is up to an additional $15,000 (USD) on top of that.) The financial resources of private preparatory schools allow for sizable investments in facilities and equipment, hiring highly-qualified, experienced teachers with advanced degrees, and retaining these teachers in tenured positions
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
. Top-tier prep schools often have sizable endowments
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
, which finance scholarships permitting demographic heterogeneity.
Among the principal benefits of prep schools is a very low student-to-teacher ratio, hence, smaller class sizes than in public schools, often only 8 to 12 students per class. Like public high schools, most prep schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and many offer a large number of other advanced courses, such as IB (International Baccalaureate), beyond those typically found at a public high school.
The schools generally address all aspects of the "well rounded" person. This honors the classical ideal that is expressed in the Latin phrase, "Mens sana in corpore sano
Mens sana in corpore sano
Mens sana in corpore sano is a famous Latin quotation, often translated as "A sound mind in a sound body." There is also a sports equipment company with a name based on a twist of this quotation...
" ("A sound mind in a sound body") by providing rigorous academics and a strong emphasis on athleticism (see The Ten Schools Admissions Organization
The Ten Schools Admissions Organization
The Ten Schools Admissions Organization is a group of leading, private preparatory schools in the United States. The organization was established in 1956 on the basis of a number of common goals and traditions. The schools focus on a cohesive standard of education for the whole person...
, Independent School League
Independent School League
There are several expansions of Independent School League and ISL:* Independent School League can refer to the Boston area Independent School League, a group of 16 New England preparatory schools....
s or Ivy Preparatory School League
Ivy Preparatory School League
The Ivy Preparatory School League, like the Ivy League for universities, was originally an athletic conference, not a scholastic one, for a group of New York City, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk county university-preparatory schools: Hackley School, Tarrytown, Trinity School, Manhattan, Riverdale...
). Many prep schools require students to participate in one or more of the school's sports team and some require students to participate in a sport during all three athletic seasons. Prep schools also provide many other activities, such as elaborate plays and musicals, and many other clubs and leadership opportunities that prepare the students for college.
Fewer than 1% of students enrolled in school in the United States attend an independent private preparatory school, a small fraction compared with the 9% who attend parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
s and 88% who attend public schools. Some independent preparatory schools are affiliated with a particular religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
or denomination
Denominationalism
Denominationalism is the division of one religion into separate groups, sects, schools of thought or denominations. Denominationalism as an ideology which views some or all Christian groups as being, in some sense, versions of the same thing regardless of their distinguishing labels, is not...
, although unlike parochial schools, independent preparatory schools are not governed by a religious organization, and students are usually not required to receive instruction in one particular religion. While independent prep schools in the United States are not subject to government oversight or regulation, they are accredited
Educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
by one of the six regional accreditation agencies
Regional accreditation
Regional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to educational accreditation conducted by any of several accreditation bodies established to serve six defined geographic areas of the country for accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities...
for educational institutions.
A few prep schools have highly competitive, very selective admission processes. The Hun School of Princeton, Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" , alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light...
, The Peddie School
Peddie School
The Peddie School is a college preparatory school in Hightstown, New Jersey, United States. It is a nondenominational, coeducational boarding school located on a 280‑acre campus, and serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades, plus a small post-graduate class...
, Western Reserve Academy
Western Reserve Academy
Western Reserve Academy is a private, mid-sized, coeducational boarding and day college preparatory school located in Hudson, Ohio.-History:...
, Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...
, Noble and Greenough School
Noble and Greenough School
The Noble and Greenough School, commonly known as Nobles, is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and boarding school for students in grades seven through twelve. It is located on a campus in Dedham, Massachusetts. The current enrollment of 550 students includes a balance of boys and girls, of whom...
, Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
, Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
, Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, Holland Hall, The Winsor School
The Winsor School
The Winsor School is a girls' college prep school for day students in grades 5-12 founded in 1886. The school is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has approximately 432 students representing 57 communities in Massachusetts. The endowment as of July 1, 2007 was $50,516,000 which is $110,640 per...
, Rutgers Preparatory School
Rutgers Preparatory School
Rutgers Preparatory School is a private, coeducational, university preparatory day school located in Somerset, New Jersey serving students in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade...
, Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
, Northfield Mount Hermon School, The Loomis Chaffee School, Brunswick School, Faith Preparatory, Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, known as "Fieldston", is a private "independent" school in New York City and a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. It has about 1600 students and a staff of 400 people , led by Dr. Damian J...
, The Birch Wathen Lenox School
The Birch Wathen Lenox School
The Birch Wathen Lenox School is a New York City college preparatory K-12 school on New York City's Upper East Side of Manhattan. BWL comprises approximately 500 students from all around New York City...
, The Hotchkiss School, Greenwich Academy
Greenwich Academy
Greenwich Academy is an independent, all-girls preparatory day school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Founded in 1827, it is the oldest girls' school in Connecticut. Greenwich Academy's motto is Ad ingenium faciendum, "Toward the Building of Character."...
, The Lawrenceville School, The Hill School
The Hill School
The Hill School is a preparatory boarding school for boys and girls located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia....
, Harvard-Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades 7 through 12....
, Marlborough School (Los Angeles)
Marlborough School (Los Angeles)
Marlborough School is a private, all-girls, college-preparatory secondary school for grades 7th through 12th located at 250 South Rossmore Avenue in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Marlborough was founded in 1889 by Mary Caswell and is the oldest independent...
, Marymount High School
Marymount High School
Marymount High School is a private, Roman Catholic, all-girls, college-preparatory high school located in the Holmby Hills/Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. It sits across from the University of California, Los Angeles campus at 10643 Sunset Boulevard....
, Georgetown Preparatory School
Georgetown Preparatory School
Georgetown Preparatory School is an American Jesuit college preparatory school for grades 9 through 12. It is the oldest all boys school in the United States, and the only Jesuit boarding school in the country...
, Cranbrook Kingswood School, University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy
University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy
The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, founded in 1877, is one of two Jesuit high schools in the city of Detroit, Michigan...
, Canterbury School
Canterbury School
Canterbury School may refer to:*Canterbury School , a private, co-educational college preparatory lay-Catholic boarding school in New Milford, Connecticut...
, Groton School
Groton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
, The Hockaday School
The Hockaday School
The Hockaday School is an independent, secular, college preparatory day and boarding school for girls located in Dallas, Texas, USA and surrounding areas...
, St. John's School, Middlesex School
Middlesex School
Middlesex School is an independent secondary school for grades 9 - 12 located in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1901 by a Roxbury Latin School alumnus, Frederick Winsor, who headed the school until 1937. Winsor set up a National Scholarship Program for the school, the first of its kind...
, Hopkins School
Hopkins School
The Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational day school, located in New Haven, Connecticut....
, Porter-Gaud School
Porter-Gaud School
Porter-Gaud School is an independent coeducational college preparatory day school in Charleston, South Carolina. Porter-Gaud has an enrollment of some 870 students in grades 1–12 and located on the banks of the Ashley River...
, Concord Academy
Concord Academy
Concord Academy is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory school for grades nine through twelve, located in Concord, Massachusetts...
, Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, often referred to as BB&N, is a private school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Charles River. The school educates students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It was established by a merge of two independent schools, the Buckingham School founded...
, Sacred Heart Preparatory
Sacred Heart Preparatory (Atherton, California)
Sacred Heart Schools Atherton, formerly known as Sacred Heart Preparatory, Sacred Heart Prep, or, more colloquially, SHP, is an independent private, Society of the Sacred Heart affiliated college preparatory school in Atherton, California, USA...
, Delbarton School
Delbarton School
Delbarton School is a private all-male Roman Catholic college preparatory school in Morristown, New Jersey, educating young men from 7th to 12th grade. Delbarton is a Catholic independent school directed by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey....
St. Paul's School
St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
, St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)
St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)
St. Mark’s School is a coeducational, Episcopal, preparatory school, situated on in Southborough, Massachusetts, from Boston. It was founded in 1865 as an all-boys' school by Joseph Burnett, a wealthy native of Southborough who developed and marketed the world-famous Burnett Vanilla Extract . ...
, St. Mark's School (Texas), Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school for grades 9-12 located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's mission is:...
, Menlo School
Menlo School
Menlo School, also referred to simply as Menlo, is an independent college preparatory school in Atherton, California, near the heart of Silicon Valley. Menlo comprises a middle school that includes grades 6–8 and a high school that includes grades 9–12...
