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.

Actually perhaps more of concern for OP (and this may well burden her DS) is if most of her funds are spent on this one DS leaving insufficient for her other DCs to provide future equivalent opportunities.

summerends Actually perhaps more of concern for OP (and this may well burden her DS) is if most of her funds are spent on this one DS leaving insufficient for her other DCs to provide future equivalent opportunities. To be fair the OP has not really said a lot about the siblings. It is quite possible that this DC is showing significantly more interest / potential in academic performance at this point. Hence the reason she is looking into schools which require this to gain entrance. Bear in mind, they are just exploring options at this point.

I do know a family where only one child out of the three went to a private school. They won a scholarship. The children are all adults now and non of them seem resentful of the fact that the education of that one child cost more than for the others.

Mumtrying as you probably gathered I was posting in response to Hakluyt. I am not criticising the OP just highlighting her dilemma, she does mention 'kids' in her first post and subsequently. Assuming the educational divide is significant between Uganda and the UK it is not quite the same as educating siblings differently in the UK.

No Hakluyt I accept you have different views to me and I agree with you're right to express them. I just find posting your negative views onto a very soecific thread and about something you know little about and very clearly disagree with rather odd and I just wonder why you do it?

It's also very patronising to assume the OP hasn't thought about the impacts of her decisions as I said the title of the thread wasn't "would you send you DC half way around the world for education" the title implies she's thought about it and is thinking about it quite carefully and if you read her replies she has taken on the board the advise offered by people in the know again implying that she is a thoughtful individual not someone jumping into a decision.
I also find criticising other parents for having a hopes for their DC's when you have repeatedly written about your hopes for your DC's e.g. to get them into grammar schools and to appeal when they don't get places slightly hypocritical. We are all allowed to have hopes and dreams for our children, so she says she can die happy if he goes to Harvard/Oxbridge she won't be the first or last parent of any nationality to think this she just happens to being writing it. In my experience of families from developing countries being exceedingly ambitious for your children is very common however wealthy they are and as a guardian for boarding children Im very surprised you haven't encountered this. If you watched the BBC programmes last year on India even those literally in the gutter had high ambitions for their children and were freely expressing them.
Finally how much do you actually know about Uganda and Ugandan education? Do you know anything about this family? I suspect little or nothing therefore to discuss the impact on their family relationships on this particular thread and to this OP is completely pointless and patronising.

Well, well, well, what an interesting read!

I hope this time the baby will let me add my voice to this rather shifting discussion.

I understand the concerns Hak and others who share her views have, and I am thankful that in my absence, Happy, Zero, Summerends and others so accurately 'defended' my position. But just so we are clear, I'll give you some background to my motives.

I come from a country whose major resource is agriculture but more than half of her population sleeps on empty stomachs. This country receives ALOT from your countries in terms of Aid, but this aid goes to the pot berries of A LOT of corrupt government officials.
In this country, I know someone doesn't want me saying this we are lazy. We go hungry, and yet we have fertile soils everywhere. In this country, almost everyone yearns, openly or not, to live the Ugandan dream. The Ugandan dream is to get a juicy ( usually government) job from which to steal millions and live a lavish life. I too used to admire the people I knew, who never worked hard at all but built mansions etc....until I came to study for my postgraduate in the UK. In the months I spent, I witnessed so many differences but what amazed me most was the work ethic you people have! Before my visit, I had never seen anyone rushing to work, or eating at her desk in order to save time. After my return, I was that person. I can tell you that within 4 years, I went from earning £173 to £3260 per month, and that is just on one job ( yeah, I have more than one). I wonder, time and again, how I would I have been, had I spent my earlier years in that culture so the work ethic ( that comes so naturally to you that you don't even know you have it) got engrained in me! Which mother would not wish for her child something that good?

Work ethic put aside, I do believe that our dear Uganda can come out of this turmoil one day. I also believe that it is her citizens to make this dream come true. I am doing my part ( why do you think it takes me so long to come post here?), and so will my sons. As a parent, I will prepare them to be in position to make the biggest contribution they can, at anytime t. They know ( ok, I have taught them) that they have a duty to their country, to help others up in any way they can. Actually they have already started doing so. They currently have a program, where they teach village children (most of them dcs of fishermen whose only aspirations for them is to grow up and be fishermen too) reading, maths, science etc. during the holidays and on weekends. They now have two classes of about 60 children in total.
I believe that they can do so much more in future, especially if they get a world class education.

Do not be mistaken, I would never force my child to do something that doesn't sit well with him. Not even for my country! That is why, I have discussed this with him repeatedly. That is why I am bringing him along to see the schools, and should he as much as be skeptical, I will not insist. I can assure you that I would love my son to stay with me ( I even think it will be harder on me when he leaves)! That is why, I have kept them in day schools all this time, in a society where the norm is to take children to boarding by 7 years, and sometimes well before that age ( yes, we do have boarding schools for 3-6 year olds here)!

