Do you know any full boarding schools that cost less than £9000 a term?

[Immenselygrateful]

My funds are low, but I do really want my sons to benefit from the UK education system! I would give anything to give my kids the best education that I can break my back to afford ( my single mum did the same for me and my 9 siblings). That is the dream that keeps me up at night, hustling at two (and sometimes three) jobs etc. To put it simply, I will die a happy woman if my kids get that type of education.

I have looked at several schools, including (ironically)Eton, Willcoll, oakham, Dauntsey's, Canford, abingdon, Merchiston castle, Millfield and Whitgift, hoping that he can get a bursary. I have arranged for us to come ( we are from Uganda) and visit most of those this Sept. However, I think I need to be realistic and aim lower, for a school I can afford, if he does not get a bursary from any of those.

So, which schools are cheaper than those? The cheapest of the above must be Merchiston castle, which costs £9115 per term in fees alone.
Are there any good senior schools that cost less than that, and do offer full boarding ( and have some sort of good pastoral care)?
My DH is quite bright, not sporty or musical yet ( hasn't had any exposure to sport/ music...all we do in Uganda is teach teach and teach some more) but he is still doing the local curriculum ( so he may not be scholarship material at this point). I want him to join at 13 in 2017.

I am immensely grateful for your advice on this.

Oh, I meant wincoll ( not willcoll).

There is a state boarding school near me that's much more affordable. What this means is that the education is not 'private' but paid for by the government like a non-paying school in the UK, however, you pay for 'extra curricular activities'.

So basically what this means is they get money for the teaching, and you pay for the facilities, boarding, food, sports, music, etc. they are able to bring in some EXCELLENT teachers because they supplement their salary with huge perks.

So overall what you end up with is an excellent school that is more affordable. Your son would need somewhere in the UK to stay for 'exeat' weekends, as with most boarding schools. They have between 3-6 a year usually.

The school is called Gordon's and it is in Surrey. Good luck :)

www.gordons.surrey.sch.uk/page/default.asp?title=Home&pid=1

Thank you OldCatLady. I have looked at Gordon's too. If I may ask, do state schools admit international students ( since the parents don't remit any taxes to the UK govt)?
I would really love to know...coz if they do, I would almost be sorted!

Hi
You have to be a eu passport holder to be able to use the state boarding school system , plus I tried to get my DS into gordans but they only have 8/10 places and they all seem to go to military families.
We also tried whitgift as they were supposed to be very generous with bursaries but I know a lot of people got a place but then got turned down for a bursary meaning they were unable to take the place .

Try christs hospital Horsham , though not sue what the situation is with bursaries for overseas students but you can try

There are some very good boarding schools within Africa that are more affordable... I have family/colleagues who have spoken highly of Bishops, St Cyprians and Southerncross in South Africa...

Sexey's School at Bruton is another state boarding school with a good rep. Lovely location and grounds too!

Hockerill in Bishop's Stortford is also an excellent state school that has boarding.

Admission to State Boarding Schools in the UK is limited to children who are nationals of the UK and are eligible to hold a full UK passport, or those who are nationals of other European Union countries or those who have the right of residence in the UK. Please note that the holding of a BN(O) passport does not make the child eligible for a State Boarding School in the UK.

State schools are hence definitely out!

The thing is that the terms fees are just the basics - you need to work out if you can afford uniform / extras (sport, music, weekend trips etc) / flights to and from home too.

Ashville School in Harrogate here is just under £20,000 a year for senior school boarding. No idea what it's like.

Rockport School in Northern Ireland here is just over £20,000.

Bear in mind fees typically rise each year by around 5% , sometimes more . So your 9k now could easily be 10k+ by the time you start in 2017. Plus you have to factor in flights to and fro, trips (including visas), uniform and kit, sometimes extended care if flights home aren't feasible or you need a short term stay over. Some guardian agencies may charge a fee for finding a family although the school may have an arrangement with other parents. Also check the status with regard to using NHS, he may need some form of health insurance.

Immensely would you not contemplate sending your DS for sixth form when you could afford the full boarding fees. He would get most benefit from those two years than earlier. If he worked towards that he could aim for selective schools.
Alternatively (but more risky) find a host family for a very good day school.

Have you considered repton?

OP I think I may have posted on one of your other threads. I can only reiterate the gist of the advice there. I am not sure you are going about this in the right way.

You say your DS is quite bright, not sporty or musical... I'm sure he's perfectly lovely but you're not giving him the best chance of being fought over by schools offering ££££. Have you actually arranged any music tuition? Have you got him involved in sport? From what you have said it doesn't seem that "money" or "Uganda" is a sufficient reason for these things not happening (if they're not...) Wealthy English boarding schools generally only offer bursaries to children who they think are a) outstanding at something (thinking or drama or athletics perhaps) and b) generally likely to add something to school life.

So before you spend money on flights, think hard about whether you have prepared him sufficiently to give him a fair chance.

To be frank I think you might do better to look at prep schools with vacancies next year. Fees are obviously smaller for younger children and your DS would have an opportunity to build up some boarding school skills, become familiar with the curriculum and be prepared by his school to impress senior schools. Who might then be interested in offering a bursary.

You will need to balance what your priority is - less expensive schools are much less likely to be able to offer any substantial bursary. And if you keep digging until you find the very very cheapest you may not be buying exactly the experience you are imagining.

Have you considered South African schools. They are far more affordable and very good schools?

Elon Musk went to Pretoria Boys High. Okay so did Oscar but hey ho.

According to Repton website fees are £10 000+. Dover College is just over £9000 others I know of under £10k are St Edmunds Canterbury, St Lawrence Ramsgate, Kingswood Bath, Wycliffe in Gloucestershire and Shiplake, you really do need to check on the actual number of full boarders as they are all basically day schools or in the case a Shiplake a weekly boarding school. I think St David's College in Wales isn't overly expensive can't find the actual fees on their website, probably due to it's location there are more full boarders.

Win Coll encourage you to apply for a bursary in well in advance of you admission date to get a ball park figure have you spoken to the bursar?
As said above fees are rise yearly and most charge for lots of other things as well txt books files paper etc.
I think I was one of the ones who suggested on your last thread a prep school for a couple of years. Basically those with large bursary pots are very over subscribed and can afford to be very picky. As zero said a good prep will help prepare your DS for various entrance exams and make realistic suggestions as to where your DS would be best suited. In the grand scheme of things not that many schools offer large stand alone bursaries, most are attached to scholarships and a good prep will advise you if your DS is a candidate for any kind of scholarship and at which school.
Finally might not be a goer for you but if you pay the whole lot in advance you can get a substantial discount.

Meant to say I believe St Dunstans in Catford offers host families, it might be worth enquiring.

How about a prep or even senior school in Kenya?
www.capitalfm.co.ke/campus/two-kenyan-secondary-schools-listed-among-10-best-in-africa/

Or India a friend seriously looked at it?

Sutton Valance is also just under £10k but I suspect few full boarders.

Sutton Valance Kent is just under 10k.

Sidcot Bath (a Quaker school) appears to be under 9k.

How about Rookwood in Andover, Hants or The Friends School in Saffron Walden, Essex?