Remember that Top School Guide can help you research, choose and apply to the very best British boarding schools. Please get in touch to let us know what you need.

First, you’ll need to have an overview of how the land lies. In particular, you need to know when it is possible to start, the application timelines, and the costs involved.

Independent boarding schools do not have a rigidly shared application format. However, you can use the following as some general guidance to plan ahead:

Age, stage and timing

British independent boarding schools follow the same standard entrance points as day schools. Your correct “Year group” is assigned based on your child’s age on September 1^st.

There are a few standard entrance points when schools are open to new applications. Ideally, you will target one of the following:

Ages 7+ or 8+

These are usually the youngest ages at which you can start at a British private boarding school.

You can choose from:

i) A stand-alone Prep (preparatory) school. These teach pupils up until the age of 11 or 13, at which point students have been suitably prepped to progress to a (usually top-end) senior boarding school.

ii)  A Prep school which is linked to or even on the same grounds a specific senior school. These are often called “all-through” schools.

For some Prep boarding schools you will need to enquire about registering at birth. For most, it will be sufficient to enquire once your child has started Reception (age 4.)

Age 11+

Age 11+ is a common time to begin senior school boarding, and growing in popularity. You’ll usually need a good 18 months run at it in order to meet the deadlines and go through the assessment processes.

Age 13+

13+ is the good old traditional starting age for senior boarding. But prepare to be shocked if you are new to this – for some schools the 13+ registration deadline falls 3 to 4 years before entrance!

In short, a lot of schools will ask students to sit a pre-test in Year 6 (age 10/11), followed by the school’s own unique entrance assessments and interviews. Needless to say the process is too convoluted to go into now, so we’ve set aside a whole 13+ application guide for the pleasure.

But don’t panic. This three year run-in is primarily for a number of the elite traditional  boarding schools, and many reserve openings for late applicants. So, if you are late, there will still be plenty of options – it’s just that the longer you leave it the narrower this field of options becomes.

Options really begin to thin out around 2 years before entrance, so please call us if this applies to you.

Age 14+

Schools aim to fill beds at 11+ and 13+, so entrance at 14+ is not always available. Whilst there will always be options out there, you’re much better off seeking guidance immediately  – an expert will be able to quickly identify suitable schools that are most likely to have an available bed.

Some schools even offer an age 15+ entrance point, but this is usually a one year GCSE or pre-A-level programme which is primarily in place for newly arriving international students.

Age 16+

Also known as “sixth form”, age 16+ is a time of huge movement within the boarding school sector. Many students will start boarding for the first time, and those who have already spent 3, 5 or more years at one boarding school might switch school for a new challenge, specialism or environment.

Application windows open about 18 months ahead of the starting September. The majority of schools hold entrance tests and interviews around the October prior to the year of enrolment.

Fees

Boarding fees tend to be cheapest for the youngest students, rising for senior school, and peak in sixth form. Location will also have some bearing, as will academic results and reputation/brand.

Nowadays, it is fairly rare to find senior boarding schools under £30k per year. The average is around £40k, and over £50k per year is not as rare as it used to be.

Step 1: Checklist

Before you moving on to Step 2, make sure you have completed the following tasks:

• Identify your target boarding entrance point.

• Forecast a ball park figure of the total fees. See Top School Guide’s Fees guide if you require more detail on funding and planning.

Once you’ve mapped out these most basic practicalities, you can start thinking in more depth about your requirements.

Now you know when you are applying, the next step is to have a deep think about why. What exactly do you and your young person want to get out of boarding school? What are your motivations? As with any project of such importance, you need to start with the end goals in mind.

We find it helps to divide these goals into:

i) Academic goals

ii) Personal development goals

iii) Fun goals

Sit down as a family and have a positive conversation about the following topics. If your young person finds it difficult to open up to a parent (which is extremely common), Top School Guide can mediate and help you navigate the journey together.

i) Academic Goals

Be ambitious but be realistic. Most of all, remember you have a huge range of options in the independent boarding school system.

There are schools out there which specialise as exam hot-houses, with specialist support programmes for entrance to Oxbridge, G6, or Ivy League Unis, or super-competitive Medical or veterinary degrees. There are also schools which specialise in helping students with dyslexia, English as a second language, or other learning support requirements.

The academic level you choose to target depends on how much you want to push, and how well your young person responds to pressure. Top School Guide recommends you aim for the “Goldilocks Zone”, where the student is stretched beyond your expectations, without ever feeling inferior to their peers.

The best boarding school for your young person will help them develop their natural capabilities, and work on the areas that might not come so naturally.

