A community school in England and Wales is a type of state-funded school in which the

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

employs the school's staff, is responsible for the school's admissions and owns the school's estate. The formal use of this name to describe a school derives from the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.School Standards and Framework Act 1998
Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

Board School

In the mid-19th century, government involvement in schooling consisted of annual grants to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education and the British and Foreign School Society (BFSS) to support the "voluntary schools" that they ran, and monitoring inspections of these schools. The Elementary Education Act 1870 imposed stricter standards on schools, and provided for the setting up of locally elected school boards in boroughs and parishes across England and Wales, empowered to set up elementary-level board schools where voluntary provision was insufficient to meet local education need. A number of voluntary schools, especially those of the BFSS, chose to become board schools. Parents were still required to pay fees, though the fees of the poorest were paid by the board.

County School

The

Education Act 1902 The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7 c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial Act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conservat ...

abolished school boards, transferring their functions to counties and boroughs acting as local education authorities. The board schools were thus renamed county schools. The act also introduced county secondary schools, which were greatly expanded during the 20th century. Prior to the changes introduced in the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Historians ...

the county secondary schools provided a grammar school type education to a small sector of the school age population. The majority of children were educated in an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

until the then school leaving age of 14. The name 'county school' was prestigious and remained in common usage to describe local grammar schools after 1944. Many schools retain the word 'county' in their name whether still under local authority control or moved to academy status. Examples include Chelmsford County High School for Girls, Enfield County School, Ilford County High School,

Guildford County School Guildford County School (GCS) is a co-educational day school on Farnham Road ( A31), Guildford, England, 200 metres from Guildford town centre. It has around 1050 students enrolled, including the Sixth Form. It is run by its headmaster Steve Smi ...

, Wallington County Grammar School.

School Standards and Framework Act 1998

Local authority maintained schools were renamed community schools in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. In 2008 approximately 61% of the state-funded primary and secondary schools in England were community schools.

References

{{authority control State schools in the United Kingdom School types Education in England Education in Wales Public education in the United Kingdom Schools in England Schools in Wales

Board School

County School

School Standards and Framework Act 1998

See also

References