13+ UK coed boarding school recommend

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Hi

We are from HK, I have already registered few girls boarding school for my duaghter and would like to select 2 coed for her to choose. She is sporty and academic above average, would like to find a good academic, sporty school with happy enviornment and good care of students. Prefer with international mix student, full boarder and some from Hong Kong. Any recommendation? Many thanks

You need to narrow it down a bit. What sports does she play, interests, any local areas and guardian in mind, do you want IB or A levels in 6th form? How old is your dd as some schools will have already closed applications for 2017 and possibly 2018 entry. Sevenoaks might be worth looking at if you aren't too short on time to register.

She is now year 6, should be 2019 for year 9. Prefer A level, she likes basketball, netball, cricket, water sports, art and craft, dancing. Don't mind on location. Thanks

There are few - if any- full boarding co-ed schools in UK in the sense that everyone stays for the weekend and there are no day students. IME overseas students have the best experience in schools where there is no weekly boarding - ie only full boarding and day. Where there is weekly boarding, houses are empty on a Saturday night and it can be quite isolating for the handful of overseas students left behind.
Many claim to be full boarding but are not - so choose carefully.

I would suggest you look at Oundle, Uppingham, King's Canterbury, Rugby, Marlborough, and St Edwards Oxford.

Look at the A level and GCSE results for the relative academic strengths. All provide excellent teaching and extra curricular. Results will reflect the intake - but most have a large cohort of clever DC. Remember it does not matter if a handful of students get low grades. There is always the occasional child who flunks exams for personal reasons or siblings who are admitted even though they might have been better off in a less academic school. With a clever DD you are looking for a large number with high grades. Your DD will be among them and the students will spark off each other.

Sport is big at all of these schools as is drama and music.

Would just say in response to LIZS' post that Sevenoaks is a great school, particularly at 6th form. Very academic, though IB rather than A level, which suits some but not others. But it is not full boarding lower down the school.

You could also look at Brighton College

@ Tinkerella: Brighton College is another great school. Highly academic, great extra curricular. But over 50% of students are day I think and of the boarders most are weeklies. This means that on a Saturday night there will be on more than 15 - 20 % of students in school. Very different to schools where most are boarders and all stay in at weekends.

Epsom College, Bradfield...there are loads. Where in the UK?

@Bizzy: Epsom College is 50% day and then mainly weekly boarding. Bradfield only has a full boarding fee but is now to all intents and purposes a weekly boarding school. They even run buses back from Battersea on a Sunday night. International boarders - particularly younger students - will find themselves very isolated at the weekend and it's not fun.

Marlborough is not very international. My DD thinks it is the least diverse school she has attended.

What about Wellington (academic but lots of weekl boarders), or Repton - very sporty with good number of international students? Bromsgrove also worth a look. Good sports and quite international - about 1/3 day, 1/3 weely boarders and 1/3 full boarders. Tends to top up with international students more in 6th form.

I would second Wellington and Sevenoaks, and will add DDs school Dauntsey's- it is a really happy school with a large number of international students, mostly from HK and Russia, and although it is 50% day almost all of the boarders from 13 up stay at weekends. There is a very active international society that offers trips on exeats and it is now well known for excelling at dance without being a 'dance school'. Also sporty (most successful sports are rugby, shooting and basketball), academic but not pushy and a very caring place!

Many thanks for all the comments! It seems full boarders coed schools are not too much to select. Will check it up.

Any one has info on King's Caterbury ? 1/3 of students will from Jr King right? How about Ruthin and Concord? They are promoting in HK as 4 major schools. Is Shrewbury also good? Thanks

Hi again.

Agents will sometimes promote schools from which they recieve a commisssion. And the list of schools you have mentioned looks like an agents list to me. The reason I say this is that they are all so different and they would be unlikely to be the right fit for the same child. Your agent should be looking at your DD in the round - academics, interests, how robust she is and then looking at practical things like distance to Heathrow etc. Why are you sending her to UK? Do you want the British boarding experience or is your focus on results?Concord is really an international school so relatively few British students. But genuinely full boarding as almost every one stays in at the weekend. Great academic results. Very large 6th form but smaller further down. Not a typical UK school.
Ruthin I believe is a small school in Wales and not that well known. They will probably have some very bright, hard working students from the Far East but I would be looking at the numbers. If you have a clever DD you want there to be a large cohort of clever children. Not sure how easy it is to get to airports.
King's Canterbury is a well known school with around 800 students - either boarding or day, no weekly boarding. Very strong top sets. Most, but not all, the day students come from Junior Kings. Others join from local grammars and other independents in the area. Junior Kings has some boarders mainly international and expats but some from London. But when they go to the senior school they are divided up among the different houses and new friendships are formed with the incoming students. Vast majority of boarders joining at 13 are not from the Junior School so no need to worry about a child breaking into established groups.
Not sure about Shrewsbury. Someone else(?) from HK was asking about it recently.
If your DD is clever she will get good results from all of these schools. If she is not, she is not going to get into Oxbridge, but she will probably fulfill her potential. But she would also get good results from an International School in HK so I think it is worth while thinking through exactly what you are trying to achieve vy sending her to UK. Once you have your aims worked out the choice of school will follow.

Ruthin is tiny and not a great school at all. It's marketed almost exclusively at overseas families without a great level of knowledge about UK schools - ditto Concord.

Shrewsbury is a decent school.

Someone recommended Dauntsey's upthread - it's not a great choice for an academic student, but would work if music/dance/drama is more important than academics.

Otherwise, the usual suspects of Kings, Marlborough, Wellington etc that others have mentioned are worth looking at.

Thanks Eleanor, all agree what you said! Too much misleading from the advertisement.

Thanks Queen.

Definitely look at Bromsgrove, very much a boarding school and a sizeable HK contingent. Great sports facilities, near the town centre with lots of freedom as students go through the school.

Take a look at Rossall. It's in the NW, so not as well known.

You could try Scotland- Edinburgh. Fettes College and Loretto very much boarding schools with high international contingents and more of a boarding feel with boarders outweighing the day pupils. Also easy to get to- fly from London. Fettes also does the IB as well as a levels.

Another vote for Bromsgrove, it seems to fit with what you are looking for and fairly close to Birmingham airport.

Actually, that's true about the Scottish schools, a much higher proportion of boarders.

For a full boarding school, you could look at Christ's hospital. Not for the faint hearted but in west Sussex so easy access to m23 & m 25 for Heathrow.

High academic standards with lots of sports. No weekly boarders and a handful of day pupils.

Very diverse cohort which is not to everyones taste