reform school

[ri-fawrm skool]

noun

1. (no longer in official use) reformatory.

Word History and Origins

Origin of reform school¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

It comes as the Irish actor promotes his new film, Steve, which follows his titular character's attempt to turn around a 1990s reform school for troubled boys.

From BBC

Which makes it a good thing that “Steve,” starring Cillian Murphy as a dedicated, troubled head teacher at a struggling reform school for chaos-inclined teenage boys, brings a raucously corrective attitude to bear.

From Los Angeles Times

Hundreds of boys, many with troubled backgrounds, were sent to the reform school on the border of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire by local authorities across England.

From BBC

Abandoned by her mother, she was sent, in her teens, to the Ventura School for Girls, a brutal reform school from which she emerged with an education in crime.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s set in Florida in the early 1960s at a reform school.

From Los Angeles Times