5 confusing British English terms

The UK has a few interesting terms that may cause confusion even for people who speak English as a first language. Here’s five of them:

Public School

In the UK, Public Schools are private. Yes. They are public in the sense that students are not restricted by their catchment area; anyone who can afford the tuition and meet the academic criteria (when applicable) may attend them regardless of where they live. Other schools aimed at pupils residing in their local area and funded with public money will be referred to as State-funded, or State schools.

Minister

It does not correspond to the highest level. A minister will be below a Secretary of State.. In many languages, it works the other way around: secretaries are below ministers. This can be quite confusing in meetings.

Minister = secretário

Secretary of State = ministro

Local Authority

This one means municipality. It is a subdivision of a city into a smaller section with some administrative freedoms

Local Authority = município (BR) and autarquia local (PT)

Governor

There is no such thing as governors like we have in federalism in British politics as there are no states. A governor can be:

a. a person who is in charge of a school, prison, or other large organization or institution

b. the official leader of anything

c. slang for boss

Em português, chefe, líder. Ou governador, mas somente em países federalistas.

Headteacher

In the UK, the headteacher has a similar role as the principal in the US. It is the person in charge of a school.

Em português, diretor de escola.

Can you think of any others?