Good "arty" boarding schools within London/Home Counties

[Harveypuss]

My DD is in Yr 10 and currently at a boarding school in Hertfordshire. We are soon to be considering Sixth Form options. The school she is currently at only offers the IB in the Sixth Form. DD is very "arty". She loves the subject and is good at it. She also loves photography and hopes to eventually attend an Art College for higher education.

The IB offers Art as only part of a 6-subject syllabus and she would need to do another 5 subjects, which would include science, maths etc, which she is not so good at, so we are wondering whether she would be better off doing A levels elsewhere.

Can anybody recommend a boarding school (weekly or full) that has a very good Art curriculum? Would need to be around the London/M25/Home Counties area. We live overseas currently, but returning home soon to Essex.

If any of you have had experience of children who wanted to peruse Art as a subject in more depth, I'd be grateful for any advice you can offer. TIA.

Hurtmore house?
Frensham heights?

Frensham Heights - v good photography department

Many thanks. Will check these suggestions out.

Royal Masonic, Rickmansworth (right off M25) - friend's DD just finishing A levels there including Art & Photography - very happy indeed with it. Good luck!

I would strongly recommend Heathfield School at Ascot, Berkshire. The Photography is first class and most girls get an A* for A level. The Art Department is equally good. Girls go directly onto Art degrees and they have a relationship with the London College of Fashion which is very useful. As this is a small boarding school, transfer to their 6th form would be fairly straightforward. I think their photography department is highlighted in the Good Schools Guide as excellent.

Leighton Park, Reading?

Wellington College, Berkshire was awarded the 'Artsmark Gold Award' by the Arts Council in 2014 "in recognition and celebration of the stellar quality of the arts". 20mins from Heathrow and 1hr 20mins drive from Essex.

Take a look at their latest Arts Diary. issuu.com/wellington_college/docs/arts_diary_summer16_web