In America ( the United States ) , we call our state-run schools "public schools", since they are open to the public, supported by the public, and run by the public. Schools that are privately run, and open only to those who are admitted, are called "private schools".
In the United Kingdom ( England ) "public school" means an elite private school. It was called public school by those who would have kept their children at home with a tutor if they hadn't sent them to school.
