Boarding schools in UK – education information

The boarding school in the UK is a closed educational institution with a separate campus, where children study and live (in residences) during the school year. Boarding schools in the UK can be weekly or partial (children go home on weekends) or full (students go home only on holidays). Full–board schools are the most common form of education: in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales), the foreign students can find more than 500 boarding schools.

TOP schools in the UK are entire college campuses with their own infrastructure, rules, history and way of life. This is a place where students grow into harmonious, comprehensively developed and well-mannered personalities, become citizens of the world, prepare to build a career and achieve high personal goals.

Boarding schools in the UK pay much attention to not only the academic program: the development in the sports and creative, social sphere is keeping pace with basic education here. There are many electives, sections, clubs and communities of interest on the campus, sports are always included in the curriculum of both junior, middle, and senior classes, interesting lectures, master classes and other informative and exciting events are held.

Educational process in boarding schools in the UK

Studying in British schools is divided in three stages:

Primary school – designed for students aged from 5-11 years.
Secondary school – designed for students aged from 11-16 years.
Sixth Form – designed for students aged from 16-18 years.

Usually boarding school accommodation is provided to children from 7-11 years old (the specific age needs to be specified separately in each school), after that the children can study on the full board basis. As a rule, in most cases the foreign students enter English boarding schools at 7 years old, at 11-13 years old, at 14-16 years old – this parameter depends on the student’s educational goals.

The boarding schools are usually not limited to standard educational programs: they organize short-term courses, vacation programs throughout the year, summer camps. This is a great opportunity to get acquainted with an interested school, try to live on a British campus, prepare for studying abroad on a longer and more complicated program.

Equipping boarding schools in the UK

It is worth noting the excellent material and technical base of British boarding schools, which invest huge amounts of money in equipment. Children study in cozy, bright classrooms with modern interactive and computer equipment, visit large libraries with paper and electronic sources, prepare homework on the latest PCs, conduct research in functional practical laboratories. From an early age, children learn to search for information from a variety of sources, to work with electronic and multimedia means: all this subsequently facilitates their studies at the university and work in their specialty.

Schools in the UK fees for foreign students

The price paid by students of British boarding schools can be different: it depends on the ranking and prestige of the institution, its popularity and elitism, location and historical significance. You can focus on the amount from 30 000 to 47 000 pounds for an academic year: this is full-board tuition and accommodation, free use of the entire campus infrastructure, additional elective classes, clubs and sections.

There are also more budget options, for example, with a cost of 17 500-19 000 pounds per academic year – these are good, ranked schools with high graduate results.

Enrolment process in TOP boarding schools in the UK

In order to enrol in British boarding school, the foreign students will need not only a standard list of documents, but also certain language and academic knowledge.

The main list of required documents for the submitting family:

A copy of the passport;
School annual grades for the last 2 academic years + quarter/trimester grades for the current academic year;
Certificates of language proficiency (preferably as new as possible so that they are relevant). Up to 17 years old, any tests are suitable, including IELTS, Cambridge — Cambridge tests (KET, PET, FCE, CAE), TOEFL, Rearson, after 17 years (18+) — only IELTS UKVI
Letters of recommendation from English and mathematics teachers, sometimes you can also
A motivation letter from the headmaster (not always)
Registration forms and forms of the school
Skype interview or a personal visit to an educational institution.

In addition to the above list, children are also required to take internal school tests in mathematics and English to determine whether the children are sufficiently well prepared at the time of admission to a private school. A number of UK schools also require UKISET testing before submitting documents.