So Hak, you are right about me over investing in my dc's future and them having to carry the burden of my expectations, but this is not just for my 'dying a happy woman'. No, it is far from that. However, you are wrong about me paying no heed to the psychological effects of sending them thousands of miles away from home. I have considered them at lengths and I have put contingency plans in place, my dear. So let that not worry you. Remember, I am their mother!

fwiw I don't think that work ethic is necessarily instilled in the UK school environment, certainly not in all schools or even all pupils within the same school.

I think this might be the first time I have ever heard British people being praised for their work ethic....

Hak..you need to visit Uganda. You will believe that the British deserve to be praised for their work ethic

Lizs, you may be right. But I am gonna take the chance. What we have observed, is that there is a notable difference between the work ethic of Ugandans educated abroad ( and most Ugandans educated abroad are actually educated in the UK) and those educated here. Actually, when they return they take the jobs of those educated here ( not that I want my kids to ever take other people's jobs..actually I want them to be creating jobs for others)!

What I think, is however bad it may appear to you, it is still far better than what we have ( the work ethic)

I may be wrong..but I believe when you live in close proximity with people with a certain attitude / practice /whatever, it kind of rubs off on you. Which is in its self a double edged sword though. ( there are many mannerisms that I hope do not rub off on my ds! )! We do believe ( and again, I may be wrong) that British people are hardworking etc..

Anyway, I just thought I should bear my soul on this...who ever wants can shoot.

Presumably those who have sufficient motivation to leave and return are going to be those who are most likely to develop a work ethic and have the means to do so already.

We too work hard to find the extra money to pay the fees, we are in a formate position where we could if wanted work less hours and earn less and send our DS to a state school and not have a significant effect on our life style outside of paying school fees but we believe in what we are doing.
Good luck OP I hope your DS achieve all you hope he will achieve.

Immensely thank you for taking the time and effort to share your experience with us. Your DCs will learn hugely (as could quite a few of us) from your example and determination as you did from your mother. The combination of work ethic plus the opportunities from an excellent education together with a social conscience would be certainly what I wish for my DCs.

Would it be unacceptably rude to wonder how things are working out for the OP and her son?

OP. I would seriously look at South African Boarding schools. They have a very strong work ethic and are about one third of the price of British Schools. Home flights would be less and there are children in the schools from all races and backgrounds. I would have thought this was a significantly better option than spending a vast sum in the UK. There will be no difference in his education at the end of it!

Just noticed this is an old thread.

I know this is an old thread but I couldn't help wincing at some of the things the OP was asked about her DS. "Is he asking for extra work?" "Does he look up Harvard / Oxford in the computer?".... Cause otherwise he is not Oxbridge potential???
Gosh. MY DS received a scholarship to one of the top schools in the country plus scholarship offers from several schools and he never behaved like that! He was a normal 11 year old with other - more interesting - things in his mind than university or extra work. He is very musical but never begged for "more" practice. He had a natural couriosity and ambition which he expressed as a child would, not as a pushy mother things a child should.
Seriously, schools want children, not martians.

makemelaugh Are you perhaps imagining that no other poster on this rather long thread has any experience of helping a very bright child into a fee paying school - possibly with the benefit of a scholarship or bursary? People asked the OP to elaborate on things she had mentioned, I don't think there was any intention to design a Martian.

No, I am not imagining "that no other poster on this rather long thread has any experience of helping a very bright child into a fee paying school - possibly with the benefit of a scholarship or bursary" at all.
It just seemed to me that those questions were put to the OP as in: if "yes", then go for it. If "not", stop dreaming.
But then, maybe I am wrong.

I think (and I'm not going back to re-read...) it was more people wanting to check that this fairly major, ambitious dream was shared by the OP"s son. Because it's not as if he could pop home at the weekend and have a good cry if he found it a struggle once he got there.

But I do take your point. Most clever boys are just boys.

Try Warwick School.
2014-2015 boarding + tuition fee £8090 per year

Sorry, typo. It should be £8090 per term

I have a child boarding at Hockerill. She has been happy and the junior girls boarding staff are very accommodating.

Day pupils have free education but with a 200m catchment, clearly they pay something.... Day boarders pay for what is not much more than day students service. For other boarders it is not great value and you can tell from the fact that they could not even fill the boy residential boarding house last year.

This is a relatively new school where senior management always thinks they know best. Beware they have a strong staff whistleblower policy and there are a lot of staff with children at the school. They are also active in this thread to promote the school.

Feel free to PM me in case you have any questions.

@happygardening

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

happygardening you are looking at the termly fees rather than the annual fee (which is x 3). It is tricky to find low cost private schools for boys in the UK as there are many girls schools. It means that the co-educational schools are looking for extra girls thus this is where the bursaries go unless your boy is exceptionally academic or talented