grammar school

Noun

grammar school (countable and uncountable, plural grammar schools)

1. (archaic) A school that teaches its pupils the grammar system of a European language, especially Latin and Greek.
2. (UK) A secondary school that stresses academic over practical or vocational education, until recent times open to those pupils who had passed the 11-plus examination.
   • The largest building at one end, now used as a church hall, was originally the village's one-roomed grammar school, also endowed by the Lumleys.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 382, about Thornton Dale
   • It is a world where grammar school is the only way up, but at the cost of subjugation to educational tyranny and eventual estrangement from the family that was once so "proud" of your achievements.2008 July 12, John Mullan, “Where are they now?”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2013

   Synonyms:

   grammar

3. (US, rare, regional) Elementary school.