, Pembroke Hill School, The Pingry School, Roxbury Latin, Salisbury School
Salisbury School
Salisbury School is an all-boys, private college-preparatory boarding school founded in 1901 and located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Its school newspaper is The Cupola. Its mascot is the Crimson Knight. The School's motto is Esse quam videri, which translates to To be rather than to seem to...
, Tabor Academy
Tabor Academy
Tabor Academy is a highly selective independent preparatory school located in Marion, Massachusetts, United States. Tabor is known for its marine science courses...
, Trinity-Pawling
Trinity-Pawling School
Trinity-Pawling School is an all boys private high school in Pawling, New York. Dr. Frederick Luther Gamage, once Headmaster of St. Paul's School in Long Island, founded the Pawling School in 1907. Located on high on a hill overlooking the Hudson River Valley, Trinity-Pawling has a colonial brick...
, Taft School, Trinity School
Trinity School
-Australia:*Trinity College, Perth*Trinity Grammar School *Trinity Grammar School -Spain:*Trinity Language School, a private accredited Spanish language school in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz-United Kingdom:...
and Kent School
Kent School
Kent School is a private, co-educational college preparatory school in Kent, Connecticut, USA. The Reverend Frederick Herbert Sill, Order of the Holy Cross, established the school in 1906 and it retains its affiliation with the Episcopal Church of the United States.Students at Kent come from more...
, Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
all have admission rates for their upper schools consistently under 30%. The application and attendance to these select top-tier schools is arduous, challenging and not open to all.
Recently, a group of 20 highly selective preparatory schools in the English speaking world was founded, namely The G20 Schools
G20 Schools
All the schools claim to have a commitment to excellence and innovation of some sort. The G20 Schools have an annual conference which aims to bring together a group of school Heads who want to look beyond the parochial concerns of their own schools and national associations, and to talk through...
group. Participating schools in the United States include The Hotchkiss School, Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
, Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, Harvard-Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades 7 through 12....
, Marymount High School
Marymount High School
Marymount High School is a private, Roman Catholic, all-girls, college-preparatory high school located in the Holmby Hills/Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. It sits across from the University of California, Los Angeles campus at 10643 Sunset Boulevard....
, Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
, The Lawrenceville School, and Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, often referred to as BB&N, is a private school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Charles River. The school educates students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It was established by a merge of two independent schools, the Buckingham School founded...
.
The classic idea and image of the college preparatory school in the United States derives from New England prep schools, which are the oldest and most famous prep schools in the country.
Notable prep school graduates include U.S. Presidents Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and other prominent figures such as John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
, Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
, Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
, T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
, William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.
Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.
Benno Charles Schmidt, Jr. is the Chairman of Avenues: The World School, a worldwide system of for profit, private K-12 schools. He is a former president of Yale University, where he served from 1986 to 1992 as the university's sixteenth president...
, Edward Harkness
Edward Harkness
Edward Stephen Harkness was an American philanthropist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four sons to Stephen V. Harkness, a harness-maker who invested in the forerunner of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller's oil company. Harkness inherited a fortune from his father...
, Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
, Walter Annenberg
Walter Annenberg
Walter Hubert Annenberg was an American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat.-Early life:Walter Annenberg was born to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 13, 1908. He was the son of Sarah and Moses "Moe" Annenberg, who published The Daily Racing Form and purchased The Philadelphia...
, Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Roberts Vance was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980...
, Ted Danson
Ted Danson
Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
and Ben Brown.
Columbia International College
Columbia International College
Columbia International College is the largest private boarding preparatory school in Canada, with an enrollment of more than 1,700 students from over 70 countries in the world. The school is located in Hamilton, Ontario, in the residential neighborhood of Westdale, near McMaster University and...
is Canada's largest boarding prep school, with more than 1,400 students from over 60 countries in the world.
Within Canada, the oldest university-preparatory schools include Ridley College
Ridley College
Ridley College is a co-educational boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 20 miles from Niagara Falls...
, Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College , located in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an independent elementary and secondary school for boys between Senior Kindergarten and Grade Twelve, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The secondary school segment is divided into ten houses; eight are...
