is it too late to apply?

[Vanillabanana]

thinking for applying to boarding schools for dd. I feel like I may have left things too late. We have been living abroad since 2024 and they are about to go into year 8 in an international school but the education here just isn’t the same standard as what they’d get in a U.K. school and I’m worried.

they would be very ill prepared for any verbal reasoning tests etc and I’ve been looking and most schools seem to expect these tests/iseb and it also appears I’ve missed so many deadlines.

does anyone know any schools that might help us? I’m so stressed out I feel like I’m drowning with work and trying to squeeze these applications in between everything else and an unhappy dc as well. I also believe my dc would be happier returning to the U.K.

Almost certainly not too late. Other than maybe Marlborough, most boarding schools that take girls will have Year 9 boarding spaces available for 2026. I would just contact the admissions departments of the schools you are interested in and ask- they are likely to be a bit guarded but most will have spaces. One word of caution: full boarding is kind of dying out in the UK. Just because a school only offers full boarding (no flexi, no weekly) does not mean that a majority of students stay in at weekends. Many really do clear out a lot and schools are not very transparent around this because they are constantly trying to balance the wants of UK parents (who increasingly want their dc home at weekends) and international/ far flung parents, who want the school full every weekend.

Can you tell us a bit more about her- Sporty? Academic? Musical? and people can probably suggest some options. Do you have family in the UK who could cover exeats?

Numbers in private schools have fallen due to VAT so likely to be more receptive than in the past.

I agree with PPs that only the most in demand schools will have filled their cohorts entirely. Many will still have places either because they were not filled or because parents hold multiple offers and so places that a school thought were filled open up later.

The best thing to do is to reach out to the admissions department of your preferred schools and ask, but take what they say with a grain of salt. I visited one leading boarding school recently where the Head of House for their Year 9 House told me he had been running at 80% capacity for the last few years, but Admissions were still giving me the chat that I had to sign up now as places were nearly all gone! 🤣

Tell us more about your DD, what you want and what areas you would look at to get better advice as to which school. I would agree with others that full boarding does still exist, but you cannot rely on just any schools (or even most schools) that offer boarding being suitable.

Thank you so much for the reassurances. I could go for weekly and return to the U.K. to accommodate perhaps. But we would be living in rather temporary accommodation in the U.K. as I still have to be present where we are now. Not sure if that would affect things.

dd is extremely sporty, loves all sports, currently takes her swimming and athletics seriously. she’s rather lazy academically, very very good at maths and sciences naturally and academically capable but not interested in ‘studying hard’ and I doubt a highly academic school would suit her.

I would worry a completely non academic school may mean she does not reach her potential though. And with boarding I won’t be there to remind her that her future self may not enjoy the results of her lack of studiousness 😂

I would immediately say that for an extremely sporty girl who takes her sports seriously, Millfield could be a good option. Without a doubt it is the best sports school in the UK, and while pupils do not have to be in every weekend, the school has a strict limit on the number of weekends they are allowed to go home, so it does not empty out the way some schools do. It is also a big school which takes pupils with a broad range of academic abilities, and which I suspect will still have places available simply by virtue of its size.

Definitely not too late. Unless super selective, many good and suitable schools will still have space.

Do You have a particular school or location in mind?

I actually wonder if that will work both ways in some cases.

I know of two prep schools that announced at short notice that they were closing as of the end of the 2024/25 school year, which led to a glut of families looking for places at nearby preps. If the same happens to senior schools it could mean a lumpy profile for applications at other schools with lower numbers overall but short-term spikes as those coming from failing schools need to be accomodated, making competition actually harder for some schools/years.

I guess time will tell.

You may be surprised at how easily they will be able to accommodate you, despite being “full”. It is not unusual for pupils to start midway through a term/year, depending on circumstances. Given that you are abroad, I would look for full boarding schools (eg Marlborough, Rugby) to ensure she has plenty of friends around at weekends and doesn’t get left on her own. This is a vital question to ask when looking around schools in my opinion. If they are allowed home at weekends, it totally changes the dynamics and doesn’t make for fun full boarding. Make sure you ask that question! Most of these types of schools take their sport seriously, so I wouldn’t necessarily target somewhere like Millfield.

I agree most of the top tier schools will be full and because of the VAT effect and closures/ worry about numbers of some schools, the big ones are even more oversubscribed than usual. Havihg said that, people I know in your situation (ie kids at international schools that aren't up to the standard you want) have found Repton to be really good at supporting those sorts of pupils.

Yes there's that too.

I definitely recommend full boarding majority schools.

Depends how academic she is, I guess SMAS and Wycombe wouldn't suit and maybe she doesnt want single sex.

I think Millfield is good option but not super full boarding. For you requirements looking for, you've got a good choice between Oundle, Marlborough and Rugby. All strong for sport. Sounds like she'd fit all three. Oundle is the most intellectual/highest grades but is not an academic school like westminster. If i were to take an average it would be "moderate". They probs all have space but maybe not the freedom of choice when it comes to houses. I'd just give them a ring.

HTH

@GoAndAskDaddy This is a vital question to ask when looking around schools in my opinion. If they are allowed home at weekends, it totally changes the dynamics and doesn’t make for fun full boarding. Make sure you ask that question!

