Independent day school or state boarding. Anyone decided between them?

[Neim]

We are fortunate enough to have the option of choosing independent day school or state boarding. Either would be a struggle financially ie a few sacrifices, not major debt. But I was wondering whether anyone had chosen state boarding over local independent and why.

Our local independent is King Edward Boys in Birmingham. It’s one of be best here. Its a day school and doesn’t accept borders.

DS has mentioned boarding so we’ve considered it and it might work. We wouldn’t be able to afford an independent boarding school, hence, looking at state boarding. We have picked out a couple but haven’t been to see them yet.

Many state schools including Old Swinford are boarding comprehensive schools so therefore academically miles away from KES. There are a few with a grammar intake but I am not the expert on which. Eton does sponsor a school Holyport College so that may be worth a look at. Most state boarding school prioritise places for those whose family life means they need a boarding place.

Hello again, I am local to Holyport College and applied for the day place along with independent day schools as backup option.

I went to Holyport College open day. Basically they give boarding spaces for families whose children need boarding spaces. It is a small school and intake only 18 boarders with 26? day children from Year 7. If you are super lucky enough you can get a space but otherwise no. Also they aim to send children to Russell group universities, so six form places are academically selective and not all children can go to the six form automatically. (I remember only 60% can go but forgot the exact figure) GCSE results are above average but not very high.

The school is calm and the pastoral care seems really good. They use Eton's facility for extra curriculums. All families I know there are happy.

My another state boarding suggestion is Gordon's in Surrey. I heard they have bigger boarding spaces and it is easier to get in but probably a bit too far from you?

It's worth to visit some state boarding schools and indies around you. Then you can see the differences.

What’s the motivation for boarding? That’s where I would start. If it’s not family need (jobs abroad etc) then what would he gain by being away from home that he couldn’t get by being a day boy at a good local independent? And I think KE in Birmingham is supposed to be very good isn’t it?

It feels like you’re comparing apples and pears to be honest. If he desperately wants to board for very good reasons then you have one basis to start looking at state boarding. But I don’t think it’s a comparable choice between independent day as state boarding.

Ultimately what educational experience do you want for him? If the state option beats the indy then great, but I’m not sure why you’d look for him to go away rather than benefit from an excellent school on his doorstep.

Also - the best and most lovely boarding school have their downsides. Until you’ve lived it you / he might not understand what it is like to not have your own space, the ability to manage your own time, the freedom to leave your own house and walk round to friends, plus of course not seeing your family for a week at a time. The novelty can wear off pretty quickly!

Also wrt boarding - is this weekly or full boarding you’d be looking at? Because so many boarding schools now empty out at weekends. Many of the independents have school on Saturday mornings but if that’s not on offer, you’d have to think very carefully about what happens at weekends. They talk a lot of talk about activities but that only fills so much time. Relaxing in the boarding house is not the same as relaxing at home.

He may also get far less independence boarding than he would at home. The boarders I’ve known have been very “young” when it comes to just navigating everyday life, because they are taken everywhere and managed so much, particularly 11-14 years. Imagine every leisure activity you do as a family but transposed into a school trip, so names on a register, head counts, being put into groups, given set times to do stuff. The freedom to just be a normal kid growing up is surprisingly limited.

Just read your thread more closely. If you want the benefits and atmosphere of a boarding school without the big boarding fees, have you considered Bromsgrove? They school is roughly 50:50 day and boarding but they run the day houses on similar principles to boarding houses with the same pastoral care and opportunities for extra curricular. If you live near enough that may be a good compromise.

The other thing to consider is how far away you want him to be in relation to where you live. My DDs boarded 45 mins drive away. DD2 moves for 6th form and that was 55 mins drive away. Don’t go too far or you won’t make it to concerts, sport, drama and all the events where parents attend school. As a boarding parent I fully supported DDs whenever parents were invited. If that was a three hour drive, it’s a long way!

Bromsgrove weekly boarding fees are close to day fees at schools in the SE. I would take a look. Big jump to full boarding!

KES vs old swinford.

Unless you need boarding or you child doesn’t cope well with an academic environment , it’s a bit of a no brainier - KES for academics and extra curricular all the way.

Unless you have a particular boarding need, I would favour KES over any state boarding school in UK. The education will be far better - smaller classes, greater individual attention, greater range of subjects , more extra curricular and none of the resource constraints faced by the state sector.

State boarding schools are exactly what it says on the tin. State schools with state school budgets with a boarding provision. Do an advanced search on Mumsnet to see what parents at some of the state boarding schools mentioned on this thread are saying about cuts.

The boarding experience at state boarding schools does not compare with that in big private schools. Most SBS have a small proportion of boarders predominantly from overseas or army families.

KES is a fantastic school and you would have all of the advantages of keeping him at home longer.

As a state boarding school parent I suggest you take the previous posters 'advice' with a large pinch of salt. Why is it always boarding school threads that bring out these self appointed experts??

OP i agree that you are comparing apples and pears. I would choose indie day over state boarding and i say that as a parent with kids in state schools and having previously had a child in indie boarding.

