State boarding Year 10 entry - which school is best?

[whoodledoodle]

Have NC as details could be identifying.
We are UK citizens living abroad, absolutely have tried to get good education for our DCs where we live and not working out for DD who is currently in Year 10 equivalent.
We are looking to explore state boarding options for her in the UK. We would not be in country, so want a school with significant numbers of boarders and good things to do at weekends. We are OK with any location in the UK - quality of school more important to us than location. DD is OK to go back a year to restart GCSEs if needed or wait another year to the start of A Levels (but prefers to go now and get good GCSEs).
We are of course looking for good academics but the main thing is that we want her to be happy and a good range of extra-curriculars and opportunities. She is not extremely academic so no grammars or selective schools for us.
We are not armed forces or diplomats but UK citizens working abroad for NGO, so I don't think we will get too much priority if schools are oversubscribed or full.
We are currently looking at Wymondham College, but aware we need to look at several options to ensure we make a good choice and understand what is out there.
Two questions: does anyone have direct/recent experience of Wymondham?
Can anyone give feedback on experience of state boarding and recommend schools we should consider?
TIA.

Have you look at St Georges in Harpenden?

@WhoAmITodayThen thanks, for some reason we had overlooked St Georges and your post prompted us to have a look. We are going to visit. Appreciate the thoughts.

Also feedback on RAAS was appreciated, their website looks so good!

There is really no alternative to frank reviews and appreciate all the advice we have received.
We are planning to visit some of the schools as we think it'll make a huge difference to pick the right school and a visit will help a lot.
Will be very grateful to anyone who can share feedback on Wymondham College, Hockerill, St Georges, Sexeys or Old Swinford. These are the main ones we are looking at right now.

Have you had a look at Holyport College? I have heard very good things, they also share some facilities with Eton.

If you wait until 6th Form take a look at Peter Symonds Sixth Form College in Winchester.

I have a little (mostly indirect) experience of Wymondham. I don't know how useful it will be!

The vast majority of children up to Year 11 are boarders, but many of those are local and go home Saturday morning. The sixth form has a much higher percentage of day students. I think it might be 50/50, but don't quote me on that! The sixth form gets very good A Level results, but is fairly academically selective so I don't think this is entirely due to the teaching - although we were very impressed by both teachers and students when we visited.

A friend's DC boarded but struggled with MH issues around Year 9. The school were very supportive and made allowances like an extra night home during the week. However, when it was eventually decided by all that the DC was not suited to boarding they were unable to keep them on as a day student, even though the parents were happy to facilitate this. Possibly not an issue for you, but worth bearing in mind.

Another friend's DC joined the sixth form as a boarder but found it very restrictive. They were able to switch to a day student with the odd night flexi boarding.

The campus is outside of the town and in a little world of its own. This could be a good thing or bad thing depending on your DC.

My four went to Cranbrook in Kent - enjoyed it and did well.
https://www.cranbrookschool.co.uk

Thanks everybody.

Holyport looks really good. Looking into it thanks.

Probably not going to wait for 6th form but appreciate the headsup in case we do (would look at Gordon's too if it was for 6th form, they don't have any space before then).

Cranbrook looks great but they already have a waiting list for DD's year group and looks unlikely we will get in.

Appreciate the feedback on Wymondham. We like it because it has so many boarders and opportunities, but the location is a little hard for us and as you say, not sure about how isolated it is...I guess we'll know better once we see it.

Again, thanks everyone for the feedback, this thread has been very helpful.

@whoodledoodle Following as we'll be in the same situation in a couple of years.
Have you visited those schools yet? What have they advised regarding the entrance exams, admission requirements etc.?
Could your child carry on the GCSE abroad to continue at a UK boarding school?

Our child's school abroad is now doing a pre-IB rather than iGCSE and I'm thinking if switching to another school that does GCSE so when she transfers to a state boarding school in UK it would be easier (as GCSE - A-level is more popular than IB route). So understanding the entry requirement now would be very useful for us.

Seeing as I assume she’s halfway through gcse content you need to be finding out what exam boards her current school is using and if any prospective new ones are using the same. I might be wrong but in the past this could make quite a difference, ie different texts studied at English lit, different topics studied in geography??

Can someone through more light on hockerill for gcse and the IB curriculum and how is it helpful in uk and abroad. IB seems to be catching up fast but dont know why.

thanks

At Hockerill the pupils study GCSEs as normal and then IB instead of A levels. The IB is good for an all round student as you study six subjects rather than three. It's recognised by all UK unis now.

I went to St George’s. Loved it x

Thanks for info. Is IB more academic than A levels.
when you say all uni recognise is there any preferences or priorities for A level or IB.
one imp thing i found is emphasis on language at hockerill.
What so employers prefer IB or A level. 3 subjects or 6 subjects. Sorry its too much to ask but may be someone has been there sone that. Thanks

I think most UK universities and employers wouldn't have a huge preference between A Levels and IB - either would be perfectly fine, one wouldn't be prioritised over the other. So IMO it's more about what the student prefers. Some kids really like the idea of taking more subjects, while others prefer to specialise. Also IB has more of a coursework component than A levels, which again suits some people, while others prefer exams. Hope that helps.

Wymondham hasn’t been a great experience for us as parents but our child has enjoyed their time there, we felt too excluded and a bit sidelined with many school communications aimed at the day pupil parents. If you look on the Norfolk police website the school has a had a regular number of call outs registered to the school in the past, it may have improved, but worth a check. Fees have risen significantly too, boarding numbers are down, with one house completely closing this year, despite the hope that numbers would go up with those leaving the private schools due vat fees coming it hasn’t happened - this is a state boarding school though, you might be paying for it, but dinners being eaten with blazers on, finger food at formals, cheap food, Lino tiled stairs and dorms reminiscent of 20th century YHAs are to be expected, there really isn’t anything about a private school, so don’t expect it to be in a league where cultural etiquette and standards of a private education are taught.

Do you have a personal experience w her/the college pls?