Girls or coed prep boarding school

[Vicbeauty]

I need help finding a very good prep boarding ,for my dts,some suggested moffats Shropshire,Malvern stjames ,queen ethelburghas ,royal Alexandra Reigate ,kindly help I am new to mums net ,I hope you can help me as a sister ,they are 8&10yrs

Hi,

Sorry I'm a bit slow, what does DTS stand for?

In regards to prep boarding, I assume you want full boarding? Is there any particular area you want a school in?

Of the schools you have listed, this is what I know:

Moffats Shropshire: very small family run prep school. About 20 boarders. Good atmosphere, happy children but VERY small.

Malvern St James: good independent school, goes right through to the end of sixth form so good if you're looking for stability, allows sisters to stay together for a few years. Girls only.

Queen Ethelburghas: Coed, quite big, goes through to end of sixth form. Very good on paper but I have heard mixed things about it. I don't have any first hand experience with it though.

Royal Alexandra Reigate: Large and quite popular. It is a STATE school which is unusual for boarding and may be a benefit or a drawback for you. You don't pay tuition (though you do pay boarding) so it is cheaper than the independents. Again, co-ed and goes right through to 18 years old.

In regards to prep schools, I would recommend you also look at:

Hanford Prep (Click here) I have never heard a bad thing about this school. All girls, only goes through to the end of year 8. Independent.

Windlesham House School (Click here) Very good reputation. Co-ed, 3-18. About 300 children but I don't know how many are boarding.

Other schools I don't know much about but have head positive things are:

Godstowe and Cheam.

Good luck for what you're looking for.

Oops, for Windlesham I meant 3-13.

RAAS isn't a prep school it is a state boarding school . Not sure how many board before 11 tbh and even then they offer flexi boarding so it can be quiet at weekends.

Vic What are you looking for in a school.

Small and nurturing or large and buzzing with energy and competition?

Budget or "smart"? (Are you planning to pay full fees or apply for bursaries? Might either or both be in the running for a scholarship?)

What are they each like? Gregarious, shy, studious, dreamy, natural leaders or ...

Do you have an idea of a follow on school? It can be helpful to think backwards. What are the feeder schools for your ideal senior schools?

Are you prepared to look at other areas of the country?

Would your reasons for choosing boarding have any bearing on the type of school you choose.

Are your DTs involved in the decision making? Have they voiced any opinions? Will they necessarily be placed at the same school?

If you can answer all the above you'll probably find you've narrowed the field slightly.

If you UK based then try a find a school as close to where you live as possible. My Ds's were at boarding prep and you are much more involved with their school life than you are at senior school and I would frequently be up at the school at least once a week, lots of activities are organised for parents and watching matches is a given at prep but not a senior school. So unless you list driving as your main passion/hobby, or own a helicopter and have nothin to do all day ideally you don't want to be more than an hour away preferably less.

Can you give any more of an idea what kind of school you are looking for or where in the country you want to go?

Some good ones already mentioned (especially Windlesham).

Others:

Ashfold Prep www.ashfoldschool.co.uk/page/default.asp?title=Home&pid=1 - Weekly boarding only I think

Swanbourne House www.swanbourne.org - Full and Weekly boarding

Winchester House www.winchester-house.org/ - Weekly with some weekends.

Everything I've heard has suggested to me that Hanford is the loveliest boarding prep for active little girls, though obviously it depends on what you're looking for, and nowhere is ever perfect. If I had little girls, though, that's where I'd be sending them.

Orwell Park is nice

If you are looking at Moffats and Malvern St James, you should look at Abberley Hall as well.

Godstowe is the boarding prep school for girls. Lots going on and a long tradition of girls' boarding. It is in High Wycombe so not too far from London. Where are you based OP?

Hanford is truly wonderful. Yea, active little girls, but active physically, musically, artistically, intellectually, with animals, gardens. Not for children who only want to watch tv and go shopping, though I defy even those not to absorb the ethos.

I wish every school were like it. We would have no unhappy children. Though a very few don't like it.

If you are looking at schools in and around Shropshire/Worcestershire then have a look at Abberley Hall.