Target the future

Have a good discussion with your young person about their career goals. Do they already have a target career? If not, what are their strengths and interests? What makes them happy?

Work backwards from these career goals to figure out the best academic pathway to achieve them. How can you make these dreams a reality?  It could be that you need a school with specialist facilities or subject provision. Or you could need somewhere with extra support. Everyone’s long term goals and requirements to achieve them are different.

Academic goals become clearer with age

Of course, many young people have little idea what they want to do as a career. Ideally, they’ll become job-makers rather than job-takers, but who knows what the world of work will look like?

So if they’re not sure yet, try to outline the general learning outcomes you are all aiming for. For a younger pupil this might be as vague as “discover and develop their capabilities”, whereas by the time they are in their mid teens, goals might have narrowed to something like “get into a top uni for Engineering.”

Be as specific as you can, but don’t stress if you’re not quite there yet. Things will be come clearer as you continue through this process.   

ii) Personal Development Goals

Academic success is important and often the primary goal for parents. But remember that a glut of A* grades does not guarantee a bright future, and a good education is more about helping a young person learn how to navigate themselves through life.

Most school leaders and educators discourage parents from becoming too hung up on exam results. Why? Firstly, exam success is of course always relative, and success might be an A* for Peter and a B for Paul.

Secondly, those schools at the top of the league tables have incredibly high entrance requirements. So their academic “success” reflects their enrolment policy more than it reflects quality of education.

And of course, you don’t need to be a Clinical Psychologist to know that overwhelming academic pressure can contribute to a young person’s poor mental health. Heaping exam pressure on a child can have counterproductive results.

Educate the “whole person”

Instead, educators are keen to stress that academic success comes as a by-product of being an independent, motivated, and happy young person: If a student develops the right mindsets and behaviours, they will go on to fulfil their potential. You will hear pretty much every school talk about educating the “whole person.”

And remember that tomorrow’s leaders possess (and employers covet) character traits such as creativity, leadership and collaborative skills, communication, critical thinking, resilience and problem solving. Boarding schools provide a unique platform for students to practise and develop these critical life skills.

So you cannot focus solely on academic goals when choosing the best school. Personal development leads to academic success. It also leads to confident, compassionate, happier, and more authentic people who are capable of making their way in the world.

Mapping out your personal goals

Let’s get on with your young person and mapping out their unique personal goals. They should ask what attributes or characteristics they want or need to develop. Is there is anything holding them back? What would make them feel happier or perform better? Would they like to be more confident and outgoing? Better at listening? Better at teamwork? Self aware? Resilient? Independent?

Family values

Also discuss your family’s key values. Whether you are aetheist or devout believers, your family will hold some intrinsic human values and principles. A boarding school acts in loco parentis, so you will want your future boarding school to share and nurture these same values.

And, with family in mind, give some thought to how you are going to maintain and grow your own relationships. Going to boarding school is often your first point of extended separation and you all need to be secure in your continued and unconditional love and support for one another. How are you going to stay connected? When are you going to meet up, and what are you going to do in order to spend quality time together? Do not neglect your emotional needs or anxieties, as they are a natural part of this process.

Don’t skip personal goals

Let us stress that your academic goals will be nigh-on impossible to achieve if you do not get your personal goals in order. And whilst these might be less obvious and tangible, the process of thinking and talking about them will make it a lot easier to identify the best schools for your family.

iii) Fun Goals

It’s essential that your young person is open to the idea of boarding. Ideally, they should be incredibly excited about the prospect! What can be better than living with all your friends amongst loads of amazing facilities and fun activities?

But whilst parents tend to fret over exam result data, university destinations, fees, safety and logistics, students themselves are usually more concerned about the social side of things. How well will I fit in? Will I make friends OK? How homesick am I going to get? Can I still play X-Box? Will it all be incredibly stressful? Should I take the risk or just stay home?

Fear of the unknown can debilitate anyone, so it’s really important you explore the opportunities boarding school will bring.

The joys of boarding school

What do they like to do to blow off steam? What activities are they keen to develop further or even try for the first time? Schools will have a gazillion different clubs and activities available, with differing focuses and levels of provision.  So, if your daughter is mad about golf, she’ll likely be happier in a school that has it’s own course on-site, or laser swing analysis facilities . If your son is into performing arts, you’ll want a school with a fantastic theatre.

The answers to these questions will give you things to add to your list of preferences and priorities when we get to Step 3.

