Private schools, or independent schools, are schools not administered by local, state, or national government, which retain the right to select their student body and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition rather than with public (state) funds. In the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries the use of the term is generally restricted to primary and secondary educational levels: it is almost never used of universities or other tertiary institutions.

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Generally called independent schools because of their freedom to operate outside of government regulation, private schools are favoured by a significant number of parents because of their academic standards, which are often higher than those found in the state sector, and wider opportunities in fields such as sport, drama and music. Many Independent schools are single-sex (though this is becoming less common), and interestingly these schools tend to perform better academically (particularly girls' schools), as is evident in the annual league tables for GCSE and A Level results.

Independent primary schools are called preparatory schools, preparing pupils not for admission to a university as in the United States, but to an independent secondary school (the Common Entrance Exam). Such independent secondary schools are often - somewhat confusingly - called public schools, though this term is primarily used of the older and more prestigious schools, like Winchester, Eton, and Harrow. Many of these schools are boarding schools. The reason that private schools are called public schools in England is historical. These older schools were formed when there was little or no school system; they were called public schools then, because at that time schooling was really only available for the elite by private tutoring. By comparison, these early schools were considered public ... as opposed to private tuition. The name has stuck since, but only in England.

Due to their ancient foundation, many public schools have a religious character, although this does not generally aim at pupils' religious indoctrination and does not preclude pupils of other faiths attending if they wish. Religion is not as important an aspect in the majority of parents' decision to send their child to an independent school as it is in the United States, due to the requirement of state schools to timetable periods of Christian worship.

In the 1970s, the two-tier system was removed from state-run Secondary education, in which all students were required to sit the 11+ exam at that age. The more able students would then be offered a place at a local grammar school, as oppose to a comprehensive school. But after comprehensivisation, some grammar schools were able to become independent (often the ones with an established heritage).

Most Reviewed UK Private Schools

Merton Court Preparatory School
Reed's School
Glenalmond College
King's School, Rochester
Gordonstoun School
Notre Dame Preparatory School
Clifton High School
Barnard Castle School
Radley College
Royal Hospital School