British term. A 'maintained school' is short for 'grant maintained', meaning that its funding comes from the local education authority. In common parlance this means it is a state school, whether a comprehensive, grammar or secondary modern. Maintained schools must follow various rules, such as following the
National Curriculum[?] and abiding by
Section 28. 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.