Combined school is a term used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which has begun to lose its original meaning. When, in 1967, the

Plowden Report The Plowden Report is the unofficial name for the 1967 report of the Central Advisory Council For Education (England) into Primary education in England. The report, entitled ''Children and their Primary Schools'', reviewed primary education in a wh ...

recommended a change in the structure of primary education in England, it proposed an arrangement of

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and middle schools, catering for pupils aged 4–8 and 8-12 respectively. It also proposed the use of the term ''combined school'' to refer to those through schools which accepted pupils from age 4 to 12. Some

local education authorities 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 ...

, such as Buckinghamshire, introduced a large number of this type of school, but have since adapted their structures such that all such schools are now regular

primary 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 e ...

s catering for pupils up to age 11. However, many of the schools have retained their former name as a combined school. There remains a small number of combined schools, in the original sense, in Poole,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. The term is not exclusive to the UK. The

Sarasota County Public Schools The District School Board of Sarasota, commonly known as Sarasota County Schools, is a public school district serving all of Sarasota County, Florida. As of 2017, the total number of students is approximately 43,150. The school district's leader ...

have three combination schools.

Sources cited

Education in the United Kingdom School types {{UK-school-stub