, Branksome Hall School and Havergal College
Havergal College
Havergal College is an independent boarding and day school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Named for English hymn composer, author and humanitarian Frances Ridley Havergal, the school was founded in 1894 by a group of men led by The Honourable H...
in Toronto, St. John's-Ravenscourt School
St. John's-Ravenscourt School
St. John's-Ravenscourt School is an independent, co-educational, university-preparatory school founded in 1820. Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the school delivers an enriched curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade 12. Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, is the royal patron of the...
in Winnipeg, King's-Edgehill School
King's-Edgehill School
King's-Edgehill School is a Canadian independent University Preparatory boarding and day School located in the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia.-History:...
in Windsor, and Lower Canada College
Lower Canada College
Lower Canada College of Montreal is an elementary and secondary level private school.The college was founded by the Church of St John the Evangelist in 1861 as St. John's School and changed its name to Lower Canada College in 1909, replacing an older school by that name that was founded in...
and Selwyn House School
Selwyn House School
Selwyn House School is a private independent boys' school located in Westmount, Quebec. Boys can attend from Kindergarten through to Grade 11. The school was founded in 1908 by Englishman Captain Algernon Lucas...
in Montreal. Also Stanstead College, which pre-dates most of the schools listed here for Canada. Also Bishop's College School.
France
In FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, certain private or public secondary schools offer special post-secondary classes called classes préparatoires, equivalent in level to the first years of university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, for students who wish to prepare for the competitive exams for the entrance in the Grandes écoles
Grandes écoles
The grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
. French classes préparatoires are exceptionally intensive and selective, taking only the very best students graduating from high schools but generally not charging fees.
Germany
A Gymnasium (plural: Gymnasien) is a particular type of school in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and other countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, with the goal to prepare its pupils to enter a university. According to the PISA
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
examination the Gymnasium is the best school form in the world, because it is by far the number one in the PISA league table. However some hold the opinion that "that this success came at the cost of a catastrophe in the Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
n".
The γυμνάσιον (gymnasion)
Gymnasium (ancient Greece)
The gymnasium in ancient Greece functioned as a training facility for competitors in public games. It was also a place for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits. The name comes from the Ancient Greek term gymnós meaning "naked". Athletes competed in the nude, a practice said to...
of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
was a place for physical and eventually also intellectual education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
of young men. The later meaning of intellectual education persisted in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and other languages, whereas in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, the older meaning of physical education was retained.
The German Gymnasien are selective and competitive schools. They enroll students after completing 4th or 6th grade (depending on the "Bundesland", i.e., state) and prepare them for college.
The vast majority of Gymnasien is public and does not charge tution fees. Article 7, Paragraph 4 of the German constitution, forbids segregation of students according to the means of their parents (the so called Sondierungsverbot). Therefore, most private Gymnasien have rather low tuition fees and/or offer scholarships.
Recently, there has been some debate about the Gymnasium and some people put forward the opinion that the Gymnasien are not enrolling enough students from non-east-Asian immigrant families and from working class and lower class families. As a result of that discussion, the Senate of Berlin
Senate of Berlin
The Senate of Berlin is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to eight Senators appointed by the Governing Mayor, two of whom are appointed ...
ruled that the Gymnasien should only be able to pick 70% to 65% of their students, the other places at the Gymnasien are to be allocated by lottery. Every child will be able to enter the lottery, no matter how he or she performed in primary school. It is hoped that this policy will increase the number of lower and working class students atteding a Gymnasium.
Germany's oldest Gymnasien include Gymnasium Paulinum
Gymnasium Paulinum
Gymnasium Paulinum is a Gymnasium school in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in around 797 and is claimed to be the oldest school in Germany.-Early history:...
(founded around 797), Gymnasium Theodorianum (founded in 799) and Gymnasium Carolinum
Gymnasium Carolinum (Osnabrück)
The Gymnasium Carolinum in Osnabrück, Germany, was founded in 804 by Charlemagne, king of the Franks. It is reputedly the oldest school in Germany and is also one of the oldest schools in the world.-Twentieth Century:...
(founded in 804).
