The Public Schools Act 1868 was passed by the UK Parliament to regulate nine major English boys' schools. In the era that the act was passed, the schools to which it applied educated the majority of the sons of the British upper class. To some extent, this is still the case today, although the number of schools calling themselves public schools has greatly increased, and independent schools in general operate a far more inclusive policy to their admissions and some have become co-educational during the past 20 years. This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Ireland for the years up to its dissolution in 1800. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1707-1719. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1720-1739. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1740-1759. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1760-1779. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1780-1800. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1801-1819. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1820-1839. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1840-1859. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1860-1879. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1880-1899. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1900-1919. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1920-1939. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1940-1959. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1960-1979. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1980-1999. ... This is an list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 2000 to the present. ... This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body during its existence between 2000 and 2002 when it was suspended. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... The is a list of Church of England Measures which are church legislation Church of England. ... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... Public school in the United Kingdom is a label applied to certain fee-paying independent schools in England and Wales; in Scotland and Ireland it is heard less often in this sense (and indeed in Scotland the phrase has long been an alternative name for council schools in the state...

The act was the result of the report of the Clarendon Commission, a Royal Commission on Public Schools which sat from 1861 to 1864, and investigated conditions and abuses which had grown up over the centuries at nine, prominent, nominally charitable schools: In states that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government public inquiry into an issue. ... The term public school has different (and in some cases contradictory) meanings due to regional differences. ...

• Charterhouse School
• Eton College
• Harrow School
• Merchant Taylors' School
• Rugby School
• Shrewsbury School
• St Paul's School
• Westminster School
• Winchester College

The Act removed these schools from any direct jurisdiction of the government, granting them independence over their administration and establishing a board of governors for each school. The act also led to the relaxation of the curriculum, away from the erstwhile Classics-based curriculum, to a broader academic scope of studies. Following the use in the Act of the term "Public school" to distinguish the above schools, many other schools not covered by the Act thence sought to associate themselves with this description and it is now the convential term for any independent senior school in the United Kingdom. Charterhouse School is an English public school, located in Godalming in the county of Surrey. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for male students, founded in 1440 by Henry VI. It is located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor in England, situated north of Windsor... Harrow School, normally just known as Harrow, is one of the worlds most famous schools. ... For MTS Crosby, see Merchant Taylors School, Crosby. ... A view of Rugby School from The Close, the playing field where according to legend Rugby was invented Rugby School, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, is one of the oldest public schools in England and is one of the major co-educational boarding schools in the country. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... St Pauls School St Pauls School is a boys public school. ... The Royal College of St. ... Winchester College is a well-known boys independent school, and an example of a British public school, in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, England. ... Classics, particularly within the Western University tradition, when used as a singular noun, means the study of the language, literature, history, art, and other aspects of Greek and Roman culture during the time frame known as classical antiquity. ... The term public school has different (and in some cases contradictory) meanings due to regional differences. ...

The Public Schools Act was revised and slightly modified in 1998.