Seek for Recommendation boarding school for 13+

[gerger]

Hi

We are living in HK, chinese, my daughter is studying in top Int'l school, she likes sports, art and craft, a bit shy, academic above average, native English speaker. Would like to choose full boarding girls school , warm and happy environment with int'l students Her school IB score is 39.5 this year, not sure IB or A Level will suit for her. She is grade 5 now in UK system. Thanks for any comment

How old is she , do you mean yr 5? Do you have any ideas yet on where within UK you want to look, access to airport, guardian, rural vs urban etc. Does it have to be full boarding, coed or single sex?

She is 10 now, prefer girls full boarding school, not think of guardian at this moment, want to search school to apply first. If London is the center point, max for 2 hours travel to school will be better. Thanks

There are not many FULL boarding all girls schools now.
But I'll kick off with some of the usual suspects...

Benenden, Cheltenham Ladies College, Downe House, St Marys, Wycombe Abbey.

Sherbourne Girls perhaps - but it a bit further than 2hrs from Heathrow I think.

If you are willing to consider day/full boarders - St Swithun's, Roedean and Badminton are worth considering too. However, you should read other threads on the pros/cons of mixed day/full boarders vs full boarders - its particularly important for overseas parents I feel.

A number of the above schools do visit HK (usually in the autumn) so do ask the director of admissions to keep you informed of such events.

Best wishes to you & your DD

Add Headington in Oxford to the above list of mixed day / weekly boarding / full boarding to be considered, it offers both IB and A levels (like CLC on Ahwoo's full boarding list).

Thanks for all the suggestion. I have read all the comments of the above school in the past chat, any updated information? The Principal of CLC changed for 2 or 3 years, getting better?

The other worry is my daughter is studying in international school and normally quite a lot famous local schools students will join in year 7 and they are very competitive. And I have seen the above top boarding girls school also have quite a lot of them, that means still at the same environment? Any opinion? I have studied all the related info, pros and cons.......😱

Gerger all the schools above except for WA will have a range of academic abilities and creative talents. At the stage of sixth form admissions international entrants particularly for CLC will all be high achievers. CLC generally is very much like an international school even more so now than under the old head although they have some local girls who are mainly day pupils starting at 11.
As you know competitive pressures in girls' schools may be as much about body image and party invites as achievements in school hours. The relative importance of those insecurities for a girl who is likely to be susceptible depends on the year group and that unfortunately cannot be controlled for.

Visits to the individual schools are very important to get a snapshot of the types of girls and staff by talking to as many of them as possible.

Add st Catherine's Bramley. They have had some HK girls there for a long time

Can I ask why you want to send her to the UK rather than one of the HK schools that follow the British curriculum such as Harrow International or the new Malvern College opening soon?

Genuinely interested as I have some friends in HK who will be making a similar decision in years to come.

Heathfield at Ascot is girls boarding from 11. There are a few day girls now but it is a traditional boarding school. A small school and girls are known by the staff.

Even we are stay in the good intl school in hk but the support from school is not enough. Kids including from western family do have a lot of private tutoring after school, this is a trend here. Especially some top new students join in year 7 from local school, our existing students are behind from them. The main reason we choose intl school from K1 because the learning style is more relax, small class and learn through activities which will have a happy school life compare the local style feeding duck.

But at the end still cannot avoid, that's why to think if kids have boarding school in uk will have no private tuition after school. It seems more happy for them.

That's interesting - thank you.

Have a look at Roedean. It isn't all boarders - local day girls and weekly boarders too but all the girls integrate well and the day girls bring in a breath of fresh air. Academically good but also strong on the creative side and reasonably sporty (ie it's there with lots on and there are some high performers but it's not the be all and end all). Good dance and drama. Above all it is a happy school with welcoming houses where the girls can properly relax and make themselves at home.

Gerger

We are also from HK and understand completely your situation. Our daughter is now studying in the UK at Priorsfield school.

We chose the school because:

1. It is very close to the airport 30 to 40 mins
2. Academically it is not one of the highest. What it does give is every girl that is admitted gets the best results they can. So the girls help each other rather than compete.
3. Pastoral care is excellent.
4. They have mixed classes of day girls and boarding girls.
5. They don't have many HK Chinese though. We took this as an advantage for her to mix with the local girls. Note there are very few boarders over the weekend. What is left are a very diverse group from all parts of the world.
6. The school did allow phones at break. Which helps when you want to drop a message to your daughter. Although that has stopped under the new head.
7. The girls are listened to apart from the phone issue. Which has caused a bit of resentment.
8. The girls on the whole are quite nice. Well mannered.

Thanks Grikes, will check Priorsfield. May I also know where your daughter studied the entrance test and how long we need to prepare? Thanks

There is also a small but vibrant group of HK girls at Queenswood School in Hertfordshire. It is not really full boarding so you need a guardian but there are lots of weekend activities for those who want to stay - it is just not compulsory. Academically fairly strong and well used to HK girls. They have an "old girls" Association in HK I believe.

Gerger,

Entrance exam was taken in HK. Consists of NVR , Maths and English. There is also a skype interview.

If you need anymore info feel free to pm me.

Thank you for all the information.

Look at St George's, Ascot as well.

Thanks,