Extend your Boarding School Research by moving on to the Logistic research for the right boarding school for your child.
The questions below are designed to help you to plan for your school search in a clear and logical way. Remember if you have questions of your own you can get in touch with one of our consultants using the button below:
Use them as a step-by-step guide to drive discussion at home before you start your research. If you’ve already started your research, use them to check you have the right schools on your radar. Answering these key questions will enable you to come up with the right road map of what you are looking for in a boarding school.
Are you looking for flexi-boarding (a few nights per week), weekly boarding (returning home at weekends) or full boarding with an extensive 7 day a week programme? This depends on whether you live overseas or in the UK and how often you would like your child to return home. Deciding this now will help your research. It’s no good deciding you like a school very much, only to find it doesn’t offer the type of boarding you are looking for.
What type of working week are your looking for? Do you have family commitments that would make Saturday morning school a nuisance as you want your child to weekly board and come home? Do you want to attend school sports matches and concerts to support your child and hence when do these take place-weekday afternoons or on Saturdays? The working week needs to fit with your family commitments, or you will be starting an un-pleasant battle with the school to get access to your child when they are already committed to something at school such as a sports fixture. Choose the right school in the first place and this confrontation will not occur.
Is location important? Do you want a school within an hour of home so you can get involved in school events in term-time? Is a certain trainline more convenient or a certain airport for flying home?
Do you have a budget for school fees? These can vary hugely from school to school and look out for ‘extras’ like trips and music lessons which will be added to the school bill. Are you hoping for a scholarship (mainly honorary) or a bursary? Plan this application well ahead and read how the process works for each school you are researching. Inform the schools as early as possible that you will need assistance with fees.
Checklist
Here’s a checklist, use it to summarise your decisions from the questions above. It should help you to create a Mind Map of what the perfect school for your child and family looks like.
Academic level
Current interests/talents
New opportunities
Learning needs
Career aspirations
Competitive vs. nurture
Starting age, year and date
Current school thoughts
Type of boarding
Saturday school or other weekly commitments
Location criteria
Transport access points
Fees budget per year
Scholarship application
Bursary needed
Single-sex or co-educated
Head’s philosophy
Traditional or less formal
Feeds into which future schools?
Subjects or exams offered
Family and friends thoughts
Don’t forget, we are here to help. Get in touch by clicking the button below to arrange a meeting with one of our team of expert boarding school consultants to find out how we can assist you in taking the pain and confusion out of this huge decision.