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Posted: 2006-02-17 14:09:42
Are English words changing to mean the opposite in England
All In London Forum
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Lead
Someone help becuase I am totally lost. My family will soon move to London from South Africa and therefore we are looking for good schools fo our 3 sons. However, I recently had a very embarrasing experience with a friend about the meaning of public schools. I now know that public means private in UK schools. Is english drastically changing in England so that words now mean exactly the opposite or is there any other explanation?? It is even more confusing when in it connected to schools.
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Lead
Dave C
English isn't changing, but you have stumbled upon one of the rather anachronisitc features of the language which makes England the unique country that it is! I think schools in this country can be broadly split into three categories - state schools, independent schools and public schools. State schools are, as the name suggests, those funded by the state and free to everybody. Independent schools are those not funded by the state, obtaining their finances from fees paid by parents. They tend to be more selective and are generally seen as producing better results than state schools. Some of the larger and older independent schools such as Eton, Harrow, Winchester and so on are know as public schools. I'm not really sure why but check out this page on Wikipedia for more info -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(UK)
Good luck in finding decent schools!
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(UK)
Good luck in finding decent schools!
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link activated
Posted: 2006-02-17 16:33:48
Lead
Thanks Dave, this really helps!!
One other thing Dave or any body who can help, are there state schools that perform as well or even better than independent schools? My husband has been told by friends that state schools are terrible.
I will be coming to live in London and worried about my childrens schooling. I checked out the fees for independent schools and the minimum termly cost was 3500 pounds, at least for those I checked on the internet. This is rather on the high side. Are there some which are cheaper than these?
One other thing Dave or any body who can help, are there state schools that perform as well or even better than independent schools? My husband has been told by friends that state schools are terrible.
I will be coming to live in London and worried about my childrens schooling. I checked out the fees for independent schools and the minimum termly cost was 3500 pounds, at least for those I checked on the internet. This is rather on the high side. Are there some which are cheaper than these?
Posted: 2006-02-23 08:59:00
Lead
That link is really what I needed, thanks again Dave.
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Lead
Posted: 2006-02-23 09:11:11
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