Independent School (United Kingdom) - Preparatory Schools

Preparatory Schools

In England and Wales a preparatory school, or prep school in current usage, is an independent school designed to prepare a pupil for fee-paying, secondary independent school. The age range is normally seven to eleven or thirteen, although it may include younger pupils as well. An independent school which only caters for under sevens is a "pre-prep" and the junior departments of prep schools which cover the first years of schooling are also called "pre-preps".

The Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS) is the prep schools heads association serving the top 500+ independent prep schools in the UK and Worldwide. IAPS is one of seven affiliated associations of the Independent Schools Council.

There are 130,000 pupils in over 500 schools of all types and sizes. Prep schools may be for boys or girls only, or may be co-educational. They may be day schools, boarding schools, weekly boarding, flexi-boarding, or a combination. They fall into the following general categories:

• Wholly independent prep schools, both charitable and proprietary
• Junior schools linked to senior schools
• Choir schools, which educate child choristers of cathedrals and some other large religious institutions; they all accept non-chorister pupils with the exception of Westminster Abbey Choir School; these schools are usually affiliated to Anglican churches, but may occasionally be associated with Catholic ones such as Westminster Cathedral
• Schools offering special educational provision or facilities
• Schools with particular religious affiliations