Academy vs. School: What’s the Difference?
Main Difference
The main difference between Academy and School is that the Academy is a institution of higher learning and School is a institution designed to teach students under the direction of teachers.
Academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, higher learning, research, or honorary membership.
Academia is the worldwide group composed of professors and researchers at institutes of higher learning.
The name traces back to Plato’s school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece.
School
A school is an institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students (or “pupils”) under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country (discussed in the Regional section below) but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught, is commonly called a university college or university.
In addition to these core schools, students in a given country may also attend schools before and after primary and secondary education. Kindergarten or pre-school provide some schooling to very young children (typically ages 3–5). University, vocational school, college or seminary may be available after secondary school. A school may be dedicated to one particular field, such as a school of economics or a school of dance. Alternative schools may provide nontraditional curriculum and methods.
There are also non-government schools, called private schools. Private schools may be required when the government does not supply adequate, or special education. Other private schools can also be religious, such as Christian schools, madrasa, hawzas (Shi’a schools), yeshivas (Jewish schools), and others; or schools that have a higher standard of education or seek to foster other personal achievements. Schools for adults include institutions of corporate training, military education and training and business schools.
In home schooling and online schools, teaching and learning take place outside a traditional school building. Schools are commonly organized in several different organizational models, including departmental, small learning communities, academies, integrated, and schools-within-a-school.
Academy (noun)
The garden where Plato taught. First attested around 1350 to 1470.Brown, Lesley, ed. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. 5th. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Academy (noun)
Plato’s philosophical system based on skepticism; Plato’s followers. First attested in the mid 16th century.
Academy (noun)
An institution for the study of higher learning; a college or a university; typically a private school. First attested in the mid 16th century.
Academy (noun)
A school or place of training in which some special art is taught. First attested in the late 16th century.
“the military academy at West Point; a riding academy; the Academy of Music.; a music academy; a language academy”
Academy (noun)
A society of learned people united for the advancement of the arts and sciences, and literature, or some particular art or science. First attested in the early 17th century.
“the French Academy; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; academies of literature and philology.”
Academy (noun)
The knowledge disseminated in an Academy. Attested from the early 17th century until the mid 18th century.
Academy (noun)
Academia.
Academy (noun)
A body of established opinion in a particular field, regarded as authoritative.
Academy (noun)
A school directly funded by central government, independent of local control.
School (noun)
A group of fish or a group of marine mammals such as porpoises, dolphins, or whales.
“The divers encountered a huge school of mackerel.”
School (noun)
A multitude.
School (noun)
An institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.
“Our children attend a public school in our neighborhood.”
“Harvard University is a famous American postsecondary school.”
School (noun)
An primary and secondary education, prior to tertiary education (college or university).
School (noun)
At Eton College, a period or session of teaching.
“Divinity, history and geography are studied for two schools per week.”
School (noun)
Within a larger educational institution, an organizational unit, such as a department or institute, which is dedicated to a specific subject area.
“We are enrolled in the same university, but I attend the School of Economics and my brother is in the School of Music.”
School (noun)
An art movement, a community of artists.
School (noun)
The followers of a particular doctrine; a particular way of thinking or particular doctrine; a school of thought.
“These economists belong to the monetarist school.”
School (noun)
The time during which classes are attended or in session in an educational institution.
“I’ll see you after school.”
School (noun)
The room or hall in English universities where the examinations for degrees and honours are held.
School (noun)
The canons, precepts, or body of opinion or practice, sanctioned by the authority of a particular class or age.
“He was a gentleman of the old school.”
School (noun)
An establishment offering specialized instruction, as for driving, cooking, typing, coding, etc.
School (verb)
(of fish) To form into, or travel in a school.
School (verb)
To educate, teach, or train (often, but not necessarily, in a school.)
“Many future prime ministers were schooled in Eton.”
School (verb)
To defeat emphatically, to teach an opponent a harsh lesson.
School (verb)
To control, or compose, one’s expression.
“She took care to school her expression, not giving away any of her feelings.”
Academy (noun)
a place of study or training in a special field
“a police academy”
Academy (noun)
a place of study
“he was educated privately at academies in Margate”
Academy (noun)
(in England) an inner-city school which is funded by the government and sometimes also by a private individual or organization but is not controlled by the local authority.
Academy (noun)
a secondary school, in the US typically a private one
“Mark left St Andrews Academy with five highers, and studied maths at Glasgow University”
Academy (noun)
the teaching school founded by Plato.
Academy (noun)
a society or institution of distinguished scholars and artists or scientists that aims to promote and maintain standards in its particular field
“the Royal Academy of Arts”
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