French mum looking for a boarding secondary school near London for a term

[isadup]

Hello, Last year I found so much help here finding (thanks so much !) a boarding prep school for the summer term for my 12 yo French boy to improve his English. Unfortunately it got canceled at the last minute because of the covid. So now I have to look all over again for a secondary school :( He says he wants a school with boys AND girls but it's not my prime criteria... I would like the school to have not many international pupils to prevent my son from talking with other French pupils ;) and if possible to be on the west side of London, but anything less than 1 hour from Gatwick or Heathrow would do... hoping some the school doesn't go too empty in the week ends since he would be a full boarder obviously... Any help would be most welcome ! Thank you !

The Royal Alexandra & Albert School, you can't beat it.

Most boarding preps go up to 13, can you not go back to the previous one. It seems an unusual arrangement though.

@eatglassdavid

The Royal Alexandra & Albert School, you can't beat it.

Not full boarding and as a state funded school unlikely to be able to take a non British passport holder.

@isadup Royal Hospital School (Suffolk), talk students for a term or two. Although it's not the west of London.

Not unusual - I’ve know quite a few French and Spanish pupils do this. I agree that a prep school that goes up to Year 8 would be better. Look on Independent School Council website for suggestions of schools.

Have PM'd you.

@LIZS when I went there it was very popular for foreign students especially Chinese, a lot of whom boarded through the summer. Also, it's not free, you have to pay to go there.

@isadup which school did you plan to send him to that got cancelled? And how old is he now?

Farlington School

I don’t know anything about Farlington - just looked it up and it was a girls only school until very recently which is perhaps why.

If your son is 13 now and will be returning to the French system after his term in England then I would say you are better off looking for a boarding prep than a secondary. He will have a much better time in the top year of a prep rather than the bottom year of a secondary, and if he is just there to learn English it won’t matter if he is a few months older than the other boys.

If you want full boarding then there are limited options. Ludgrove and Cothill are obvious choices because they don’t take day boys and they have lots of boarders in at weekends.

Caldicott and Papplewick are great and both super close to Heathrow but most boys in Y7 and Y8 go home every weekend so as a full boarder your son might get a bit lonely.

BTW I don’t know any co-ed full boarding prep schools. Some have a small handful of full boarders, mostly international students, but vast majority of pupils are day children.

There are plenty of co-ed boarding schools for 13-18 year olds but I am struggling to think of one close to London which is properly full boarding. The trouble is that anything close to London completely empties out at the weekends.

I think you and your son will have to compromise somewhere - either on single sex, location or being a bit lonely at weekends!

Highfield School near Liphook Hampshire. By summer term nearly all Years 8s are/were full boarding in preparation for moving to Senior School (and because their extra -curricular life is so busy). Very few international pupils but a couple of Spanish children came for a term when my son was there

[quote thingaling]@isadup which school did you plan to send him to that got cancelled? And how old is he now?[/quote]
Hello, I was planning on sending him to Aldro. The thing is My son has a one year advance, he'll turn 14 in mars and has been with boys one year olden than him since he's 6. In prep school, I believe that the eldest pupils revise their GCSEs a lot, and therefore have less lessons, which would be useless to my son... Which is why he prefers going to a secondary school... He doesn't want to go with boys 2 years younger than those he's actually around... Am I wrong in thinking he would have less lessons in last year of prep than first year of secondary ?

@Sweetsweetsoul

Not unusual - I’ve know quite a few French and Spanish pupils do this. I agree that a prep school that goes up to Year 8 would be better. Look on Independent School Council website for suggestions of schools.

Thank you I will do this !

You are probably correct but it is Common Entrance they revise for in year 8 (taken May/June) not gcses

@isadup I am confused - if he is young for his year group why would he be two years older than Y8 boys this summer? They will be turning 13 this academic year, as he turns 14. Some of them will be just six months younger than he is!

Common Entrance takes up the first six weeks of the Y8 summer term. There will be plenty of lessons, it’s just they will all be working hard to prepare for an exam you son won’t be taking. Then the second half of the term is good fun and lots of activities, but it’s only about a month long.

I don’t know the answer. It’s a real shame he couldn’t have done this last year as a lot of schools have overseas visitors in Y7. You can look round for a 13-18 boarding school with capacity in Y9 but you will struggle to find one near London where British children stay in at weekends. Brighton College and Lancing College might be worth a look - they are further from London but not too bad to reach from Gatwick airport.

Worth School in West Sussex

Farringtons in Chislehurst co-Ed and have borders

@thingaling

BTW I don’t know any co-ed full boarding prep schools. Some have a small handful of full boarders, mostly international students, but vast majority of pupils are day children.

There are plenty of co-ed boarding schools for 13-18 year olds but I am struggling to think of one close to London which is properly full boarding. The trouble is that anything close to London completely empties out at the weekends.

I think you and your son will have to compromise somewhere - either on single sex, location or being a bit lonely at weekends!

Thank you so much for your help. If I had to compromise on one of my criterias, it would be the distance from London. I prefer driving more rather than knowing him all alone at week ends... Can you please tell me why you think he would be better in a prep school than a senior school ? Is it because the adults around are more caring ? Thank you :)

[quote thingaling]@isadup I am confused - if he is young for his year group why would he be two years older than Y8 boys this summer? They will be turning 13 this academic year, as he turns 14. Some of them will be just six months younger than he is!

Common Entrance takes up the first six weeks of the Y8 summer term. There will be plenty of lessons, it’s just they will all be working hard to prepare for an exam you son won’t be taking. Then the second half of the term is good fun and lots of activities, but it’s only about a month long.

I don’t know the answer. It’s a real shame he couldn’t have done this last year as a lot of schools have overseas visitors in Y7. You can look round for a 13-18 boarding school with capacity in Y9 but you will struggle to find one near London where British children stay in at weekends. Brighton College and Lancing College might be worth a look - they are further from London but not too bad to reach from Gatwick airport.[/quote]
Thanks a lot. You're right, I got confused, the age difference wouldn't be that bad. But he's always attracted by elder people and not younger, so he insists upon a senior school... I'll check with the schools I've been advised first and then I ll see if I have to move to a prep school instead... I greatly appreciate your help !

@isadup
why a prep school rather than a public school...

A couple of things... firstly it’s easier to be a big fish in a small pond than a very small fish in a very big pond. It will be tough for him being a “new boy” joining a year group in the summer term, and also not speaking English as a first language. It might be easier not being the youngest in school as well.
The other thing is that at senior school, boys are usually left more to their own devices than they are at prep schools, especially at weekends. At preps there is more supervision and more organised activities. If you are new and you don’t know people, you don’t have a friendship group to fall back on at weekends so it could be better to be somewhere where they have more organised activities.

Well, I thank you all very much. I have written to all these school and they all said no... I think I have to move a bit further from London to find one.
I would go west, since his guardian lives west from London. If you have some more idea I would be most grateful :)

Would you consider sending him for two terms or a whole calendar year? (Jan-Dec?) Perhaps they think it would be too much disruption both for your son and for the year group for him to join just for one term.

Wells Cathedral School worth a look if you are prepared to go more west.

@TerryWoganFanGirl

Wells Cathedral School worth a look if you are prepared to go more west.

Thank you. It does look fantastic ! I was hoping I wouldn't have to go that far though...