Before attending QCL, the students have attended primary (basisschool) and secondary school (middelbare school). Co-educational means that girls and boys are educated together. While traditional British public schools are either all-girls or all-boys, co-educational independent schools are becoming increasingly popular. To help with your character's history, we have provided an overview of the types of schools. We have also provided an overview of top-independent schools, although there are many others.

Types of secondary schools

State schools: State schools are government-funded and provide free education to pupils in the UK. There are various types of state schools, such as local authority controlled maintained schools, academies with their own curriculum, selective grammar schools and religion focused faith schools.

Independent (private) schools: Approximately 7% of school children in England attend privately run, fee-charging independent schools. Public schools are, confusingly, also private schools: mostly the oldest and most expensive of boarding secondary schools.
Note: only children whose parents can afford it enter these schools, the tuition is usually around £20000,- (€23500,-) a year and there is also an entry exam

Boarding school: Schools with facilities for pupils to have a home from home on a termly, weekly or flexible basis, often with superb facilities and a multitude of extracurricular activities. Note: these are all independent schools.

Top uk independent schools

Westminster school

is famed for its historical central London location. With students between the ages of 13 and 18, Westminster school is highly competitive. It is an all-boys school until sixth form, when girls can join.

Gordonstoun School

is set in the idyllic Scottish countryside and has plenty of royal links - both Prince Philip and Prince Charles were educated there. It teaches students between 6 and 18.

Wycombe Abbey

is set in idyllic rural England, offers a typical private school education for its 580 pupils, all aged between 11 and 18. It’s not old-fashioned, though - there are brand new, refurbished boarding houses with ensuite rooms and study areas.

St Helen and St Katharine

is a girls school in the countryside outside Oxford, prides itself on extracurricular development - there are over 100 clubs and programmes for students to choose from. It’s also academically excellent - nearly half of the GCSE grades gained by students in 2020 were Level 9.

St. Paul’s

is a historic public school located in West London. Founded in 1509, it provides an all-round education to boys between the ages of 7 and 18. It boasts theatres, a boat club, a design technology workshop, and a recital hall on-site - which is a rarity for London schools.

Eton

everyone’s heard of it, after all it’s where Prince William and Prince Harry went to school. The school has a rich history - it was founded in 1440 - and has its own traditions. It accepts pupils between the ages of 13 and 18.