Many boarding schools started to admit day pupils for the first time , and others abolished boarding completely . Some started accepting girls in the sixth form , while others became fully co-educational . The 1968 film '' if .... '' , which satirised the worst elements of English public school life , and culminated in scenes of armed insurrection , won the Palme d'Or at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival . These actions were felt in British public schools ; the new headmaster at Oundle School noted that " student protests and intellectual ferment were challenging the status quo " . These challenges coincided with the mid-1970s recession and moves by the Labour government to separate more clearly the independent and state sectors
1969 Cannes Film Festival
1969 Cannes Film Festival
Public school (United Kingdom)