Sending Your Child to One of the Top UK Boarding Schools

Posted by Bestboarding on August 6th, 2014

The UK has some of the top boarding schools in Europe. With careful planning, research, and the help of an excellent placement consultant, you should be able to find the most suitable school to send your child to—a place that can provide your child the educational training and experience that he will find useful throughout his life. When preparing to send your child to a boarding school in England, there are some general decisions you need to make early.

1. Single sex or co-education?

There have been many arguments both for and against single-gender education. Some of the top boarding schools in the UK are single-sex. Do you think your child will thrive in a co-educational school that mirrors ‘normal’ life? Or would he be better off without the distractions the opposite sex might cause? Make this decision with your child. This is one of the biggest decisions in choosing a British boarding school, and you need to make your child feel included in making it.

2. Full board or weekly board?

A majority of international students become full boarders—they stay at the boarding school even on weekends, participating in weekend programmes (study, activities, outings, entertainment). Another option is weekly boarding. Your child can stay at the school during the weekdays and come home on the weekends. Several factors will affect this decision, including where you currently live.

3. When should you send your child?

At what age do you think your child should start boarding? UK preparatory schools accept children aged seven and up; under rare circumstances, some schools accept children who are younger. Senior schools accept pupils aged 11 or 13 (depending on the school). Your child will stay in a senior school until age 18. The cut-off date—September 1 in the UK—determines the child’s ‘school age.’

4. What is your budget for the tuition?

Top UK boarding schools can be expensive. They vary in terms of tuition fee ranges, and you need to have a clear idea of the money you are prepared to spend before starting your search for a suitable school. Note that in addition to tuition, you will need to pay for additional costs for uniforms, trips and outings, sports gears, and individual lessons if your child wants to take supplemental classes in art, music, etc. If you want to keep expenses under control, the best approach is to set a limit and stick to it. Will you be needing help with funding? Then you should look at available scholarships at least a year ahead.

About the author:

This article is written by Margaret Kos, CEO of Best Boarding Schools Worldwide. Best Boarding Schools is a full-service educational service provider. They are guiding students and their families as they seek educational consulting advice to search for best international boarding schools. They contact the families with guardians all over the world.  They also offer finding the right tutoring services during the private boarding school placement and college admissions process.