Fitting in

This approach will not only motivate and inspire your young person, but will help find a school where they’ll “fit in”. This will help them settle in and soon feel “at home” in their new environment. You’ll want your young person to have a fantastic time, get over any setbacks, and always look forward to going back to school.

Above all remember that, whilst choosing a boarding school often seems like a very serious business, life should be fun! We learn best when smiling, and school should be fun! So make the process of choosing and applying to a boarding school fun as well.

STEP 2: Checklist

You are much more likely to find the best-fitting school if the whole family has a clear and agreed mission in mind. Your motivations are one of the first things schools will ask about, so make sure you’ve taken time to outline the following:

• Academic goals
• Personal Development goals
• How to keep it fun

Be mindful that your own educational experience will influence your thoughts, and try not to let this prejudice your approach. Remember you are finding the best school for your young person, not the school you wish you went to. Keep the focus on them, and adopt a fun and positive mindset.

Now you have your big-picture motivations noted down, you can start to get more specific.

In Step 3, you are going to prioritise both your basic and detailed boarding school requirements. This process will help you narrow down the options from over 300 senior independent boarding schools in the UK.

We’ll break thisdown by first mapping out the basic considerations, then move onto the finer details.

i) Basic boarding school requirements

Let’s start with a few key categories with which you can start to filter suitable schools:

Age and Stage

We covered this earlier. What entrance point are you targeting? How old will your young person be when they start? When will you need to get the ball rolling?

Gender

Co-ed or single sex? The debate will rage on until our AI overlords render humanity a monogendered species.

To cover it briefly for now, one of the main arguments in favour of single sex schools is that they lead to better academic attainment.

The reasoning lies in the widely accepted conclusion of biologists and neuroscientists that typical male and female brains and bodies are wired differently. Boys and girls develop at different times and learn in different ways.

Top School Guide has spoken with students of both genders who claim their single sex school offers a calmer, more focused, and less self-conscious environment. According to them, they all get along better with each other when the other gender is absent!

The argument in favour of co-ed schools is simple. A mixed environment is more representative and reflective of real society. It gives each gender the opportunity to develop their empathy and interactions with the other.

Many parents and students already know whether they want single sex or co-ed boarding schools, and it’s not uncommon to “mix and match” (e.g single sex school from 11-16, then co-ed sixth form at 16+.) Some schools even adopt this model and you will hear it referred to as the “Diamond Model” – that is co-ed for prep or junior schools, single sex classes for senior schools, then co-ed again at 6^th form.

Michael Gurian’s “Boys and Girls Learn Differently” or Steve Biddulph’s “Raising Boys” and “Raising Girls” offer more expert yet digestible insight on the subject.

Type of boarding

There are only a tiny number of schools which are exclusively full boarding (meaning all students board at the school 7 days a week.)

The vast majority of boarding schools will also have a proportion of local day students, and also offer “flexi” (ad hoc) or “weekly” boarding (usually 5 nights a week.)

Pay attention to whether each school has compulsory Saturday classes, followed by mandatory sports fixtures on Saturday afternoons. This could be the difference between your child coming home on Friday afternoon, or being delayed until Saturday afternoon. Most boarding schools will want them back by Sunday evening.

Location

The type of boarding you choose is naturally linked to location.

If you are considering weekly boarding, then location will obviously play a major role for logistical reasons. We’d recommend up to 2 hours being a reasonable each-way distance.

Your school’s location can also have an influence over the fees. It won’t surprise most of you to hear that school fees tend to be higher in London and the South East, and a few other pockets across the UK where land and wages tend to be higher.

A final word on location: Some schools (especially 6^th form colleges) are located in or around city centres. Some schools are on the edges or even in the centre of old market towns or sleepy villages. Some are based on expansive grounds in isolated rural estates. You will have your own preferences, and the implications this will have on experience and environment are fairly obvious.

Curriculum

Irrespective of your child’s current age, you need to understand the different curriculums and stages so you can plan as far ahead as possible.

Curriculum until age 16

Up until the age of 16, the majority of English boarding schools work within the framework of the English National Curriculum, leading to around 10 GCSE exams in Year 11 (when students are aged 15-16). Exam boards differ and some schools choose iGCSEs over GCSEs depending on their preference by each subject but, as parents and students, there is little on this to read into or concern yourselves with.

There are a handful of boarding schools which offer alternative niches like the French or American curriculums, and also the International Baccalaureate’s Primary and Middle Year Programmes. Many Scottish schools offer the Scottish Curriculum, and/or the English.

However, these are very much the minority. Most of you will be looking at the English curriculum up until the age of 16.

