Definition

1. Noun:
   • A large secondary school in Britain or Canada that educates students of all academic abilities, typically without selection by examination. It provides a broad curriculum designed to cater to diverse student needs and aspirations.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • After primary school, most children in the area attend the local comprehensive school.
  • The government's policy aimed to replace selective grammar schools with comprehensive schools.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in discussions about educational policy, equity, and the history of schooling systems in the UK and other Commonwealth countries.
• It can be contrasted with selective schools (like grammar schools) or specialist schools.

Variants and Related Words

• Comprehensive education (n): The system or principle of educating children of all abilities in the same school.
  • They are strong advocates for comprehensive education.
• Comprehensivization (n, historical): The process of converting a selective school system into a comprehensive one.

Synonyms

• Secondary modern school (historical, UK context, though these were often less academic in focus).
• High school (a more general term, especially in North American contexts, though not strictly synonymous as "high school" is not defined by its non-selective nature in the same way).

Related Phrases

• Go to a comprehensive: A common phrase meaning to attend a comprehensive school.
  • He went to a comprehensive in London before university.

Noun

1. a large British or Canadian secondary school for children of all abilities