Boarding School with Art

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Can anyone suggest a boarding school with a great art program?
Looking for -

• down to earth kids (not richy-rich school)
• boarders not just from Asia or Eastern Europe (we are British/American)
• variety of art on offer
• great pastoral care
• South of London if possible (not in London)

Thank you for any help!

Full boarding or weekly boarding?
Boys or girls?
How selective on academics?

Full
non-selective
Girls or co-ed

Thanks!

Tudor Hall (girls only) ticks all your boxes - brilliant art, ceramics, textiles, very strong pastorally, real mix of students - but is about an hour north west of London. Highly recommend a visit.

I was going to suggest Bedales but they are not non-selective.

Have a look at:
Bedes
Woldingham
Mayfield
Brighton College (possibly too selective)
Frensham Heights
King Edward’s Witley

Brighton college is massively academically selective so maybe strike that but I don’t agree that Bedales is and would definitely fit the arty side.

Bryanston is another option.

Be realistic about full boarding. It’s dying out bar a few schools, despite what the schools will tell you.

Bryanston in Dorset, very arty, liberal (no school uniform), mix of 'richy rich' and local families on bursaries and everything in between, full boarding, co-ed, only nominally selective - more about whether child is a good fit for the school than academic ability.

You will struggle to find one that's not full of rich kids though as boarding is so expensive now. You may want to look into ones that are popular with forces families or those who participate in the royal springboard foundation.

Downe House has a really good Art dept. Christ's Hospital has a massive % of bursary students and it's the most diverse of any private boarding schools. Good art too. Both of those are academic.

Especially hard to find non-selective that isn't full of rich kids.

Places like Cranbrook were very popular with Forces families - but that is super-selective grammar.

Definitely worth considering Woldingham - lovely school in a great setting, really strong in art, music and drama, with a mix of day, week and full boarders meaning that the socio-economic background is probably more mixed (also, attended by army families).
Boarders precedence includes countries like Italy, Spain or Mexico (to name a few) due to links with schools in those countries. The families we have met with DDs there come from a variety of backgrounds (you are going to get Uber-rich in all private schools, but they are not a defining characteristic and the girls do not seem to care).
On the pastoral front, we have heard many good things too.

Royal Hospital School (Suffolk) is very creative.
Queenswood School (Hatfield) allows pupils to take two or three creative A levels.
For some reason I couldn't include the relevant links.

Came to say pretty much the same thing.

Woldingham's art, music and drama are really lovely.

Selective but not academically pushy in friends' experience.

If you are not tied to south of London then the Oratory near Reading had inspiring art teachers and facilities when we did a tour. you don't have to be catholic to attend but if you are then this might have particular appeal.

The Kings school, Canterbury
Amazing art and Photography departments.

Mine went there.
I go to the end of year exhibitions each year and they are wonderful.

Teachers are just fantastic.

Christ's Hospital is full-boarding, co-ed, has a lovely diverse mix of students, has an amazing art department but is academically selective - I think your child should be precited more than 100 in their SATS and be above average at English and Maths.

Do not touch Tudor Hall with a barge pole. Bullying toxic leadership, financial mismanagement and a current charity commission complaint against them. I'd be surprised if they were still standing in a few years.