I am not familiar with school system in U.K.  I read a novel, Nice Work, which is written by David Lodge.           And there is a sentence about public school  which I don't get a grip.

"It was true that he had been educated at a public school, but he managed to disguise this handicap very well."What is a general opinion about public school in U.K.? And How much does it cost to go to a public school? And I wonder if Eton a public school or a private school?  And  How much does Eton cost per year? Thanks for answers in advance Dj. 

Public school? Free?

Eton definetly private. Expensive, don't know how much. But I do know why you ask. Anyhow, hope some Brits answer you Duanja. Have a nice night and nice weekend. Greets!

In the really old days, that is, before my time, the only education available in England was by private tutor. Independent private schools were then founded (like Eton (1440), Harrow (1243), St. Paul's (1509), Merchant Taylors' (1561), Rugby (1567), Charterhouse (1611), Winchester (1382)) and called "public" schools, because they were open to the wealthy families who could pay the tuition. To confuse matters, these private schools which are known as "public" schools like to call themselves "independent" schools... (only in England would they attempt to obfuscate the attempts by the wealthy to replicate and legitimize themselves). Not sure what the fees are now; in 2007 they were 9,360 per half for tuition, board, lodging, laundry, insurance, most games and most books, on top of 1,700 in one-time entrance fees, and maybe another 500 pounds in extra charges.

With regards to schools in the UK public and private is the same thing. Essentially, they are private schools (owned) that are open to the public if you can pay for them, as opposed to state schools that are free, and grammar schools that you have to pass an exam to get in to.

To get into a private school such as Eton you have to pass an entrance exam too, which is usually fiddled anyway. Regular public schools start at around 15 -20 thousand GBP a year, Eton costs around a gazillion GBP a year.

The line from the book you quoted sounds like sarcasm but might be serious too. Attending a public/private school can sometimes be regarded as a handicap by people who look down on the class system and people who look upon people like Boris Johnson (the Mayor of London) as an upper-class twit. You can usually tell if someone is privately educated by the way they speak (public school-boy accent)

Thanks you for your inputs.

Yes, a female character is a socialist feminist. I see that Public school in UK is comparable to a private school in Thailand in terms of expensive fees. In Sweden there is also independent school, run by a company, but there is no tuition fee for students. We read about a Swedish school system in Sweden a little bit when we learn SFI (Swedish for Immigrant). And when one of a Thai women read about a Swedish private school, she responds that it is impossible. A private school got to get money. Yes, a school's company get money from the government, but not from students' parents.

and to confuse things, in Scotland we just call them private or independent schools; public refers to ordinary state schools.

Also strangely (and this is for whole of UK) many 'independent' schools actually started out as charitable institutions!!

My old school was founded in 1659 and was originally for 'fatherless children' but has developed into a independent school since the 19th century. It only started letting girls in in 1979!!!!

Despite Kitschis otherwise accurate description, not all public schools produce those posh accents; usually only the very best (and they usually have the accent prior to starting lol). I was required to like rugby but just never took to it the same as football!!!

Is posh accents called Queen's English?

Thailand have similar school system to UK but the public schools in the UK is better.

Long ago, my English teacher said that he was forced to read Shakespeare when he was at grade 6 or 7. It was horrible for children, he said. (He is said to go to Eton, if I remember it correctly.)

When people talk about the 'Queen's English' it usually means good English or proper use of and well spoken.

Have you ever seen a Hugh Grant movie? That's a public school-boy accent

Hugh Grant is a brittish!?