Types of School in England Explained: A Parents' Guide

The types of schools in England are more varied than most parents realise until they start applying, and the label a school carries is not decorative. It decides who sets the admission rules, who employs the staff, who owns the buildings and how much freedom the head has over the curriculum and the school day. Two schools on the same road can be governed in completely different ways.

This guide explains each type in plain terms, and more importantly explains which differences actually affect your application and your child's day-to-day experience.

The one distinction that matters most

Before the individual categories, there is a single split worth holding on to: who is the admission authority, meaning who decides the oversubscription criteria and who ranks the applications.

For community and voluntary controlled schools, the local authority is the admission authority.
For academies, free schools, foundation and voluntary aided schools, the school or its trust is its own admission authority.

You still apply through your local council for all of them, on one form. But where the school sets its own rules, those rules can include faith criteria, feeder schools, staff children, or a distance measurement taken from a different point than the council uses. Always read the individual school's admission arrangements rather than assuming the council's general policy applies. Our guide to oversubscription criteria covers how those rules are applied in practice.

State-funded mainstream schools

Community schools

Run by the local authority, which employs the staff, owns the land and sets the admission arrangements. They follow the national curriculum and have no religious character. This was the standard model for decades and still describes a large number of primary schools, though far fewer secondaries.

Academies

State-funded schools that are independent of local authority control, funded directly by central government through a funding agreement and run by an academy trust. Most are part of a multi-academy trust running several schools, which can share staff, systems and a central improvement team.

Two routes exist. A converter academy is a school, usually a strong one, that chose to convert. A sponsored academy is a school that was underperforming and was taken over by a trust as an intervention. The distinction matters when you look at historic results, because a sponsored academy's older data may belong to a school that was run very differently.

Academies do not have to follow the national curriculum, though they must provide a broad and balanced curriculum and meet the terms of their funding agreement. In practice most teach something very close to it, particularly at GCSE, since pupils sit the same national qualifications. They have more freedom over the length of the school day, term dates and staff pay and conditions.

Free schools

Legally a type of academy, set up as a new school rather than converted from an existing one. They were introduced under the Academies Act 2010 and can be proposed by groups including trusts, charities, parents and teachers, in response to demand for places or a particular educational approach. Like academies, they are their own admission authority and are not required to follow the national curriculum. Related models include studio schools and university technical colleges, which are typically smaller, take pupils from 14 or 16, and focus on technical and vocational routes with employer involvement.

Foundation and trust schools

State schools where the governing body employs the staff and is the admission authority, and where the land is often owned by the governing body or a charitable foundation. They sit between community schools and academies in terms of autonomy, and there are relatively few of them now that so many have converted.

Voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools

These are the two main faith school models in the maintained sector, usually Church of England or Roman Catholic.

A voluntary aided school has a governing body that employs staff and sets admissions, with the religious body owning the land and appointing a majority of governors. It can prioritise applicants on faith grounds and set its own religious education syllabus. A voluntary controlled school has a religious character but the local authority employs staff and runs admissions, so faith criteria are far less prominent and often absent.

If you are applying to a faith school, the practical consequence is paperwork. Many voluntary aided schools require a supplementary information form, often with confirmation of worship attendance from a member of the clergy, submitted directly to the school by a separate deadline. Missing it means being considered under the non-faith criteria. See our guide to the faith school supplementary information form.

Grammar schools

State schools that select pupils by academic ability, usually through an entrance test in Year 6 commonly known as the eleven plus. There are 163 grammar schools in England, heavily concentrated in a handful of areas including Kent, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Trafford and parts of London and Birmingham. Many are also academies.

The important points for parents are procedural. You normally register for the test directly with the school or the county consortium, months before the main application deadline and often in the spring or early summer before Year 6. Passing the test does not guarantee a place, since qualified applicants are then ranked by the school's other criteria, usually distance. Our comparison of grammar school admissions and the eleven plus goes into the timetable in detail.

Independent schools

Fee-paying schools, sometimes called private or public schools, funded by fees and endowments rather than by government. They set their own curriculum, their own admissions process and their own term dates, and they are inspected either by Ofsted or by the Independent Schools Inspectorate depending on membership.

Admission is entirely separate from the local authority process: you apply directly to the school, usually well in advance, and entry commonly involves an assessment, an interview and a report from the current school. Many offer means-tested bursaries and academic or music scholarships, and it is worth asking about these directly rather than assuming they are out of reach.

Special schools and alternative provision

Special schools educate children with more complex special educational needs and disabilities, and may be maintained by the local authority, run as academies or independent. A place is normally secured through an education, health and care plan rather than the standard admissions round, and the named school appears in the plan itself.

Pupil referral units and other alternative provision educate children who cannot attend a mainstream school, often because of exclusion, illness or another temporary need.

Other variations you will come across

Infant, junior and primary. Infant schools cover Reception to Year 2, junior schools Years 3 to 6, and primary schools both. Where a separate infant and junior school exist, transfer at Year 3 usually needs its own application.
Middle schools. A small number of areas retain first, middle and upper schools with transfer at different ages, which changes the whole application timetable locally.
All-through schools. One school covering primary and secondary phases, where pupils usually transfer internally.
Sixth form colleges and further education colleges. Post-16 institutions with their own separate application processes.
Boarding. Mostly independent, but a small number of state boarding schools exist where tuition is free and families pay only boarding fees.

Does the type of school actually matter?

Less than parents fear, and in different ways than they expect.

It matters a lot for applying. Extra forms, separate deadlines, entrance tests and faith requirements are all consequences of school type, and missing one costs you a place you might otherwise have had.

It matters somewhat for the school day. Academies and free schools can set longer days, different term dates and their own behaviour and uniform policies, so check the practical details if that affects childcare or siblings at another school.

It matters least for quality. There is no type of school that is reliably better than another. A strong community primary will serve a child better than a weak academy, and the reverse is equally true. Judge the individual school on its results, its inspection history, its stability and what you see on a visit, using our guides to comparing schools and reading an Ofsted report. You can check any school's official type, size and performance data on the Department for Education's school performance tables, or start from the Schools Insight homepage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main types of school in England?

The state-funded mainstream types are community schools, academies, free schools, foundation schools, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled faith schools, and grammar schools. Alongside them sit independent fee-paying schools, special schools and alternative provision such as pupil referral units.

What is the difference between an academy and a community school?

A community school is run by the local authority, which employs staff and handles admissions, and it follows the national curriculum. An academy is funded directly by central government through a trust, is its own admission authority, and has freedom over the curriculum, the school day and staff terms, though it must still provide a broad and balanced education.

Do academies have to follow the national curriculum?

No. Academies and free schools are not required to follow the national curriculum, but they must offer a broad and balanced curriculum and meet the terms of their funding agreement. In practice most teach something close to it, because pupils sit the same national qualifications at GCSE and A level.

How many grammar schools are there in England?

There are 163 state grammar schools in England, concentrated in a small number of areas including Kent, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Trafford and parts of London and Birmingham. They select by an entrance test in Year 6, and registration usually happens months before the main application deadline.

Does the type of school affect how I apply?

Yes. You apply through your local council for every state school, but schools that are their own admission authority, meaning academies, free schools, foundation and voluntary aided schools, set their own oversubscription criteria. Faith schools often need a supplementary information form and grammar schools need separate test registration, both with their own deadlines.

Is one type of school better than another?

No type is reliably better. Governance tells you who makes the rules, not how well a school teaches. Judge each school individually on its results, inspection history, staff stability and what you see when you visit, rather than on whether it is an academy, a community school or a foundation school.