Recommendations for co-ed boarding schools

[ohmygosh123]

I'm thinking about options for DD who loves being outdoors, gets on very well with boys and girls, and often better with boys as she is quite sporty and likes to be able to run around. Hence why I am thinking co-ed might be a better choice than an all girls school. Also needs to be academic, but with friendly atmosphere and good pastoral support. Any ideas please, as I'm not that well versed on co-ed boarding schools that take girls from 13.

I thought Oakham a higher boarding % I know they insist on staying at weekends for most

I thought Oakham was about 50/50 boy/girl (you might want to check on the sex ratio of all candidate schools) and about 50% full boarding 50% day and flexi. Given the size of the school, that does give a good sized weekend community (especially as many day pupils come in for sport and activities on Saturdays). Uppingham is about 9 miles from Oakham, so you can visit both on one trip. Uppingham is somewhat further out in the sticks - much smaller town, no railway station and further from main roads.

Out of interest OP how do define:
"good rates of kids going to Oxbridge / Ivy League" if your looking for 30%+ going to Oxbridge then your choices are quite limited.

Oundle would seem to fit your criteria. We have friends with DCs there at the moment. It is a very busy full on school and it is seems to be very competitive. They consistently have good numbers to Oxbridge.

If you are choosing full boarding can I add the proviso (that I always add on these threads) do find out what "full boarding" means at the particular school you are looking at. There is always quite a variety and it needs to fit in with your family.

If you are looking at co - eds the ratios of boys to girls can be interesting too. We were told by more than one school that they didn't like to have more than 36/40% girls otherwise they took over....

No exeats at Oundle this might not be a problem but you need to be aware of this. Also my DS's school which has less exeats than most also has a very strict policy on not taking the boys out of school for special occasions etc or or a few days before the end of term. If you are at a school with no exeats and a strictly enforced policy re: coming out of school and five elderly relatives with 100th birthdays looming on the horizon then this might cause you a problem. Doesn't bother me (no ancient relatives) but I can appreciate that some may not like it! So its worth checking.

The Leys in Cambridge - sporty, full boarding available at 11 or 13, co-ed with some exeat weekends. Also stunning location!

There are no fixed exeats but children are allowed out. I know quite a few kids there. :)

Agree Colleger DCs are allowed out almost whenever at The Leys... we too have friends there. I seem to remember when we looked a few years ago that there were very few boarders at 11 as more came in at 13.

No one has mentioned Lord Wandsworth College yet. My DCs have friends who went there and we're very happy. We've been to sporting and music events their - lovely setting,great facilities

I'll happily second The Leys - a really good school in every way with great facilities and location. Being able to stroll into the centre of Cambridge is a big plus for boarders at the weekend. Small intake of children at 11 with special boarding house for the yr 7 and 8 girls and boys - nice and cosy. Main intake at 13. 10 mins walk or short taxi from Cambridge station means it is very convenient for both parents and pupils for travel.

How about Clifton college in Bristol ? Link here Clifton College

DH teaches at a school mentioned here - his favourite school (besides his own!) is St Edwards. He raves about the atmosphere there. He also really rates Oakham, as do other teachers I know.

I'm up north so can't comment on schools around London but there are a lot of fab boarding schools in Yorkshire that are overlooked IMO. In York you've got Bootham and St Peter's which, although they aren't as high as 50% boarders have a lot of day pupils in the city and there are no regulations on going into town at weekends or sleeping at a friends (I find leave is quite a bit issue when it comes to full boarding schools). Also good facilities at both (If your DD is sciency there is a fab observatory at Bootham). St Peter's is selective whist Bootham isn't so it depends what you want in that area.
There's also Cundall Manor and Ampleforth which are sporty and have a higher amount of boarders. They are slightly less academic but they have more of a traditional 'public school' vibe. In the area I would also recommend Ackworth and Giggleswick for outdoorsy schools but again neither are terribly academic.

My son loved Brighton College, lovely atmosphere, and outstanding results. he was weekly but there are quite a lot of full boarders too.

Forgot to add, don't get too hung up with choosing a school that is 'academic'. A bright child will achieve anywhere and when choosing a boarding school the atmosphere is much more important. I'm only saying this as we made that mistake with DS1 and sent him to an very academic school where the children had little time for extra curriculer activities and were pushed too hard. As a result he didn't actually fulfil his potential and did much better at sixth form where he went to a less academic school. Every child is different of course but that environment isn't necessarily good for everyone.

What about Uppingham? They don't allow weekly boarding afaik.

I also agree with Oundle and St Edwards as good choices (though I wouldn't say St E's was academic)

Canford?

A great bit of advice offered by the Head of Brighton College:

"Would your child be happy (insert school name) when he/she is a moody 15-year-old teenager?"

Didn't pick Brighton College as it is too focused on academics, or was four years ago. Not good school for my son who needed to be empowered with more self confidence. My son picked his own co-ed school and he loves it; but, sadly he's hated boarding. He is achieving outstanding results, sports coaching is outstanding and dyslexia support is equally good.

So OP not offering my son's school as a choice, even though it is brilliant; instead saying, make sure the school suits your child for at least three-five years. My Sonia's moving back into the state sector in September and even though he never took to boarding, he refused to even consider alternative schools. He's proud to be a pupil there and knows its given him that self confidence he was lacking.

Can't ask for more really?

Just saw this thread - I would suggest adding in Uppingham to your long-list of schools to consider if you want co-ed boarding.

"Excellent head, great team of teachers, really friendly, superb facilities, co-ed for a really long time which is the way of the future, and a "proper boarding school" in that everyone (students and staff) are there all the time." - all that according to the prep-school head who introduced DS to Uppingham, and largely verified by our visit.

Intake at age 13 is 60 girls and 90 boys (the numbers are defined by the number of boarding houses - 10 per house), and there is an extra intake of 25 girls at 16+ into a VIth Form girls' boarding house to even up the numbers.

On academics, if you are looking for DD to be pushed academically, Uppingham has a "scholars' programme" that non-scholars are part of where appropriate. If you are looking for something less selective, PM me and I'll give you my insight.

All this sounds ideal to me - how come noone else mentioned Uppingham?

I just wish it were closer to Heathrow.

Trix - others have also recommended Uppingham, as I was going to.

We looked at Kings Canterbury, Uppingham, Rugby, Shrewsbury and Oundle. Uppingham was the best fit for our DC, who has been very happy. It's full boarding, with long half-terms instead of more frequent exeats. DCs are allowed out at weekends (Sat pm until Sun afternoon) with advance notice, but there are always enough people in house.

A really good piece of advice we were given was to choose the house as carefully as the school.

Jennifer - do you have a DS at Uppingham? Can I PM you?

*Jennifer" - did you visit all those schools? If so, what made Uppingham the best for you?

And how did you choose a house?

Several people had mentioned Uppingham!

The situation re the new head is a little more complex than Trix mentions, and the last few years have not been easy. I suggest you google for the info on this and ask plenty of questions.

Uppingham does tick a lot of boxes. It's exam results are not great but I do know a boy there on the scholar programme who is doing very well. However the same family has told me that there is a big drink and drug culture there. Their other child has been suspended a few times because of being drunk on the grounds. When we looked round years ago we also caught two boys smoking a splif behind a bush. The other problem I have with Uppingham is that all the families are über rich and 90% of them you'd fine in thepeerage.com! Having had my son at a prep school like that I wouldn't want it again for senior school.

Music is fantastic, and many choristers go onto Uppingham because it is known for it's music department. It's a pity about all the above because I would send DS there but knowing his personality, he'd be legless within a week!