You may have heard of boarding schools. The schools which you may have seen in some movies, where the student’s study and live at the school. While this is true to an extent, all boarding schools are not like that and a question that is raised is, how much is boarding schools?
There are 2 types of boarding school, state-run and independent. The state-run boarding schools give free education, but you must pay for the accommodation, while in independent boarding schools, you must pay for the accommodation and the education. The cost can range from £15,000 to £30,000 per year, or even higher for some independent schools.
This raises questions of the differences between state run and independent, how much they really are, and can you get support. Read on to find out more.
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Are boarding schools free?
Boarding schools are not free. If you are planning to go to a state-run boarding school, you are only paying for the accommodation, and not the education. If you are going to an independent boarding school, you will have to pay for the education, and the accommodation making it a lot more expensive than state run boarding schools. State boarding schools will also give priority to children who are in need of the boarding school more, like their parental situation, and will assess the students need for boarding school. This is different to private boarding schools, which usually prioritize in terms of academic achievement. You can find out more about this, by clicking on this link to the Governments website.
How much are boarding schools in the UK?
The fees vary a lot per school. If you are looking to go to a state boarding school, the average cost per term is around £7000 per term. This will vary depending on how good the school is. For independent schools, the average was around £11,000 per term.
You are definitely looking at some large sums of money, even state-run schools are going for around £18,000 to £30,000 per year. However, you can get cheaper for only around £11,000 per year if you do not stay there full time. For example, only during the week or do a homestay during the holidays. You should look for schools in your local area, or far out if you are looking for the best price. If price is not an issue, then you should look for the ratings and standards of the school. You can find boarding schools in your area, and to your needs by clicking on this link.
Can you get a grant for boarding school?
It is possible to get a grant for boarding school, however your situation must meet the criteria. These are charities, like Buttle UK. They support students by paying for boarding if they are facing significant challenges at home and are at a serious risk. Each case they receive is assessed individually, and with limited places, can only fund the most vulnerable cases. This is a charity, so rely only sponsors, and money from donations.
A summary of their eligibility is:
- Children are ages 11-16, who are growing up with financial hardship
- Disadvantaged by the capacity of their parents and are at risk of a family breakdown
- Live with a single parent or carer, or where there are 2 parents, but one or both is severely incapacitated
- Social, emotional or health problems within the family that will affect the child
However, there are some situations whereby the charity cannot help. A list of these are:
- There is no support plan in place to address the safety of a child to return home during the holidays
- Where there is a 2 parent family, and no limited capacity from the parents
- When a school only does a certain type of education, like sport or music
- The schools are at a specialist establishment
- When a child could be reasonably met within the state day school system, and the need for a boarding school is redundant.
- If they live outside the UK, or their primary residence is outside of the UK
- Poverty is the only factor, and all other situations faced by the student are fine
While that seems like a long list, they can only have a limited number of places, and the schools are expensive. To find out more about this charity, click on this link to go to the Buttle UK site.
Can you get a scholarship for a boarding school?
It is possible to get a scholarship. A scholarship is a reduction, or a full cover of the cost of attending that school. Scholarships are awarded based on the merit or excellence of the student in a particular field. This could be through their academics, sport, music, art, or drama.
Scholarships are also based on the student’s effort, attitude, and behaviour. There is over £450 million available for scholarships across a broad number of schools. If you believe that you can get a scholarship, you should check your desired schools process on scholarships. Otherwise, you can click on this link to find boarding schools near you accepting scholarships.
Can you get a bursary for a boarding school?
A bursary is an award based on the child’s achievement, while also taking into consideration the financial situation of the parents. This can be a reduction in fees, or a total removal of all fees. If the student has good achievement, but the parents cannot afford to attend at the school, they can apply for a bursary to cover some of all of the costs.
A bursary can also be combined with a scholarship. If the scholarship does not cover the full cost of the school, they can apply for a bursary to cover some, or all of the rest of the cost. If you believe that you are in the situation where you need a bursary, you should check your desired schools process on this. Otherwise, you can click on this link to find boarding schools near you accepting bursary applications.
Is it worth going to a boarding school?
For some, boarding school may be the only option, for others it may help them educationally, or for a lot of people, boarding schools is too expensive. You should consider your circumstances, and your financial capabilities as to whether you will be able to get a scholarship, bursary or both. Otherwise, you should get into contact with charities like Buttle UK
In this article, we hope you have understood what a boarding school is, and how to prices work including options for you like scholarships, or grants from charities. It is important to know your situation, and your chances of getting into a boarding school.
What are boarding schools?
A boarding school is a school, where students will live at the school and learn. They will attend school like normal, but instead of going “back home” at the end of the day, their residence is at the school, with other pupils in a boarding house. Check out this Think Student article to learn more about boarding schools.
Younger boarders usually share rooms, while the older ones usually have their own room. Usually, the boys’ and girls’ dormitory area are separated. There is 1 or more house parent who lives on the premises to look after the children and attend any issues.
Most of the schools teach a mix of international, and local British students. The origins of boarding schools date back to the colonial period but is still in use now, and quite popular. You can read more about the life of a student there, by clicking on this link.
Are boarding schools private?
Some boarding schools are private, and some are state-run. Private boarding schools, do not have to follow the national curriculum, but will still be inspected by Ofsted “under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework.” This is to ensure that the quality of learning, and the living conditions faced by the students are safe, and substantial.
State-run schools will have to follow the national curriculum, just as all other schools do due to them being funded by the government. The majority of boarding schools in England are independent, and the fees are a lot higher than that of the state-run schools. This is due to the government not funding them. As a result, they will have to raise the funds themselves, usually through contributions of the students’ parents.