Curriculum Post age 16

Diversity of curriculum mostly arrives in 6^th form at age 16+, when students can choose A-levels, IB Diploma and/or BTECs (or similar qualifications).

• A-levels are more traditionally academic and most subjects end with intense 2-3 hour sit-down exams at the end of the 2 years.

• The International Baccalaureate Diploma is a highly respected alternative to A-levels, though is more well know by parents and students with experience of international schooling, than by UK residents. That said, there are nearly 50 independent boarding schools here which offer the IBDP in 6^th form, and it is a wonderful option for students who are academically capable “all-rounders.”

• BTECs focus more on “learning by doing” and allow students to build their grade cumulatively over the 2 years. BTECs are therefore often favoured by students who, for whatever reason, learn better by doing, and/or do not perform so well in one-off exams.

Plan ahead

Please remember that even if you are considering boarding for one of the earlier entrance points (7+, 11+, 13+, 14+) you must still anticipate your target 6^th form curriculum . Whilst A-levels are widely available in most English boarding schools, any student who might be better taking one or more BTECs, or the IB Diploma, would be better off identifying this early. If not, you may have to change schools at 16+.

Academic Level

As you move through the ages and stages, schools take more differentiated approaches to academic selectivity. Let’s quickly explain:

• At age 7 and 8, children’s brains are still forming and developing at different rates. Schools therefore tend to be less selective about a child’s current academic level. Potential can still be tapped.

• At the 11+ and 13+ entrance points, many schools have become more selective. They will set their own entrance tests and the bar can be very high indeed. Alternatively, some schools are proudly non-selective and may also have a greater level of learning support for dyslexic students, or other students who may be suited to a less rigorous focus on exam results.

• By age 16+ entrance, the “selectivity spectrum” has grown even wider. Some boarding schools may even just specialise in particular subject areas, such as STEM or Performing Arts.

We will later look in more depth at how to gauge your young person’s academic level within the context of British boarding schools. For now, it would be useful if you have an idea of how “academically-selective” you’ll want the school to be. What will be the likely Goldilocks Zone if you have to choose between “Top of the class”, “Above Average”, “Average”, or “Needs Support.”

Which of these categories would best fit your young person?

The (honest!) answer provides a useful starting point to narrow down which schools will be realistic targets and offer you the most suitable academic environments. Do NOT worry if your young person needs support – almost 20% of independent school students have some kind of support, and British schools lead the way in understanding neurodiversity. If this is relevant, check out Top School Guide’s guide on Dyslexia+ for further reassurance and action points.

Prioritise your key requirements and look at some schools

Take time to go through the boarding school factors above, and note your preferences. If possible, start to prioritise them.

At this point you could start to play with our school filter. You can enter your key requirements to bring up suitable schools, then look through each school’s data and description to start making a shortlist.

There are over 300 senior boarding schools in the UK. A short cut is to just tell Top School Guide what you are looking for and we will be able to recommend suitable schools. Please just get in touch to arrange a free initial call or video consultation.

Just don’t start calling schools yet! You still have a little more work to do first…

ii) Detailed boarding school requirements

This is where things can start to get a lot more fun, and where you can really begin to refine your preferences and priorities.  Remember to let your imagination run free. At this stage, there’s no such thing as being too picky!

Subjects

Older students will be narrowing down their subject choices so it’s useful to identify their favourite subjects, with particular emphasis on the areas they might follow for further study or as a career. In particular, you can check your favourites against Top School Guide’s subject-specific exam result league tables.

Identifying favourite subjects will also help focus your attention. Do you need a school with a £multi-million new science centre, or is science now completely irrelevant to your young person? What about Art, Music, Drama?

For younger boarders, going for a good breadth of provision is usually best. But of course you should still take their favourite subjects and hobbies into account.

Clubs, activities and societies

Boarding schools offer a wealth of these to keep young minds and bodies occupied. For your young person, these provide a much-needed opportunity to let off steam outside of the classroom, to follow their passions, discover new interests, and to hang out with friends. The extra curricular options are one of the things that set boarding schools apart from all other schools, and contribute to a student’s transformational experience.

So make some notes about your young person’s sporting, creative and scholarly interests, and to what extent they wish to pursue these. Debating? Athletics? Dancing? Programming?

What kind of things would they like to try?  Hiking? Volunteering? Robotics?

Consider that some schools will take particular sports very seriously, with dedicated coaches, academies, and links to local professional clubs. Some have Olympic swimming pools, or equestrian centres. Some schools might offer a greater provision of performing arts clubs and activities than others. Some schools will be big on debating, or maybe coding, or robotics. Anyone for Calligraphy?

