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Boarding school

Connect with fellow parents of boarding school students on our supportive forum. Share experiences, tips, and insights.

St Mary's Calne v Tudor Hall v Malvern St James

13 replies

SeniorGirlBoarding · 16/05/2023 15:41

My daughter is in a day school but I would like her to attend full boarding from Year 9 (2024/25). My daughter is organised and independent, but she has ADHD and needs to be motivated/encouraged academically. She is quite sporty - she is a good swimmer and competent runner, and keen to learn more. I am not looking for a hothouse. I would like a school to have a warm, friendly and nurturing environment, where girls are encouraged to do their best but where academic excellence is not the primary focus. I would prefer a smaller school with small class sizes as I'd imagine more attention may be given to the individual, and girls who are less academically inclined are not marginalised/bullied. As she will be a full boarder, I would also prefer a school where a majority of students are full boarders, and where weekend activities for boarders are fully organised. It is also important that there is homework/revision supervision at the boarding house, and house mistresses/matrons will know if a boarder is not coping with lessons from teachers. I would be grateful for honest feedback from parents with daughters currently in the abovementioned schools. Thank you!

OP posts:
DilettanteMum · 23/05/2023 19:21

Bumping for you.

Have you spoken to the schools directly regarding how they could help support your daughter?

Calne is harder to get into so you need to understand if your daughter is likely to get a place.

DilettanteMum · 23/05/2023 19:22

Also just wondering about your timeline as I believe they will have already allocated 13+ places for that entry year.

DilettanteMum · 23/05/2023 19:23

Ignore that. I clearly have no clue what year it is. You do have time.

SeniorGirlBoarding · 24/05/2023 13:22

Hi DilettanteMum,

Thank you for your feedback. Yes, I've already called the schools and have confirm that they still have a few spaces available. I'm sure St Mary's Calne has the highest entry requirement for sure. Speaking to the schools, they all mentioned having excellent pastoral and learning support, so I find it very difficult to know whether what they say is true or a spiel.

Still hoping that someone would be able to respond with current feedback about one/more of the schools. Thanks!

OP posts:
DilettanteMum · 24/05/2023 17:00

Personally I think that St Marys has much nicer facilities than Tudor Hall.

MrPickles73 · 29/05/2023 07:12

We liked the head at MSJ but found the school a bit dark (literally). What about Moreton Hall? Small and nurturing and not at all hot housey.

Theredjellybean · 29/05/2023 07:38

MSJ... outstanding pastoral support.

ToffeeRabbit · 16/06/2023 19:44

Tudor Hall has amazing pastoral care and the staff really know the girls. Beautiful grounds too.

boogliewoogliepiggywiththeoink · 02/08/2023 23:13

I agree with ToffeeRabbit wholeheartedly. Superb pastoral care, staff genuinely know the girls (big advantage of a relatively small school) and they truly help the girls find their strengths. Lovely grounds too as ToffeeRabbit said.

MrPickles73 · 03/08/2023 06:23

I met a girl from Tudor hall and from what she said academic excellence was not their aim.

boogliewoogliepiggywiththeoink · 03/08/2023 09:59

I’ve got a daughter at TH at the moment who is pretty academic. TH is most definitely not a school that focusses solely on academia and def is not a hot house. However their admissions policy seems to be to take girls of varied academic abilities but with strengths in some areas who are a good fit for the school. Once the girls are there the school works with each child on their strengths and weaknesses. They still push and stretch the girls but their sole focus isn’t on the academic side they just try to bring out the best in each girl. If your daughter is academic and capable then she will achieve her potential at TH IMHO. And I know from the results and uni destinations of older girls who were academic that they get good results. The facilities are solid, not all of them blow you away but it’s a good school and gives a great all round education.

boogliewoogliepiggywiththeoink · 03/08/2023 10:06

@SeniorGirlBoarding I’ve just reread the original post - honestly you’ve just described TH. It is majority boarding from IIIs (Yr 9). First couple of years are more evenly split between day and boarders, with the Todds (Yr 7) in 22/23 being more day vs boarders for the first time ever, but that same year is now mostly boarders going into IIs (Yr 8). The year I am describing is the year the OP’s daughter would be joining. @SeniorGirlBoarding free to DM me if you have any specific TH questions. X

vinoandbrie · 17/08/2023 19:06

Another vote for having a look at Moreton Hall!

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