You need to research very carefully at any boarding school what the evening and weekend staffing numbers are like. Are there academic staff available to help with HW? (In our experience pastoral staff had less ability than parents to help). What is the turnover of boarding staff? What are their qualifications? How many kids board and what is offered at the weekend? If there are relatively low numbers of boarders it's hard to offer age appropriate activities to all age groups.

At Lancaster Boys Grammar some board because you can score lower in the 11+ than for a day place.

It's very hard to predict potential problems with boarding until you're in the situation. I'd choose to keep an 11yo at home if possible. An 11 year old may think they'd like to board but the reality is it's hard.

Good luck.

Try and look at RGS High Wycombe
Grammar, used to be the best state school in the country
and decent boarding

www.rgshw.com/page/?title=Boarding&pid=8

Academic Results for KES

kes.org.uk/academic/exam-results/

Which state boarding schools produce comparable results?

RGS Wycombe only has around 70 boarders though. 10 a year.

ChequerBoard: there is a big difference between state boarding and the well known boarding schools. A huge difference in numbers and what is available. 10 boarders at RGS simply won’t snd cannot replicate Harrow or Radley. It’s simply impossible. State boarding serves a purpose but it’s not the same. It’s homely and unique but those of us who have seen both know the differences.

I would prefer state boarding school.

I have 3 in independent - 1 went an excellent outstanding state boarding - The main difference is who they mix with and as mine are in excellent independents they are in smaller classes and expectations are higher.
I would go with the independent only if it is an excellent one though.

btw - my DS who boarded loved every moment and is now in a top uni and still has those close friendships.
3 of the current England rugby squad went to his state boarding so it can't be bad.

Wow! Lots of responses. Thank you everyone. This is extremely valuable to us.

Had a busy couple of weeks, we went and looked at OSH. Spoke to pupils and teachers and looked round the boarding houses and spoke to more pupils.
DS really likes it and he seemed at home there. We really liked it. It is definitely in the mix and it’s a nice distance from home for any parents evenings, school performances, other.

Also, been round KES again. Still blown away by the place. We have registered DS for the exam and he’s motivated to do it. For DS I think if he could have KES AND boarding he would be in his element.
Someone has mentioned it, and I have looked into it but I’m making no promises to DS and will have to see how things go, but there is always the top public schools which could offer that mix from Y9 onwards.

From everything I’ve been reading, and seeing, and hearing and thinking. KES is the way forward for us. OSH, or another state boarding school? Possible one of the grammars?, I think (for me anyways) is the way to go if DS doesn’t pass the exam for KES or grammar.

I agree with many that no state school can reproduce results like KES.
The one thing that worries me about KES is how academic it can be. I know that if he’s pushed too far he will switch off. He’s best left to be guided towards something, do things on his own at his own pace and be allowed to ask questions when he wants more. He’s very cleaver when he’s not pushed too far too quickly and can really excel at things. It’s another reason I’m really torn between which would be best.

The main drive for boarding is DS would like to board. He’s very independent and loves being away from home for all his Cub Scout holidays and can quite happily spend the whole of the school holidays at his grandparents at the other end of the county (although I can see that being away full time and not with family members is a completely different kettle of fish). I think I need to dig more info out of DS and get to the bottom of his reasoning and figure out if it really is what he wants.

@neim did you look into Adams Grammar? I thought it might be the best of both worlds - very academic/similar to KES but with boarding. And not far from home?

@crazycrofter Yes, we have investigated. Thank you for pointing us in that direction! We contacted the school and asked questions. They have a boarding open day and boarding taster weekend where DS will get to spend the weekend in the boarding house at the beginning of March which we have booked on.

We will know more after the taster weekend. And I think it’s an extremely good thing, it might help DS in deciding whether boarding is really for him, regardless of whether or not he ends up at Adams.

If you get an offer from KES you'd be crazy to reject it. It's one of the best schools in the country. If not, then of course you should explore other schools and atate boarding if that's what your son wants

It's also about to get Katy Ricks (ex Sevenoaks) as Head, and she fantastic.

@XelaM KES isn't for everyone - the same as any school really. My dd is at the girls school next door which gets even better results, but she's leaving for sixth form. Actually she's had a good time on the whole and there are lots of reasons why she wants to move - but there are some girls (and boys at KES) who are really unhappy, just as there are at any school. If you're likely to be near the bottom of the cohort ability-wise and particularly if your strengths are in English/humanities and you struggle more with Maths, it's not the easiest experience.

Great post crazycrofter, I wish more people realised than results and league tables aren't best way to choose the school that suits your child.

Bubbles - you are right re weekly boarding fees for Bromsgrove. If the OP wants weekly boarding there are plenty of other options for the same price. I was suggesting this as a day school option. A lot of DC In the area choose Bromsgrove as they get the spirit of a boarding school without boarding fees. And unlike many boarding schools the day pupils make up a large majority in the school. It does mean a full Saturday programme as well.

Bromsgrove does take a broader intake than KES and it doesn’t pretend to be a highly academic school. However its results are generally better than Old Swinford