Boarding schools for boys in and around London

[Whereismybiscuit]

looking At Year 7 entry for DS at a boarding school near London.

He is bright and sporty, but not stellar. I don’t think he’d enjoy an intensely competitive atmosphere, but you never know.

He’ll be coming from state school, and a fairly normal middle class background.

id like him to go to a school with a fairly diverse background, but my worry is him ending up in a school with loads of super rich kids he doesn’t really fit in with. (I realise plenty of kids who board are not like that)

Any recommendations? I think Dulwich college would be a good fit for him, but will obviously have to apply for a few!

@usedtobeboss3 i can see why your son loved it. I think it’s exactly the kind of place my son would love. I’ll book a visit. Thanks.
@Gough20 thats reassuring. Just want to make sure he fits in! He’s not so much into team sports, but really into swimming, tennis and athletics.

Farringtons in Chuslehurst in London Borough of Bromley.

Sorry it's co-ed, I realised you want single sex.

Do you definitely want single sex?

Is there a particular reason why you only want to consider Boarding schools?

Christ's Hospital is very diverse and vast majority ex-state school. Vast majority on big bursaries. But it's full boarding, not flexi (unless that's changed very recently).

Bedales or Bedford could work.

Dulwich boarding tends to be largely overseas students and not many board from 11 - so not sure it'll be what you're looking for?

I’d be tempted to do two years at a prep that offers flexi boarding and also prepares children for a wide variety of senior schools.
dont go for preps that feed Eton/Harrow/WinColl as they won’t be what you’re looking for ie single sex, competitive/academic and full boarding.

have a look at some senior schools you think you like the sound of. Include a mix from day to flexi to maybe even full boarding. Then find a prep that feeds to all of these (hopefully). Then you will be able to spend the next two years really fine tuning which is the best school for the last 5 years if your ds’s education.

@Gough20 @TheEggChair co-ed would be my preference, but would also consider single sex. ( just didn’t want to rule anything out if it fitted other criteria)

@ChnandlerBong useful info on Dulwich. Thanks

as PPs have suggested, I’ll look into prep. I went to state school myself, so a bit clueless about the structure!

boarding school is necessary as looking at job move overseas, which would be couple of years. Schools not great in said country and as we’ll be returning to London, thought it made sense to keep him in same school to avoid any disruption.

thanks for all the suggestions- it’s hugely helpful and learned more from this thread than trawling through the websites!

We looked at Oakham but it was 10 years ago, then they boarded from 10

Just bear in mine even full boarding requires you to have a local (U.K.) guardian and they have exeats every 3 weeks. Do look at all the alternatives including international school where you will be

I know it's not what you want to hear, but I was that child of parents who moved to several different countries for work when I was at school and I was infinitely grateful to them that they always took me along! Experiencing new cultures and changing schools made me super adaptable and easy-going and it's thanks to this that I speak several languages completely fluently (which has served me very well in life). If my parents had left me behind whilst they were abroad I would have felt abandoned and resentful, regardless of how great the school was. My ex-husband's parents left him behind whilst they lived abroad and he was a totally messed up individual and always remembered how awful that was.

Cranleigh Prep/Cranleigh.

Conversely my boys at a school with children of army parents. The children were fed up to the back teeth of having to move every couple of terms . Never made long term friendships and gave up bothering in the end as they knew they’d have to leave them all behind. (Younger siblings) chose to go to a full boarding school and prefer it so much more. One or the other parent tends to fly over for each exeat (easier than flying multiple under 18’s across the world!) .

to the OP, if you are going overseas then choose a boarding school where flexi and weekly boarding is NOT allowed! Otherwise you’ll find yours are the only children left at school on a weekend which is beyond miserable. Any school that allows flexi or weekly boarding by definition cannot offer a comprehensive weekend of activities as you never know who will be in. It’s awful. If one child nips off home, they all follow suiti think you want to find a prep for two years to help learn more about your senior options and take your prep head advice as to which school will best suit your child(ren) to make sure they love life and love school. If you aren’t in the country this is triply more important not to choose the wrong school.

RAA in Merstham might be an option - it's state boarding so might be an easier transition ?

I hear you @XelaM …it’s something I’ve weighed up. But as @leftandaright points out, just as many kids complain about being moved around.

I think it often comes down to the personals type of the child and their preferences. I’ve talked to a variety of people who’ve been to boarding school, and some have loved it, others haven’t.

I suppose it’s one of the perils of parenting - trying to work out what’s best.

Christs Hospital is worth a look - co-Ed, v mixed socially, almost all full boarding, mostly uk but good dollop of international. Not in london but quick train from Victoria

I would look at a boarding prep from 11-13. Many prepare for decent boarding schools. You need one with great all round facilities for boarders and plenty doing it! No school sends all DC to Eton and similar schools. They all
have a decent breadth of destinations. Caldicott in south Bucks is a great prep for example. Or Papplewick. Lots of others. Tatler does a great list!!

The best boys and co Ed senior schools start at 13. Preps give an easier introduction to boarding. However you need to decide which route you want. From 13, you could not go wrong with Rugby, Marlborough, Bedales, Charterhouse and lots more. But you need to act fast!

Couple to add to the list:

Have a look at Bedes in Eastbourne - that has flexi-boarding, weekly boarding and full boarding (and their own zoo complete with meerkats).

Also Cranbrook in Kent is a state boarding grammar that used to start at 13+ but I think now does from 11+

We also looked at Rugby which isn't that far on the train from London, and absolutely loved it. It was much more down-to-earth than most... tweedy farmers with muddy cars on the open day rather than oligarchs.

There are lots of state boarding schools you could consider, I see Cranbrook has already been mentioned. Will your employer be paying the fees or will you be undertaking a role on behalf of government or the services?

Charterhouse

Epsom College

Bradfield

Ardingly
Sunningdale
Dragon School, Oxford

Farringtons, Chislehurst, Greater London on the border of Kent