Boarding schools in europe

[Savagesunshine]

Wondering if anyone here has any experience with boarding schools in Europe. My dc had hoped to continue boarding after prep but the fees are just extortionate in the U.K. especially with the vat now.

I have heard Europe is cheaper but I don’t know if will give the same ‘fun’ for dd as she’s already experienced with her friends here in the uk. I’m obviously not going to send dd to a school based solely on price but if I can find what I’m looking that would be great

Why not look at Ireland? Northern Ireland has boarding schools which offer A levels. Republic of Ireland schools tend to do Irish Cert but will prepare for entry to UK universities. Some are non denominational or C of E. Some also offer IB.

Much cheaper than UK.

Otherwise state boarding in UK?

Germany has some traditional boarding offers eg Schloss Salem but also very expensive. You also need to consider language issues.

I would avoid France as boarding is often something for “problem children”

I second karneval125 on French boarding schools. They're cheap but they take in a lot of foster kids (ie unstable backgrounds) and kids the parents can't handle. Also they don't board at weekend so you'd need to find a family to take him in.

Switzerland has done great boarding schools but v v expensive. I live in Europe and British schools are known to have the best boarding systems. Think about how many international students the boarding school accept, as well as kids from ex-pat families.

You would also be sending your child a long way away to live in an entirely different culture and with a different education system...I'd think very carefully about it.

I agree the state boarding schools would be a great option, there aren't many of them but they're very good academically if a bit worn around the edges and without all the fancy extras of the big boarding schools.

Alternatively could he flexiboard to keep costs down?

Agree with pp. Switzerland has amazing boarding schools, but they are a lot lot more expensive than the UK. Italy does not really do boarding, the few ones I know are very very Catholic and the teaching is outdated compared to the UK (and in Italian!).

Plus I am sure you know they wouldn’t do A levels like in the Uk system so might be harder to get into university in the UK.

Kings College, Madrid?

You will definitely not find C of E schools in Ireland. C of I, yes.

thanks for the advice. Have we missed the boat for admissions to state boarding as dd is already in year 7? Looking online they look like any other secondary school and most seem to describe getting a place in year 7.

I should have said English speaking schools.Ireland wasn’t on my list so I’ll have a look.

Kings in Madrid teaches in English and does A at 6th form. I know several people who went there but all a long time ago so I can't comment on what it is like currently.

Any other European boarding schools I can think of off the top of my head do IB (quite a few in Switzerland but they are all very £££)

Sorry meant "A levels". (It won't let me edit)

State boarding places are hard to get, they are prioritised for those who need them (dc living in remote areas for example) and I think many are weekly boarding. My dc did state boarding from 16 but that school has since closed.

State boarding. Admissions years 7 - 11. Selective grammar school.

https://www.ripongrammar.co.uk/admissions/boarding-admissions/

The larger state boarding schools like DOYRMS, Wymondham College and RAA are all still likely to have places in Year 9. The smaller ones are likely to be full, but to be honest you don't want to send your DC to a school where boarders are in a minority.

That said, if you are interested in state boarding, I would apply quickly. Following the introduction of VAT on independent boarding school fees, there is likely to be a shift for some families. I know of at least two families that have decided to change their target school from King's Bruton (independent boarding) to Sexeys (state boarding), as they can no longer justify such a big fee difference between two schools that can virtually see each other from their front gates.

@tachetastic good point! Will be interesting to see if this whole vat malarkey truly does benefit anyone!

i specialise in this and there is such huge variation in school fees particularly in the UK - that you can almost always find something that will work within your budget -
the experience of Swiss schools and schools in the rest of Europe is really chalk and cheese ……that public school experience isn’t really replicated anywhere else -

the results however can be - especially if we are talking independent schools that sit in the middle academically rather than right at the top -

there are also wonderful opportunities for scholars , particularly for more quirky gifts (for example Downside offers 110% scholarships for Organ scholars !!