UK Boarding Schools | Independent Schools | Private Schools

For over 100 years, students have been coming to the UK to enjoy the benefits of a world-class boarding education

You’ll see them everywhere. Poised, confident, socially assured, they have an aura of brightness, smartness and success. And whatever job they are doing, you know they are giving it everything, achieving in it and leading a successful life. Once you know what you are looking for, it is not difficult to spot people who have been educated at a UK boarding school. There is a quality about them, a cool, individual, sometimes quirky, self-assurance that perhaps more than anything makes them a pleasure to meet and to get to know.

But it is not just that UK boarding school students create an impression. The schools are also responsible for other, more measurable types of success. According to the Joint Council for Qualifications, about 50% of A-level entrants from independent schools (such as those

featured in this Guide) get A grades, compared to 40% from selective state-maintained schools and 22% from other state schools. What's more, 92% of independent school-leavers then go on to university, more than double the UK average (Independent Schools Council (ISC) figures). It is no wonder then that nearly three in five of all British parents would opt to send their children to an independent school if they could (the findings of an Ipsos MORI poll commissioned by the ISC in 2008).

Staff, facilities and ethos

It isn’t magic that creates these results and opinions (however much the UK is associated with Harry Potter’s boarding school Hogwarts). The reason UK boarding schools do so well is due to a combination of three factors: firstly, they have very good student-to-staff ratios; secondly, they invest in facilities; and thirdly, they have the traditions and ethos to address the needs of students as individuals. They do far more than simply prepare pupils to do well in examinations.

Student-to-staff ratios

A good student-to-staff ratio makes all the difference. According to the ISC, the average ratio in ISC-member independent schools is one teacher for every 9.4 students, compared to one-for-20.9 in state-maintained schools. As well as reflecting a commitment to teach a wide range of subjects, this means that every student can be looked after, both academically and pastorally. It means that students who are doing well in a subject should never find themselves bored, while those who are finding a subject challenging will never find themselves being left behind. All in all, a good student-to-staff ratio means that the learning environment is always geared to the needs of individual students rather than to the needs of the institution.

Another area in which a good ratio makes a difference is the amount of pastoral care devoted to a student when classes are over for the day. The emphasis that is now placed on pastoral care and personal mentoring is perhaps the biggest difference between the boarding schools of today and those of 20 or 30 years ago. UK independent schools were always academically successful, but today they pride themselves on being just as successful at helping students with the social and emotional challenges that growing up can bring.

Facilities

UK independent schools are in constant competition with the well-regarded state education system, and this means that headmasters and headmistresses are well aware that parents who are paying for their own children’s education expect to see high-quality facilities and modern teaching methods. The facilities in science, art, music, information and communications technology, and sports are therefore often state of the art. According to the ISC, during 2010 independent schools spent £1,580 per boarder on new or improved boarding facilities. Overall, independent schools spent £731.8 million on new and improved buildings and equipment.

As well as offering the most up-to-date facilities, UK boarding schools are often located in some of the country’s most attractive and traditional buildings. This in itself creates a sense of pride and expectation, as the buildings themselves embody the values and traditions of the institution, which can often date back hundreds of years.

Tradition and ethos

Schooling of course is about more than just preparing students to be successful in examinations or preparing them for a particular range of career paths. Perhaps more than anything else, UK boarding schools are characterised by the traditions and ethos that they seek to instil in their students. The specifics of these traditions will vary among schools, but there are a number of common themes at their heart. First, UK boarding schools always look to develop the whole person and not just a single aspect of them. However good a boarding school’s academic results are, it will also be striving to create a rounded learning experience by encouraging self-expression, creativity and individuality in its students. Success in sport, the arts and in other areas, such as debate, may be less tangible than examination results, but it is one of the ways in which a student’s independence, confidence and faith in himself or herself is built up.

Another key to instilling self-belief and self-confidence is an emphasis on allowing students to form their own judgment. UK students are encouraged to think about issues on their own and to read widely and then to discuss and defend their points of view.

This concentration on developing the whole person is part of the reason why students who have been to a UK boarding school are so prized by employers. By instilling self-confidence in their students, UK boarding schools teach them to be adaptable, to show leadership and to trust their instincts. In a globalised world in which success is significantly dependent on dealing with large amounts of information and multiple points of view, the ability to trust one’s own instinct and to be confident in decision-making is a very valuable skill.

Finally, at UK boarding schools there is always an emphasis placed on developing social skills. Living together in a multi-age, multicultural community requires that students be helped to develop qualities like kindness, tolerance and responsibility. It is no wonder that the students of UK boarding schools are so recognisable in the outside world.

Excellent choice

UK boarding schools offer a wide variety of choice, with every school creating its own unique atmosphere from the combination of academic approaches, facilities on offer and the traditions that each maintains.

To name just a few of the choices, parents and students can select from co-education or single-sex schools, from those with many boarders or those with few, or from those that place an emphasis on, for example, sport or those that are more religiously inclined. Some schools can be very formal, with students, for example, wearing traditional uniform, while others emphasise self-expression. The range varies enormously, but one thing that is certain is that a very good match can always be found to the needs of an individual student.

Value for money

All of these qualities contribute to the exceptional value of a UK education. In fact, UK courses represent an excellent investment. Courses here tend to be shorter and more intensive than those in other countries, so they’re more efficient. In addition, international students who are enrolled on any full-time course in Scotland or any full-time course lasting for six months or longer in the rest of the country are often eligible for free healthcare through the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), and can also apply for some of the scholarships and bursaries offered by schools and colleges.

World-famous qualifications

Although some UK boarding schools will offer non-UK qualifications, such as the International Baccalaureate, to students who want or need to follow a particular qualification pathway, the general benefit of having UK qualifications is well known internationally. Qualifications such as A-levels are not only recognised throughout the world, but, as a result of the stringent quality assurance systems of UK education, they are also respected.

Multiculturalism and the international language

Another advantage is that students can experience a genuine multiculturalism within boarding schools as well as more broadly in UK society. UK boarding schools are used to welcoming people from all over the world, and the experience of sharing life and study with both British and international students creates a lived multiculturalism that is still quite rare, even in today’s globalised world.

Then, of course, there is the English language. English is the international language of business, of science and of the internet, and there is no better way to learn a language over the long term than to immerse oneself. Boarding schools are also well aware that international students might need short-term help, and they will provide specific tuition courses for new students and support for students experiencing communication difficulties.

Youth culture

Finally, there is the excitement of growing up as part of the UK’s dynamic youth culture, a culture which is famous for its creativity in whichever sphere of life a student may be interested in, with world-famous music, media and sport events to attend and participate in. It is no wonder then that students who have boarded here are so recognisable.