special school

British

noun

a school for children who are unable to benefit from ordinary schooling because they have learning or physical disabilities, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Independent special schools charge an average of £63,000 per child per year, more than twice the £26,000 cost of a state special school.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Caroline Campbell's autistic son Oscar is coming to the end of his time in his special school.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

"They've got to go through the statementing process because we are a special school."

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025

The authority has also committed to providing an additional 240 state funded special school places, with the intention for 100 more, to reduce the number of children being taught in more expensive settings.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025

He said Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni were in charge of recruiting members and that Dennis Goldberg ran a special school for recruits in the Cape.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023