A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis of selection criteria, usually academic performance. The term is commonly used in relation to England and Wales, where comprehensive schools were introduced as state schools on an experimental basis in the 1940s and became more widespread from 1965.
The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United Kingdom which encouraged state schools in England and Northern Ireland to raise private sponsorship in order to become specialist schools – schools that specialise in certain areas of the curriculum – to boost achievement, cooperation and diversity in the school system. First introduced in 1993 to England as a policy of John Major's Conservative government, it was relaunched in 1997 as a flagship policy of the New Labour governments, expanding significantly under Prime Minister Tony Blair and his successor Gordon Brown. The programme was introduced to Northern Ireland in 2006, lasting until April 2011 in England and August 2011 in Northern Ireland. By this time, it had established a near-universal specialist system of secondary education in England, with almost every state-funded secondary school in England having specialised. This system replaced the comprehensive system which had been in place since the 1970s.
The Trinity School in Nottingham, England is a Catholic secondary school and sixth form with academy status for pupils aged 11–18. It is part of the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi Academy Trust.
Penrice Academy is a secondary academy school and former specialist Language College in St Austell, Cornwall, England. The school has an enrollment of 1,428.
Thomas Tallis School is a large mixed comprehensive school for pupils aged 11–19, located in Kidbrooke in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, England. It opened in 1971, and was named after the composer Thomas Tallis, who lived in Greenwich. The school was completely rebuilt 40 years later as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme. It now has 1,985 students.
Lincolnshire is one of the few counties within the UK that still uses the eleven-plus to decide who may attend grammar school, in common with Buckinghamshire and Kent.
Ellowes Hall Sports College is a comprehensive secondary school and sixth form situated on Stickley Lane in Lower Gornal, Dudley, West Midlands, England.
The Bicester School is a mixed, multi-heritage, secondary school, with 963 students. It is situated in Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, and occupies a 32-acre (130,000 m2) site leading off Queens Avenue.
The Barlow RC High School is a comprehensive school in Didsbury, Manchester, England.
Windsor High School is a secondary school with academy status located on Richmond Street, Halesowen, West Midlands, England. It is among the largest schools in the region, with capacity for 1,700 pupils aged 11 to 18, and is heavily over-subscribed.
Boston Spa Academy is a coeducational secondary school for pupils aged 11–19 years old on Clifford Moor Road in Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, England. It is larger than other secondary schools in the area, with 1500 students on roll, including 350 in the sixth form. Boston Spa and neighbouring Wetherby High School have large catchment areas and take pupils from much of north and east Leeds.Over recent years, the proportion of pupils attending Boston Spa Academy from the local areas has significantly increased as the reputation of the school has improved following on from significant improvements in performance. In 2019, Boston Spa was placed in the top 5% of schools nationally and for sixth form was in the highest 250 performing providers in the country.
Wilsthorpe School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England.
The Norwood School is a co-educational community school at the south end of the London Borough of Lambeth, for girls and boys aged 11–18. The school is a specialist Performing and Visual Arts College. From September 2007, the school admitted boys for the first time as it changed its status from a single sex girls' school to a co-educational community school. Its pupils travel from across the local education authority mainly from Brixton, Streatham and Vauxhall and a small proportion from neighbouring boroughs.
The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School (BHBS) is a mixed comprehensive secondary school in the Tupsley district of Hereford, England. It is a voluntary aided school, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 16. It is a Church of England school and is administered by the Hereford Diocese. The current Headteacher of the school is Martin Henton. The immediate past Headteacher was Sara Catlow-Hawkins who retired in 2018. She succeeded Andrew Marson in September 2007. Marson had led the school for 21 years.
Glossopdale School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Hadfield, Derbyshire, England.
Walton Academy, formerly Walton Girls' High School is a co-ed secondary school, in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of the town near the A607 junction with the A1. The school accepts approximately 135 girls a year. In September 2019, the school saw its first boys enter in year 7, previously boys were only in the sixth form.
The Spires Academy is a non-selective secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 in Canterbury, Kent. There is a sixth form. The school has dual specialist status in business and enterprise, and in visual, creative and performing arts. Spires is independently governed, but funded by the sponsors and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. As a non-selective school the school does not insist on prospective pupils passing the eleven-plus examination for entry, and it is free to attend. The Academy is subject, like other schools, to regular inspections, but is managed by an ‘Academy Trust’ called E21C, rather than a local education authority. According to Ofsted inspectors, boys do worse at maths at the school, and generally the school needs to improve (academically).
Willingdon Community School is an 11–16 coeducational secondary school located in the Lower Willingdon area of Eastbourne in the English county of East Sussex.
A comprehensive school, or simply a comprehensive, typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis of selection criteria, usually academic performance. In England and Wales comprehensive schools were introduced as state schools on an experimental basis in the 1940s and became more widespread from 1965. They may be part of a local education authority or be a self governing academy or part of a multi-academy trust.
Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialising in special needs education, which are typically known as special schools.
