Schools database in the UK for state and independent schools - by Oscar Research (35k records)

Schools in the UK are funded, managed and structured in a wide variety of ways. There are three broad types - Community (funded by the taxpayer and controlled by a Local Authority), Academy (funded primarily by the tax payer but independent of Local Authority control) and Independent (funded privately). The Head Teacher is usually the ultimate decision maker for each school. Types of School: Community Schools - Local Authority owned and run, but since the introduction of Local Management of Schools the governing bodies and head teachers enjoy a large degree of autonomy over how their limited budgets should be spent. Voluntary Aided and Voluntary Controlled Schools - funded primarily by the Local Authority but the church will have a major influence in the management of the school and will also contribute funds. Academies - these are in England and are mainly Secondary Schools., They are directly funded by Central Government and are independent of Local Authority control. As well as their Public funding, they may also receive funding from the private sector in the form of sponsors. Independent Schools tend to fall into two groups - Public and Preparatory Schools, and Other Independent Schools, which can be very small. They are either privately owned or owned by a Charity and completely autonomous. Special Schools - serve the specific needs of children with physical disabilities or learning difficulties and therefore tend to be small. They may be either Maintained Special Schools, run by the Local Authority, or Independent Special Schools - privately owned and run but the pupils may be funded by their Local Authority. Schooling structure: Primary and Comprehensive schools - the most common form, a two tier non-selective system. First, Middle and Upper schools (the latter normally covering the 13 to 18 age range) - a three tier system run by a number of Local Authorities. Grammar schools - a selective system surviving in a few areas. Sixth Form Colleges and Colleges of Further Education - About half of UK Secondary Schools include a Sixth Form for 16-18 (A Level or Equivalent) education. In addition to these, there are a number of Colleges providing the same services (These are listed in Further and Higher Education database). Additional data collected within the Schools database: Specialisation: We identify schools that specialise in certain areas, such as Technology, Languages, Sports or the Arts, whilst still maintaining a full standard curriculum. Number of Pupils: We list the number of pupils at each school. The vast majority of schools are Primary schools, rarely with more than 500 pupils. In rural areas some schools have less than 50 pupils. Comprehensive schools are much larger, typically with 700-1500 pupils or more drawn from a wider area. Gender: Shows if the School is either Boys or Girls Only, Co-educational, or, primarily one gender or the other. Schools Attributes: Details additional services/facilities the Schools may have, e.g. Boarding Facilities / Nursery Unit / Facilities for Children with Learning Difficulties etc. Age Range: We list the pupil age ranges covered by each School. Parent Organisation: We provide the name of the parent Local Education Authority (LEA) for each School. In the case of Independent and Academy Schools this is still listed in order to group Schools into LEA areas.