Boarding school with emphasis on stem

There was an armed robbery and shoot out at Michaelhouse this year, which I guess shows they weren't able to make it as safe as you'd hope.

Marcopront: the list of African schools excludes South Africa which is the most developed, educationally, than many of the countries on the list. I wouldn’t look at Sudan with much favour and many of those counties are very poor and their rich children are educated in SA, USA or the UK. Except South Africa where the standards are high and so is the university education. Their curriculum is closer to the one the op is looking for.

The other school that might work is Harrow but not sure about pre testing.

Most Senior schools in the UK will offer Business Studies and Economics at A Level rather than GCSE

I have a DS at Bromsgrove. It is half boarding and half day but most of the boarders are international students so tend to stay in at weekends. It is a busy school and the day pupils are usually in on Saturdays for sport. There are activities organised for boarders on Sundays. Sport is very strong and all pupils are expected to be part of a school team - as a way of building friendships and a sense of belonging. If you don’t like that, the school won’t suit you.

The school offers IB and A levels and it has a good reputation for STEM subjects particularly maths. The Design and Technology side is very strong but there is no real ITC offer. It’s not a highly selective school academically but does well with the DCs that it has. The pastoral care is good in my experience and I really like the ethos of Head. Please PM me if you want more information.

Pretty much any UK private boarding school will have a general studies/critical perspectives course of sorts, it just won't be examined and is usually organised in-house. If it's not needed for university entrance schools won't bother stressing kids out with superfluous examinations.

I think also you need to understand that the UK system emphasises academic breadth at GCSE, hence having subjects like philosophy/RE, classics, history and geography alongside the core of maths, English, sciences and languages. Then students are expected to specialise after that and can do only science and maths at A Level if they wish (this is not the case if you do IB or the US system for example, you still have to do breadth requirements). The mere offering of departments such as classics doesn't mean it isn't STEM focused but as previous posters have said the schools will tend to stick to the "pure" academic subjects like maths and triple science and probably not offer softer subjects like business studies as universities don't take them as seriously (though most will offer economics at A level to prepare students for a course like PPE).

I wouldn't worry about racism, there are boys from Africa in every boarding school here I've seen and the boys I know haven't experienced any racism at all (which of course doesn't mean it never happens anywhere). A bigger problem is anti-semitism which I think is significant among some cohorts at some schools, I've heard some pretty bad stories - I think that is a sign of the times sadly.

The fees are worth a thought now though, not just after you are offered a place, they can be very hefty as can the extras and also the cost of travel back and forth, either for you or your child.

A friends son is starting ardingly next sept. Went through all the rounds with schools focusing on the IB. Inc sevenoaks (v academic I believe). A friends nephew currently at bryanston and loves it. Sporty and academic. beautiful school grounds. Quite international community.

ICT or any computer-science-related subject

These are different subjects, ICT is no longer available as a GCSE. As for economics and business studies, you will not find these at GCSE in an 'academic' school, they are seen as soft options.

TASIS offers boarding, basketball, IB, and it’s 10 minutes from Heathrow.

Millfield does further maths at gcse and I think ticks all your boxes except IB. Definitely does economics at gcse and subjects like business studies.
FWIW sporty African boys (and girls) have always been popular in U.K. boarding schools from what I have seen. They seem to integrate very well.

Haileybury.

I am amazed you are not looking at the boys boarding schools in South Africa! They are 1/3 of the price. Their pupils can get to university in the uk if you wish. They do the subjects you want.

Not just South Africa, there are many good schools in Africa. Check out this list.

www.aisa.or.ke/School-Member-Directory

I am amazed you are not looking at the boys boarding schools in South Africa! They are 1/3 of the price. Their pupils can get to university in the uk if you wish. They do the subjects you want. Sport and even more sport is on offer. Michaelhouse and Hilton College spring to mind in KZN.

Friends DD is at Cheltenham definitely the vast majority are weekly boarding and I don't hear good things about it.

I’ve heard the opposite from several people with DCs there and friends of my DCs who went there, so a different second or even third hand experience to happygardening. Cheltenham College don’t have weekly boarding but they do have day boarding which is what a lot of the local pupils do and often they choose to spend the week-end boarding. From what I have heard it is very much a full boarding atmosphere.
I think that emphasises shows that parents need to make their own mind up rather than rely on one set of anecdotal experience.

I do agree with the potential irrelevance of further maths or add maths for GCSE pupils in that some very academic schools don’t do it but still teach their pupils well beyond the syllabus. Probably more informative to see how many do and what grades are achieved for maths and further maths A level, (assuming that a boarding school does n’t depend on a large influx of bright very hardworking Asians into the sixth form to boost their grades).

Ardingly is not nearly full boarding - majority would be day, flexi or weekly boarding. What level of sport are you looking for? Swimming schools at high competitive level would be likes of Millfield or Plymouth college but probably no nearer a fit for your criteria otherwise. Basketball is not a mainstream sport in UK, tends to be more of a leisure activity. Sevenoaks and Brighton college might be worth a look although neither are full boarding or the RoundSquare group which tends to have international perspectives and develop a rounded education.

*if

So maybe History as an ‘academic’
version of thinking outside of the box is important?

Ok, google tells me that global perspectives is basically an alternative to General Studies or Critical Thinking

It is very difficult for any secondary school in the UK to recruit outstanding Computer Science teachers, the top schools state & private all struggle. Many schools can't offer the subject & universities don't expect A level computer science because of the limited options to study it.

Most academic boarding schools will not offer ICT, business studies accounting as they are generally considered to be less academic subjects. Further math is done at A level rarely at (I)GCSE) as is economics.
DS2 went to Winchester none of the above were offered except further math and economics at Pre U (A level equivalent). I don't have the actual figures to hand but would say off the top of my head that more of DS2's friends are now doing STEM subjects than art subjects both here at top UK universities or in the US e.g MIT or CAL Tech. This is a school which doesn't even allow computers to be used in the first two years!
If your interested in either the IB or A levels add St Edwards Oxford to your list although they are now offering weekly boarding as well as full.
Just to add I frequently hear good things about Wycliffe but it would not be my choice if I was looking for full boarding. Friends DD is at Cheltenham definitely the vast majority are weekly boarding and I don't hear good things about it.

Very few would offer "global perspectives" whatever that may be! Business Studies maybe but it is often perceived as not academically rigorous or offered as a btec. Add Maths is not a gcse as such and that and FM are sometimes offered only to top sets. ICT/Computer Studies is a subject which has undergone significant change in recent years so while it may not be have been offered previously it may appear as a more regular subject in future. You have to bear in mind that gcse syllabi are undergoing significant change and the private schools have tended to wait for the glitches to be ironed put before adopting those courses.

Sorry that wasn’t very helpful 😂

Classics is like ancient history, Greek and Latin btw Op.
Is global perspectives politics?
Is Further Maths nessesary at GCSE? Most schools offer it at A levels.
I’m surprised you can’t find any that offer ICT/computer science at GCSE though.

Leftandaright Oundle is not that academic. A level results are the same as Rugby for % A and A*
I have heard that Cheltenham has a good number of boarders over the weekend, quite a few boarders from Africa especially Kenya and is good for STEM. I personally for an overseas boarder would concentrate on those three for a good mix of sport, academics with a STEM and boarding culture.