Do not think that any interest is too niche or “out there”, you’d be surprised at the depth and breadth of options.

Size

It’s worth considering whether your young person prefers a community where everyone knows everyone, or if they’d enjoy the buzz of something with a bit more scale. Needless to say, the larger schools will usually have a greater range of facilities and activities, though it then becomes more of a challenge to maintain that village feel.

Other student numbers

We’ve covered the size of the school already, but it is worth drilling down to weigh up the demographics.

In particular, do you have preferences or requirements regarding:

• Minimum number of boarders to make things interesting?
• Number of boarders where it might get overwhelming?
• Day / boarding student ratio?
• Full / weekly boarding ratio?
• Under 16 / over 16 ratio?
• Boy / girl ratio?
• International / domestic student ratio?

Your answers to these questions will be influenced by the age or stage you are joining at, and of course your young person’s personality and previous experiences.

Religion

Whilst the British population is less religious than ever before, most boarding schools in the UK retain a Christian heritage.

Whilst the more committed religious schools will give preference to those of the same religion, all schools will consider students “of all faiths or none.”

If your family is not religious, you would be wise to still consider schools that are religious. Going for completely secular schools really narrows down your options too much, and a lot of the Church of England feel quite nominally Christian.

Most schools use their religious foundation as the cornerstone of their values, but these are usually common humanist values such as respect, compassion, integrity, generosity, courage and gratitude. They are not really what you would call “religiously-exclusive” or controversial.

But for younger students, it is particularly important that a school shares your family’s religion or values. After all, a boarding school acts in parentis locum and will influence and mould your young person’s values. Students over 16+ tend to be less malleable, but the minimum requirement will be for them to respect those beliefs the school needs to uphold.

Ethos, values and personality

This all brings us to a school’s ethos, which can be related to religion but incorporates more besides. It’s easiest to illustrate with examples:

• Some schools will be heavily focussed on academic success and be very competitive, stressful environments. Other schools will be less pressured academically.

• It is the same when it comes to sporting or extra-curricular achievements – all schools will want to compete, but some will take it more seriously than others!

• Some schools will be more conservative or traditional, with others being more liberal or progressive. Some schools offer strict disciplinary interventions, whereas others lean more towards guidance than punishment. Some schools have a more diverse, international vibe than others.

• Some schools can have a somewhat entitled air about them, whereas plenty of schools are more down-to-earth.

Most professional advisers will know schools’ personalities well but, for a newbie, there are still things you can do. Keep an eye on each schools’ social media posts, and see if you can sign up for their newsletters or bulletins like this one from Queen’s College Taunton.

Application procedure

The application procedure can sometimes tell you a lot about the school’s character and ethos. The way the Admissions office presents or communicates the process may well be reflective of how the organisation operates as a whole. Some schools are strict and standoffish, and can be almost too cutesy. Most are polite and welcoming.

Some schools openly base their offer-making on entrance exam performance, whereas others will put equal or more emphasis on the person. There’s no harm in asking the admissions office their stance, and a professional adviser should also be able to offer insight.

Above all, the application procedure can indicate where the schools sits on the scale of selectivity. Ask yourselves the following:

• Are we up for a highly competitive entrance procedure of assessments, interviews, and possibly groupwork assessments?
• Do we prefer a school which puts more initial focus on personal-fit, and offers fairly unchallenging academic entrance assessments?

Essentially, you have to think about your young person and what kind of application procedure best fits their character and motivations. How well your their academic goals from STEP 2 match with those of the school?

Ownership

Ownership is rarely mentioned, but you may want to keep it in mind and do your due diligence.

Most independent boarding schools in the UK are run as charitable trusts. Profits are reinvested in the school, and a proportion is set aside for scholarships and means-tested bursaries.

An increasing number of schools are proprietary and for-profit. The past couple of decades has seen more Private Equity entering the market, including more overseas players. Some overseas players have links to nation states.

So do your diligence and weigh up what kind of influence ownership has over management and the classroom.

Step 3: Checklist

Mapping out your boarding school requirements is crucial. You are writing the recipe for your perfect school.

Make sure you’ve detailed your preferences for:

• Location
• Gender
• Curriculum
• Academic Level
• Type of boarding
• Favoured subjects
• Favoured interests/hobbies
• Size and student demographics
• Religion, ethos and values

Then prioritise them and create a school search spreadsheet.

Top School Guide shares a school search template with families who book an initial consultation, and can even help you populate it with suitable schools and specifics on how they match your requirements.

