Why are fee paying schools called public schools in England?
“Public School” means that a school is one of a small number of old fee-paying schools, which pre-date the free state education system. They were called “public” schools because, at the time they were created, they were open to everyone, whereas other schools were private. Today there are still “private” schools – which are modern fee-paying schools, without the history of public schools. Schools which are funded by the government are know as “state” or “maintained” schools.
