Plural of comprehensive; in British education, schools that accept students of all ability levels rather than selecting by exam performance.
From Middle French 'comprehensif', derived from Latin 'comprehendere' (to grasp together), from 'com-' (together) + 'prehendere' (to seize). The plural form refers to the British comprehensive school system established in the 1960s as a democratic alternative to selective grammar schools.
Britain's 'comprehensive' schools were a radical social experiment to end the 11-plus exam that separated children at age eleven—the word 'comprehensive' literally means 'including everything,' which is exactly what these schools aimed to do by including all academic abilities under one roof, transforming education policy across the UK.
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