You are nearly ready to start reaching out to schools. There’s just one more preparatory step to go before submitting your boarding school applications…

Step Four in the process requires you to build your student profile, collate supporting documents, refine your target schools, and submit the strongest possible applications.

Before you build your student profile, let’s quickly look at things from a school’s point of view. What are they looking for? How will a school assess your son or daughter, or compare them with other candidates?

How do boarding schools assess applicants?

Boarding schools look at three main aspects when considering a student. These aspects dovetail nicely with the motivations you outlined earlier in STEP 2.

i) Academic Profile

The first aspect is a student’s academic profile. Usually schools will examine an applicant’s previous two years of school reports, and analyse their academic performance and trajectory during this time. Being readily quantifiable, it is quite easy for a school to make an initial judgement on whether the student will fit the general academic level of their school.

As you understand, the more academically selective schools will usually be looking for the most academically capable students. For non-selective schools, the process of academic screening is to better understand the applicant’s needs and potential.

ii) Extra-curricular profile

The second aspect schools pay attention to is a pupil’s extra curricular profile. Schools want to know about a student’s interests to gauge what they will contribute to the school community. These could be sporty, creative, or academic interests. Boarding schools usually aim to take in a wide and diverse range of interests, so unique interests are also encouraged.

iii) Personality

The third aspect that boarding schools pay particular attention to is a student’s personality. Boarding schools in particular want to make sure applicants have the level of maturity, adaptability and awareness to settle in and make a positive contribution to a boarding house dynamic. Most of all, most boarding schools really want to enrol students who will “give it a go” and throw themselves outside of their comfort zone. Those students are the most fun to have around!

Schools will make an initial assessment of a student’s personality based on the qualitative comments in their school reports. Further down the line they will also be looking at things like a personal statement, interviews and, in some cases, group activities or taster days/nights.

It’s also worth remembering that each school will have its own preferences and priorities, and will apply different weightings to the three aspects above.

How to build your pupil profile for boarding school applications

Now we know what schools do, we can do it ourselves! Let’s start with the academic side. We’ll then move onto extra-curricular interests and finally, personality, to build a “whole person” profile which we’ll be able to use when identifying and approaching suitable schools.

i) Build your student profile: Academic

This is the initial screen is where you need to pay the greatest amount of attention in order to submit a strong boarding school application to suitable schools.

Here’s how to do it:

Using school reports

First, quickly brainstorm your young person’s areas of academic strengths and interest, and areas where they may need improvement. Are they top of the class across the board? Do they get above average grades in Maths and Science, but below average in humanities? Are their grades due to ability, enthusiasm, or some other reason?

Next, cross check your above opinions with the contents of their school reports. Gather the past 2 years of reports and go through these together: How have their grades been averaging?  What have been their main academic achievements? Have there been any recurring issues or challenges which teachers have identified? Has there been steady improvement in every aspect, or are there any inconsistencies or downturns?

If you were a school Registrar objectively reading these reports for the first time, what picture would you build of the applicant as a student? What about their academic potential and trajectory? Remember, they’ll be looking at both grade scores and teachers’ comments.

Contextualising school reports

You are reading this guide as you know that not all schools are equal. This is also something that schools are aware of, so an applicant’s current school is an important consideration.

Consider the following:

A private prep school in the UK will teach above and beyond the national curriculum, whereas a state school will not. In fact, this report by the Centre of Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at Durham University concluded that, by the time they reach age 16, an average private school pupil is 2 years ahead of their state school counterparts. This is primarily due to their access and exposure to better resources and a more personalised  and expansive education.

Do not let this put you off if your child is moving from the state school system, as schools will take this into account. But do appreciate that the most academically elite boarding schools require students to enter at an already advanced academic level. So a student with a report full of A grades from a struggling state school may still score much lower on entrance tests than students who have already benefitted from the best possible education.

For this reason, we often recommend that students moving from state schools take a standardised aptitude test (see below.)

Coming from overseas

If you are coming to a UK boarding school from overseas, contextualising your young person’s school reports can require an extra layer of untangling.

If you are fortunate, your young person might currently be studying the British (and to a certain extent, the International Baccalaureate) curriculums in an international school. Such schools are found around the world and the quality of education can usually be relied upon.

In contrast, a school which teaches the local curriculum can prove more of an unknown quantity. First of all, there will be differences in the curriculums in terms of what is taught, and when. This can lead to noticeable gaps in what students are expected to know at any particular point.

Such students benefit from taking a standardised aptitude test.

