Voluntary aided school
In a
voluntary aided school (many of which are
church schools) the governing body, as opposed to the
Local Education Authority, employs the staff, and decide admission arrangements but the
school is nevertheless funded by the state and does not charge fees.
The school's land and buildings are sometimes owned by a charitable foundation. The governing body may contribute towards the capital costs of running the school but, even so, the bulk of the funding comes from the state.
In the past, voluntary aided schools were linked to either the
Church of England or the
Roman Catholic Church, and there have been schools linked to other faith groups but there are now an increasing number of non-denominational schools.
An example of a non-denominational voluntary aided school is
Pate's Grammar School in
Cheltenham, which is funded through a charitable foundation set up by
Richard Pate and
Corpus Christi College, Oxford for the education of local children in
1574. Other examples of voluntary aided schools include the
Blue Coat School, Oldham,
London Oratory School and
Little Heath School,
Tilehurst,
Reading, Berkshire.
*
Education in England*
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