How to choose the right boarding school in the UK

There are many excellent boarding schools across the UK and it can often be overwhelming when confronted with so much choice. Whilst it is easy to be influenced by the prestige of certain schools with well-known names or good advertising campaigns, they might not suit your child for a variety of reasons. It is helpful to have access to some standardised scores to give an indication of the right academic level of school to suit your child.

Keep your child at the centre of your thoughts –

• What are their strengths? Particularly those outside of the classroom.
• Do they thrive in an academic environment, or do they benefit from having the opportunity to also pursue sport, music, art and drama?
• Do they have any areas that may need additional support such as EAL or Learning Support including for dyslexia, ADHD, Autism? This will not necessarily exclude them from a school but it is wise to know they can access the right support.
• Location? Will it be a challenging journey for your child at the start of every term?
• Does it suit your child and your family for your child to board? If so, would this be full boarding, weekly boarding or flexi-boarding?