I would agree with this, and if you visit a school and have the chance to speak with current pupils, make sure you ask them. Every admissions team in the country will tell you their school is full every weekend, but kids tend to be more honest.

The private schools around us are struggling, I don't think you'd have a problem.

Thanks for all the tips! Such a shame some of the schools are closing.

would places like rugby and Wycombe have places? One of dd friends is going to rugby so that could really work but I assumed they might be full. Single or mixed is fine. Dd is probably bright enough but has never done verbal reasoning tests or that sort of thing and I’d worry about her passing those (unless people don’t prep but friends have said they’ve had tutors etc). I also worry if she’s self motivated enough to be at an academic school. She would probably be fine if I was there but I wouldn’t be available all the time.

She’d be absolutely fine at maths and sciences, she does them all the time at home for fun, maths being her favourite her English teacher said she’s great at the international school but that one I suspect equates to average in the uk. I really appreciate all this help. I will be getting on the phone as well.

Rugby likely yes, just house choice will be limited if any choice. It's a good school.

Wycombe I'd bet no but could be wrong, it's also for very intellectually capable girls - a cut above Rugby. Im sure she could maybe be lifted up by that atmosphere like many but Im just giving an honest opinion of friends who have gone.

Genuinely phone them all though, don't want to limit your chances when this VAT might have changed the situations. Good luck

Sedbergh almost all full boarding, very sporty and gets decent academic results.

Family toured boarding schools last September for entry this year. Exams in October and acceptances in Dec to Benenden and St Swithun’s.
St. Swithun’s appears very sporty, amazing pool!
Seems to have some events shared with Win-Col which has a coed 6th form.

I'm just curious why Marlborough is the outlier here. Would you mind helping me understand, please?

Also, DC has been accepted to a school we love BUT the biggest strike against it is that it is full boarding and, at least when he is 13 and 14 years old, we would want him home more often than what full boarding allows. How can we know if the school will let DC come home more weekends than stated?

I would choose a non full boarding school? If they are full boarding and like to keep it that way then they don’t flex the rules.

Marlborough is outlier as it is very popular school.

@easternenergizer "I would choose a non full boarding school? If they are full boarding and like to keep it that way then they don’t flex the rules."

Interesting. Thank you. I had only asked because @AllJoyAndNoFun wrote, "Just because a school only offers full boarding (no flexi, no weekly) does not mean that a majority of students stay in at weekends. Many really do clear out a lot and schools are not very transparent around this because they are constantly trying to balance the wants of UK parents (who increasingly want their dc home at weekends) and international/ far flung parents, who want the school full every weekend." So it sounds as though some do very much flex the rules.

I have found that there aren't so many good weekly boarding schools in our area as full boarding schools.

No of course. I can only speak of Oundle and Rugby (At Uppingham you can sort of go home one weekend when you want) (I thought I knew Marlborough but last year they changed the rule apparently you can nip home occasionally) These two are definitely “all boarders in” besides holidays and the exeats (one or the other come around every 3 weeks so it isn’t terrible - also for a funeral or other event you can go).

It would be useful to know which school you speak of sending your child to, maybe a poster who is a mother could shed some light…

I personally agree though it’s really not fun and disrupts rhythm to allow children to go home and leave others behind.

Many schools will have space because fees are now incredibly high. You just will be applying outside the main timetable- that doesn’t matter. For sporty and academic I would also add to the many excellent suggestions here Haileybury which is not too bad for the London airports and plenty of full boarders. For preparation you can get VR and NVR books from amazon but would be worth trying online tutors as many of these things are a knack and she just needs to be taught how to approach it. Atom and Sherpa are websites for online tutoring. Good luck.
*edited for poor spelling

@Cornemuse marlborough is the outlier because it ( at least last year) had a waitlist and was genuinely full from its published application cycles so I was just saying to the OP that it’s one of a handful of schools that would possibly not entertain a late application.

Re full boarding schools that aren’t, Wellington is probably the most obvious example- completely clears out at weekends.

@Cornemuse I think people use the term "full boarding" in different ways which can lead to confusion.

First, virtually all boarding schools offer "full boarding" if by this you mean pupils will be in at weekends (exeats aside), contrasted with weekly or flexi boarding where pupils are only in for selected nights.

Second, there are a handful of schools where 100% or close to 100% (say, over 90%) of pupils board. These are full boarding schools in the sense that (almost) everyone is a boarder.

Finally, there is a group of schools that intersects heavily with the second group above, which have tight limits on the number of weekends that boarders can go home outside exeats and holidays. This is contrasted with boarding schools which are flexible on this, pupils can go home every weekend and often these do empty out at weekends.

So a school can offer a child a "full boarding" place (i.e. not weekly or flexi boarding) but still allow them to go home every weekend. However, if a school does place restrictions on the weekends a pupil can go home, these will typically be strict limits unless there are exceptional circumstances.

So I guess the question is, is your DC's intended school a full boarding school in the sense that your DC can stay in at weekends (but can come home) or in the sense that your DC must stay in at weekends (and cannot come home, other than exeats)?