Which boarding school? Suggestions please.

[pombal]

We are an expat family who live very rurally up a goat track in the middle of nowhere in Southern Europe.

It’s beautiful and idyllic and the kids love it now but the local International school is crap and far from us, the local schools are even worse.

Thinking somewhat reluctantly about boarding school back in UK from Y9.

DH and I both from comps and know nothing about it.

We have 2 boys - both really good at maths, not sporty.
One good at art and likes drama and music, the other one likes science/nature, being outdoors.

We have family in Sussex and Bristol so would want somewhere south.

Any suggestions from anyone who knows anything about boarding schools?

DH and I have fallen down a rabbit hole looking at websites and prospectuses and can no longer see the wood from the trees.

Have you looked at Lancing? Definitely look at CH - great school!

Re eton it depends when he turns 11. Registration isn't until the end of year 5

Clifton college is a full boarding school on Bristol
Sidcot is near Bristol

"Happygardening, both Bedales and Wellington are full boarding. Wellington doesn’t offer weekly boarding and although I agree many go home on Saturday evening, it is no means all."
Obviously schools offer full boarding alongside weekly flexi etc etc but very few are only full boarding. There is IMO a huge difference.

Sorry Clifton college is not only boarding

Wellington doesn’t offer weekly boarding and although I agree many go home on Saturday evening.
In my book if "many" go home on Saturday evening then its weekly boarding. For me full boarding is sleeping in the school 7 nights a week and only going out during the day on Sunday.
Many schools allow children home on Saturday night, that is now the accepted norm.

For Eton "All boys must have registered by 30th June in UK School Year 5; the academic year in which he reaches the age of 10. This is a hard and fast deadline." and apparently they really, really mean it. So if your oldest is only just 10, you're OK, but if he's now in year 6 you're too late.

Can vouch for Eton being fine for gentle souls, those who aren't mad about team games, etc. DS very happy.

www.etoncollege.com/AdmissionsFAQs.aspx

Sherborne is full boarding with nobody opting out & even the very few day boys are in school most of the time.

However, as others have said, if your boys aren't sporty you need to choose very carefully.

Wellington - my son came home every week after sports fixtures and didn't return until Monday mornings but the School always claimed to be full-boarding.

It was a right pain on a Monday morning, I can tell you.

Lancing I looked at and liked but didn't opt for in the end as everybody seemed to have spotty skin and I thought it might be a reflection of the quality of the diet.

I would vist it definitely if I were in your position.

• If I were in your position, I would definitely visit it.

So surreygal are you a fan of Wellington?

It's on our list...

We loved Wellington. Ours went back Sunday evenings usually. We liked the sense of fun that permeated the place. We liked the unstuffy atmosphere and inclusiveness.

Hi,
I have been through the same process last year. We shifted from UK to Europe and International school didn't challenge him enough. We sent him to Boarding from Year 9 and this is the best decision that we have taken.

I started my research when DS was in Year 6, so all my options were open. I got a lot of help from MNers.

I see @Happygardening's helpful post here too. She, LIZS and a few others have offered valuable advice to me in past .

You can read this thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2142713-13-boarding-SOS

For me, Dulwich College worked out well . Though it is a mix of Day - Weekly and Full boarding,there are many boys in the Boarding house on Weekends, so DS is not left alone. It varies from school to school,
so don't discard mixed schools outrightly.

It is possible that your DS develop good friendships with Weekly or Day pupils and goes to their home on Exeats. DS has gone only once to his guardians, he gets invited to his friends and prefers to go there.

While choosing the school , you have to keep the difficulty level of Entrance exam in mind. We did online tutions for 2 years . International Schools do not prepare them for the difficult exams of UK schools.

PM me if you need more information .

West Buckland Senior and Prep School set in the heart of North Devon is an excellent Boarding and day Boarding school. Our son attended from Reception throughbto year 13. He gained good GCSEs and A Levels in the thre sciences. He is now studying for his Masters in Chemistry having already achieved a BSc Chem. Please look at the web site you won’t be disappointed. Barry Plant.

Please excuse typos in last message re Boarding school! Barry Plant

If you're not going to be around for exeats & half terms then surely it needs to be somewhere pretty easily accessible to the family & friends who'll be having them then. I think that would be my key priority. Sorry to add a negative note but I was an ex-pat brat & got sent off at 10 to an awful boarding school in Suffolk where I was bullied for four years & had a terrible time. If you are unhappy then at boarding school there isn't the out & respite you would get from going home every day at 3.30. It took running away from the place for my parents to really get that I was miserable! I had much better times at the International schools I went to do if I was in your situation, I'd go for that with top up tutoring. Having said that, my sister hated the International school we went to & loved the boarding school (Boxhill in Surrey) she went to at 14 so it does work for some & not others! The 4 years I had though turned me from a happy & confident kid to a very withdrawn & unhappy soul so as you'd guess not something I'd do personally!