Using standardised aptitude tests to provide context

To recap, as a general rule of thumb, if your young person is currently in a reputable British private school or international school which teaches the British curriculum, their school reports can provide reliable context. These can be used effectively to gauge which boarding schools could be a good academic match. Taking a standardised test can of course help refine your judgements, but we would not consider it an absolute necessity.

However, if your young person is currently studying a different curriculum or coming from the British state system, we would strongly recommend getting them to sit a standardised aptitude test before you start identifying target schools.

Standardised tests come in many forms. You have the CAT4, Pre-ISEB, ISEB, UKiset, IELTS, so it can be a minefield figuring our which one(s!) you might need. Top School Guide uses an online adaptive test which covers English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-verbal reasoning – as these are the 4 key components schools assess at ages 7+, 11+, 13+ or 14+. (Assessments get a bit more specific when applying for A-levels at 16+, so we recommend this test on a case-by-case basis at this age.)

Students take this online test at home over the space of a few hours, and have the results within 48 hours.The results place the student’s results on a bell curve for students of the same age within the British private school system.

The test results also offer further detail on how students perform in each area. For example, the Maths results will provide data on the student’s performance in number, shape and space, fractions and percentages and so on.

We find this standardised test to be the most relevant for our purposes: It is the best test to help us match the student’s aptitude with schools of a suitable academic level. Some families also like to use the detailed results to identify “gaps” where their young person can self-study or get extra tuition before school entrance tests.

Dyslexia and learning support

As a final point in building your young person’s academic profile, make sure you are honest about any neuro-diversity. If you have suspicions but no professional opinion on the matter, now is the time to seek out an Educational Psychologist. Please be assured that any neuro-diversity will not be a problem unless it is hidden or ignored. Again, this subject is covered in far more depth elsewhere.

ii) Build your student profile: Extra curricular

The vast majority of boarding schools with students under the age of 16+ offer a huge range of extra curricular clubs and activities. Let’s be honest, if you were responsible for hundreds of teenagers you would want to keep them exercised and occupied too! Some schools offer way over 100 activities to get involved in both during the week and at weekends. These can be sporty, academic, creative and/or a mixture of all of these.

Boarding schools want to enrol students with passions and interests that they will share with other students.

Needless to say, many a school will get excited if your daughter represents the country at hockey, if your son has won international chess competitions, or if they are both maestros on the French Horn. And many schools will be equally interested if your offspring are keen to go wild-camping, or prefer to potter about with a soldering iron.

Remember that the majority of boarding schools aim to enrol a balanced cohort with a diverse range of interests and abilities. Things would get boring very quickly if they enrolled a cohort purely made up of Grade 8 pianists who also love Maths.

So in order to make a strong boarding school application, be honest about your young person’s interests and abilities and don’t be afraid to be different. Be interesting!

iii) Build your Student Profile: Personality

Whilst mapping out your young person’s academic and extra-curricular profile, you will probably notice that their personality starts to shine through. Schools will notice the same.

Remember that schools will be looking at teachers’ comments on the school reports to gauge how the applicant copes under pressure or stress, how they overcome challenges, how they behave in class and interact with teachers and peers. So it’s vital that you and your young person go through the same reports, and bridge the contents with your own views.

Extra curricular interests will also offer insight into your young person’s personality. Their interests will imply whether they like working in a team, enjoy moments of intense creativity or focus, push themselves out of their comfort zone, volunteer to help others etc.

iv) Build Your Student Profile: Pulling it all together

Most schools request the following documents as part of the application (registration) process.

• ID
• Past 2 years of school reports (make sure electronic files are clearly labelled)

Depending on the age and stage you are applying for, you may also be requested to submit supporting artwork, performance videos, or awards of achievement. But before you go digging out a load of Grade 1 piano and 10m swimming certificates, we have a better idea:

Prepare a personal statement

A great personal statement can be the difference between going on the “no” pile and the “maybe” pile. It can turn a standard application into a super one.

This is your young person’s chance to present their own academic and extra-curricular profile. It’s their chance to give school admissions staff what they really want: an insight into their personality, and what they are bringing to the table.

Let Top School Guide help you with your boarding school applications and we will provide your young person with support and guidance on writing the best personal statement for boarding schools.

STEP 4: Checklist

By now you should have:

• Reflected on your student’s academic, extra curricular and personal attributes.
• Built an honest, objective (not parentally-biased!) and school-friendly profile to be proud of.
• Written a unique and eye-catching personal statement
• Collated and clearly labelled supporting documents as electronic files

Just a little more work to go and you’ll be there!

