French pupil still looking for a boarding school for a term

[isadup]

Hello, I come to you for help again because all the schools I have contacted have rejected my demand... We're French, living in France, and as I did at his age a few times, my son would like to spend a summer term in an English boarding (co-ed if possible) secondary school to improve his English. He'll be 14 and is one year advanced in France. At first I looked around London, to be able to visit in case he felt homesick, but all the schools that were kindly recommended to me refused and one suggested to look further away.
I would very much appreciate if you could give me some names of private mixed (or not...) boarding secondary schools that you have heard positive things about. Thank you ! :)

Hi OP, I saw your other thread, I did not join as everyone seems to know what you are talking about, and I was a bit confused. If you can clarify for me:

You want your DS to go for the summer term. Which months exactly?
Are you expecting him to join a year group, say Shells (y9) when they are about to finish their first year?

The reason I ask is that all the boarding schools I know are very much into the unity and culture of houses and the school etc. So, they spend their first term at boarding school trying to get the DC settled. There is a lot of involvement and trying to entrench a culture, love and pride in the school, which is why I think most boarding schools would reject. Most of these schools tend to have a long drawn out admission process that takes a year or two to complete.

If you say you want your son to come in at the last term, most would presume Lent term which is end of April to beginning of July.

If you mean after your DS finishes his school in France in July, then that is classed as Summer School.

Summer school tends to run from July till August. so just a month of different activities while fully involved in the English language.

I can think of a few boarding summer schools. Would that be an option?

Hi Mummy 195, thanks a lot for your message. I fully understand how schools work hard on a unity between pupils that they don't like disrupted by someone in the middle of the year. Yet I do know some school do accept it, for I have done it as my brother and his three children, several times. It is indeed from April til July, roughly. The reason I'm not keen on summer school, is that it can only concern foreign pupils, and I want my son to be totally drowned with English ;) Which is also the reason why I would certainly not send him to one of the schools where he may find one of his cousins ! There are a few children around here that have done the same thing as well. The thing is that I need a secondary school now (covid ruined my very well set plan at the last minute last time) and I don't know any. I could just get a list on google but I would have preferred some involved mums here to tell me which schools they have seen or heard good things about...
Thanks for your help !

Could he go to day school and live with a family? Might increase your options. Hard on the kid he'd be staying with though.

What about trying to find a host family, which might increase your chances as could go fo day schools as well, maybe one which would like to have the reverse exchange?

Full boarding is not as common as it once was, lots of previous full boarding have more weekly boarding. Some schools close to London could be Wellington College, Bradfield college, Radley, Marlborough. Not sure where you have tried

Name changed for this as very outing, but I went to Windermere School in the Lake District, a boarding school with plenty of international students. There is a heavy aspect of the outdoors including water sports in school life, and it was quite common for us to get pupils over from france/Spain for a summer term (but I left over a decade ago). Would recommend!

You could look at Vacational Studies that specifically offers the English boarding school experience for foreign students.

All the first choice boarding schools will be full for Y9 - particularly those with easy access to London and at this point in the academic year. Occasional places may open up if a child leaves for some reason mid year. But they are not looking for children who want to come for a term to improve their English. They are not geared up to teaching English as a foreign language and existing parents are not enthusiastic about children who can not speak good English joining for a term. It makes it difficult for the teachers and the other students if there is a child who cannot keep up with the rest of the class. So getting a place for a term would be a long shot.

So you might have more luck asking at schools with less demand for boarding places. But you will find that the boarding houses are already very international and will not necessarily fit your “not too many foreign students” requirement. However if the other students are not French they will speak English to your son and his classes will also be in English so you will meet your objective.

Have you thought about non selective schools further away from London? If he is only there for a term location is not so important - and many have good access to eg Manchester airport. Have a look at Rishworth School, Rossall School, Moorland School, Fyling Hall maybe. Giggleswick or Stonyhurst might also have an occasional boarding place free.

@isadup this is definitely not London but my DD attended Glenalmond College in rural Perthshire (Scotland) prior to Covid and they often had kids for short stays from all over Europe. They fly into Edinburgh then picked up by the school bus. Normally fewer exeats during the summer term and, I believe, some international students just stayed at school for the exeat. Glorious location.

Luckley House School in Wokingham have offered this. Boarding is a very small cohort of the whole school though. You could also try Reddam.

Oh and LVS Ascot, has a larger boarding cohort, so it depends what you’re looking for. Whole school boarding just for a term, I think you might struggle

Try Oakham school?

Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire would be my recommendation.

You're all so kind !! Thank you very much for these names !! Thank you thank you !

As pp have said you won’t get a place in highly competitive schools as they will be full, so try some less pushy one who may be more welcoming to a child whose sole purpose in life isn’t to get straight A* at A level.
Warminster school in Wiltshire
Stonar school in Wiltshire
Monkton Combe Bath
PriorPark Bath

Agree with Windermere and Giggleswick suggestions or Ashville in Harrogate which is mainly a day school but does have offer boarding, and has a wide range of international students- may agree to a term.

Dean Close Cheltenham take some short term international students….they’re usually quite good at sport though!

www.luckleyhouseschool.org/short-term-boarding-package/
Is this the kind of thing you’re looking at? As others have said, probably wise to explore day schools who offer boarding. There’s an abundance within easy reach of Heathrow, look at Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, etc

@Igloo71

www.luckleyhouseschool.org/short-term-boarding-package/ Is this the kind of thing you’re looking at? As others have said, probably wise to explore day schools who offer boarding. There’s an abundance within easy reach of Heathrow, look at Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, etc

Hi :) What do you call a day school who offers boarding ? Is it different from a boarding school ? Are boarding schools schools where pupils are obliged to sleep at school at least in the week ? The school I went to ha some pupils going back home in the end of the afternoon, and some were weekly boarders but the full boarder cohort was important. I have JUST received a positive answer from Luckley, but it see on their website that there are many foreign pupils and worry that they might be hardly any English pupil left in week ends... I 'll try to see if I can find that out. I understand that it will be the case in most of schools around London, so I have widened my research... I write to every school kindly mentioned in this thread Thank you !

I think the poster may be referring to day school like Whitgift , St Pauls, Westminster, Dulwich. Most of them have weekly, Flexi or Occasional boarding. It may mean there is usually space for your son midyear, and the house thing is less of an issue.

The ones I listed are in London, and generally hard to get in, but worth a quick ask. You should note though that London schools in general are very diverse with lots of nationalities - albeit, they speak English as a first language standard, so this should not be an issue. Your son would then get a chance to visit friends who live in London and get a family experience at the same time.

Yes, a day school who has boarding but the boarding is a minority. I think you might find that at most of these schools the boarding pupils are international, however don’t forget that their parents have motivations similar to your own regarding language and the schools are very aware of this….. they don’t let the pupils sit around talking in their first language all weekend.

I do know of one boarding school in London that does this, DLD college, but they're more a-level age. they run something called the British Boarding school experience which I think is exactly what you're describing. I think they have more info on it here - www.dldcollege.co.uk/admissions/international-admissions/january-2022-start-courses/

What about State boarding/day? Try Hockerill Anglo European College in Essex.

Sign up to the good schools guide for a month and you can get loads of info on likely schools

coed secondary schools with some boarding, close ish to London:

Caterham
Sevenoaks
Epsom College
Cranleigh
Ashford

Are you still looking?

www.denstonecollege.org/admissions/international-applicants