All state primary schools and most secondary schools can accept any child and there are no entrance exams. Independent schools are
private and manage their own finances and organisation. Many have their own entrance exams but most of them follow the National
Curriculum and put pupils forward for the national exams (GSCEs
and A levels) at 16 and 18, like state schools. Religious groups run
some schools but most are secular and have a board at independent
directors. The confusing name ‘public schools’ in the United
Kingdom actually refers to a group of very old private schools (for
example Ham, Eton and Rugby). They are expensive and elitist and
are usually for children of the very rich, or the aristocracy. Many
private schools are ‘boarding schools': pupils study and live there.