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Original poster

Independent day school or state boarding. Anyone decided between them?

54 replies

Neim · 01/02/2020 13:39

We are fortunate enough to have the option of choosing independent day school or state boarding. Either would be a struggle financially ie a few sacrifices, not major debt. But I was wondering whether anyone had chosen state boarding over local independent and why.

Our local independent is King Edward Boys in Birmingham. It’s one of be best here. Its a day school and doesn’t accept borders.

DS has mentioned boarding so we’ve considered it and it might work. We wouldn’t be able to afford an independent boarding school, hence, looking at state boarding. We have picked out a couple but haven’t been to see them yet.

OP posts:
Zodlebud · 01/02/2020 18:04

Many state boarding schools only have a handful of boarders each year and to be honest would put me off. To get the benefits it really needs to be at least 50% boarding. Old Swinford Hospital and Hockerill Anglo-European College have high numbers of boarders and good results to match.

I’m not sure why you would choose one over a regular state school though unless your local school is a disaster or you have a need to board (e.g. military family, parents working away a lot etc.). They are just not as “full on” as independent boarding schools and whilst they do have some extra curricular stuff in the evenings and at weekends it pales into comparison versus the independents.

What is it you are looking for exactly in a school? If King Edwards is a possibility then I’m not sure you will really better that - unless you look into bursaries at boarding schools.

Malmontar · 01/02/2020 16:32

Have you looked into independent boarding school bursaries? The threshold for income is normally v high and with you being able to contribute it may be worth a try as you will only need a partial one. It's much easier to get them in boarding than in day schools.
I've heard state boarding aren't that academic tbh

Original poster
Neim · 01/02/2020 16:09

Old swinford hospital is one of the schools we picked out. Going to look round in a couple of weeks.
I’m fully aware that state boarding schools are never going to produce results any thing like KES because there not selecting their intake on academics. By this isn’t necessarily the driving factor for choosing a school. Although it’s an important consideration (also considering local grammars, again, DSs choice - I’m not so keen but I don’t have to go there), I’m more interested in the oppotunities, experiences and pastoral care the schools have.
I know there are some big differences between state and independent. Just wondering if anyone had made the choice between state boarding and independent dah school and the reasons why you chose what you did?

OP posts:
Zodlebud · 01/02/2020 15:08

Have a look at Old Swinford Hospital School for state boarding. Academically strong but nowhere near the same level as King Edwards Boys. I doubt any state boarding school is to be fair.