You have your student profile and supporting documents, prepared. You have a shortlist of schools which you quite like the look of and your requirements are prioritised.

It’s finally time to make some calls!

Set aside an afternoon or two and get chatting with schools about mutual suitability and the application process. Make sure you gather the information you need to assess each school’s suitability, and be prepared to share an honest but positive account of your young person.

Many schools will ask you to send through those supporting documents as a next step.

Visit if you can

Boarding schools are not always close to home. But if you can make it along to an open day, or arrange a personal visit before submitting your application, then do so.

That said, it is perfectly possible to narrow down your school applications remotely, and leave the visit until you have offers in hand. This method will certainly save you a lot of time and mileage, and is pretty much a necessity for those living overseas.

Submit your boarding school registrations

Congratulations, you are now at the stage where you can apply to some boarding schools! Each registration costs between £50-400, and your young person will likely have to sit separate exams and interviews for each school.

So you need to apply strategically. Top Schools Guide recommends applying to 3 to 5 schools – any more is too many and means you have not narrowed things down sufficiently. Before submitting boarding school applications, make a final check that:

i) You confirm each school meets your requirements to a satisfactory extent.

ii) You are hedging your bets. You should have at least one aspirational application, one you are confident with, and one “sure thing.”

iii) You know the next steps of each school’s process for entrance assessments and interview.

Then all that’s left to do is…

Prepare for boarding school entrance assessments and interview

Top School Guide does not want to lure you into a false sense of security. However, if you have respected and used the process outlined above, you should have identified and be applying to the right boarding schools for your young person.

This means your student should be at the academic level required to pass the entrance assessments. It means their interview should be a meeting of minds.

But you still want to know how to prepare don’t you. It’s mainly about getting your young person comfortable and familiar with what lies ahead…

Entrance tests

You should know what each school is going to be assessing. For senior schools it is usually Maths and English, plus maybe some verbal and non-verbal aptitude tests. For age 16+ entrance assessments, it is likely to be more subject-specific.

If you have a significant amount of time before the real entrance assessments, we can introduce you to suitable tutors.

But to prepare for entrance assessments we recommend getting hold of some level-appropriate past papers, and practising under timed conditions. Top School Guide can provide these.

Interviews

Whilst some academically elite schools will include some intellectual questioning, most schools use the interviews as an opportunity to verify their initial impressions of the student. The focus is usually on more personal aspects as the schools try to suss out the student’s personality and how well they’ll fit into a boarding house.

Some students can be innately confident, but most still benefit from a practice interview or two. It helps to become accustomed to the situation and familiar with the types of questions being asked. The key aim is to be comfortable with whatever questions come your way, and deliver personable and authentic responses.

STEP 5: Checklist

If you’ve gone through this process sensibly and methodically, then you should be confident of success.  You will have:

• Made contact with suitable schools and got all the information you need.
• Applied strategically to 3 to 5 schools.
• Started preparing for assessments and interview in a relaxed and confident fashion

Now all that’s left is a bit more admin and perhaps some driving. And a nervous wait…

Here is some good news about your boarding school applications:

1. If you’ve carefully followed the Top School Guide to boarding school applications you will get some offers.
2. As a family, you will hopefully share a top choice and a top back-up.

So your final decision should be easy!

Most boarding school offers ask you to confirm acceptance within 2 to 4 weeks. You’ll need to sign a contract (read it carefully!) and submit a non-refundable confirmation deposit.

Still can’t decide?

Refer back to your notes, review your original motivations, your student profile, and everything you have learnt along the way. Your understanding and priorities could have changed considerably during the process, so review that decision matrix and weigh things up again if you need to.

Finally, if you have not already done so, get out and visit any schools you have offers from. Nothing beats a school visit for giving you a clear idea of what the school is really like, and how well it fits your young person’s aspirations. Ask about our School Visit Guide, and follow your gut.

Top School Guide can help you research, choose, and apply to the very best boarding schools

Tops School Guide hopes you have found this guide to boarding school applications useful. Whilst there is only so much advice you can cram onto one website, we aim to provide you withthe tools to make informed decisions and successful boarding school applications.

We are also available to lend a hand. Tell us what you are looking for, and Top School Guide will help your family as much or as little as you need.

For students, success lies in matching them with the best-fitting school(s), then motivating and mentoring them through the application process.

For parents, Top School Guide can save you time, money, and get better outcomes. Let us manage your research and administration, and provide you with years’ of insider knowledge and experience.

+44 1892 862554

hello@topschoolguide.com