In United Kingdom, the a grant-maintained school, sometimes shortened to a GM school or a maintained school, is a school that has opted out of local government control but still receives central government funding from the Local Education Authority. Such a school is therefore a state school, whether a comprehensive, grammar or secondary modern. Maintained schools must follow various rules, such as following the National Curriculum. Fee-paying private schools (sometimes called public schools) are not funded by the state, and so are not subject to all of the same rules. A Local Education Authority (LEA) is the part of a council in England or Wales that is responsible for education within that councils juristriction. ... In the England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a nationwide education curriculum was introduced in the 1980s to ensure that certain basic material was covered by all pupils. ... A public school, in common English and Welsh usage, is a (usually) prestigious school, for children usually between the ages of 11 or 13 and 18, which charges fees and is not financed by the state. ...

Grant-maintained schools are controversial, in part because some religious groups have applied to create grant-maintained schools and critics argue that this perpetuates social divisions. Skegness Grammar School was the first school to apply for, and to receive, grant-maintained status. Skegness is a seaside resort town in Lincolnshire, England, with a permanent population of about 30,000. ... A grammar school is a type of school found in some English-speaking countries. ...