Italy
In Italy, there are several kinds of high schools, both public and private, whose curriculum has as a primary aim the preparation for university. These are called "Liceo", plural "Licei". Other kind of high schools, usually referred to as "technical institutes", also offer the possibility to attain university after graduation, although they also form students to have some kind of professional prospective after graduation.There are four main types of Licei: Liceo Classico
Liceo classico
Liceo classico is a secondary school type in Italy. The educational curriculum lasts five years, and students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age....
(focusing on classical subjects, such as Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
studies), Liceo Scientifico
Liceo Scientifico
Liceo Scientifico is a secondary school type in Italy. Along with Liceo Classico, it is considered the peak of the Italian upper secondary education. The access to this school is possible after the successful completion of the three year middle school and the corresponding final examination...
(lacking Greek to devote approximately equal time to the remaining classical subjects and scientific subjects), Liceo Artistico and Liceo Linguistico.
Netherlands
In the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the official terminology is voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs
Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs
Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs or pre-university secondary education is the highest variant in the secondary educational system of the Netherlands. After leaving elementary school students are enrolled in different types of secondary schools, according to their academic ability...
(or vwo) meaning "preparatory academic education". The vwo is divided into the atheneum
Atheneum (school)
The Atheneum, named after the ancient school founded by Roman Emperor Hadrian, is the formal name of the main educational track of Dutch Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs. It is a six-year course and successful completion allows the candidate admission to Dutch university...
and gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. These are identical in level of education, except that the gymnasium includes Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
as compulsory subjects in the first few years, and a pupil must include at least one of these classical languages in his final exams. In the Netherlands, education is usually public.
Spain
The International Baccalaureate's Diploma Programme in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
was created in 1968. It is a demanding pre-university course of study that leads to examinations. It is designed for highly motivated secondary school students aged 16 to 19. The programme has earned a reputation for rigorous assessment, giving IB diploma holders access to the world’s leading universities. The Diploma Programme is rigorous and is world renown. Each student’s performance is measured against well-defined levels of achievement. These are consistent from one examination session to the next and are applied equally to all schools. The International Baccalaureate has shown that students are well prepared for university work. They are accepted by universities in more than 110 countries.
One school is the Academy School
Academy School
Academy School is a former school complex located in Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA. It was discontinued for school use in 2001 with the opening of the Smith Middle School and renovation of the Gideon Welles School. From 1974–2001, Academy School was the town's sixth-grade school, although it housed...
in the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
, which is a member of the National Association of British Schools in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is inspected regularly both by British Inspectors and Inspectors from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. Among other prestigious schools are the Hastings School in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, the Caxton College
Caxton College
Caxton College is a private school located 18.3 km north of Valencia, Spain, in a small town called Puçol. It is named after William Caxton. Caxton College has three buildings currently in use, one holding a sports hall, exam rooms and a cafeteria. Another is dedicated to primary and consists...
in Valencia, and the Bellver International College in Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
.
The International Preparatory Schools are ranked and recognised by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) and all teach a minimum level of Spanish language, science, literature, geography and history. The curriculum also varies from one international school to another.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the concept of a university preparatory school has never existed as such. In British usage a preparatory schoolPreparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, more commonly "prep school", is an independent private fee paying school
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
that a student attends prior to the move to senior school, and thus has nothing directly to do with university entrance. The only institutions specialising in university entrance are crammers
Cram school
Cram schools are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities...
for (usually) privately educated pupils who have failed to gain entrance to their university of choice directly from school, and whose parents are willing to pay for a year of specialist tuition to give them a second chance, but no-one attends these as a first choice option.
Historically independent secondary schools ("public schools
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
" in British usage), and (mainly state sector) grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s would prepare some or most of their pupils for university entrance, though this was not explicitly their mission. With the introduction of comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
s in the 1960s and 1970s, all secondary schools had a responsibility, at least in theory, to prepare their more academically able pupils for university entrance (unless they were located in one of the relatively small number of places where state secondary schools only cater for under 16s, and sixth form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
s are responsible for the academic education of 16–18 year olds). In practice, in the late 20th century, some comprehensives in working class areas actually sent very few students to university. In the early 21st century, with the expansion of university education, most secondary schools are sending significant numbers of pupils to university: a school that does not do so risks being classified as a "failing school" and closed or placed in special measures
Special measures
Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
.
Singapore
In SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, prep schools for universities are known as "junior colleges".