Study at the best State Boarding Schools in England
This is for EU students wishing to benefit from state school
education in England and Wales while preferring to be accommodated
in a boarding house. Fees are generally less than half the price of
boarding at a private school and yet standards of care, education
and facilities compare very favourably in the better of the 38
state boarding schools in England, though competition for bed
spaces is extremely high.
Life in a state boarding school
Most schools have 100 or fewer beds even though there may be
around 800 students at the school. Many students will be local and
live at home, so a family atmosphere is normally created in the
boarding house. Students should consider that the school campus
might be very quiet at weekends, although many evening and weekend
activities are arranged for boarders. Moreover, if the school is in
a remote area, a pupil may feel the need to be in a livelier
environment. However, there are some excellent schools in
interesting locations that offer a good opportunity to any pupil
who feels that he or she would like to be a boarder. Some of the
schools offer a high number of places to international students,
which we can help you avoid if requested.
Barnes give you the best chance to secure a place
Since 1975 we have developed relationships with many of the
better state boarding schools in England that consistently provide
high standards of care and academic assistance to their students.
During the application and consultancy process we consider
everything we learn about an applicant and recommend the two or
three state boarding schools that we feel the applicant will really
excel at. We are happy to arrange visits to suitable schools to
help you make your decision.
By applying through Barnes you have a better chance of being
accepted into the most suitable state boarding school for you,
since the schools trust our recommendation and we work with you to
prepare you for the interview. If you decide not to visit the
school, some schools are happy to interview foreign students on the
telephone or using SKYPE.
Study periods
Places are generally offered to pupils who can stay for a full
academic year. In exceptional cases we will try to negotiate for
shorter stays than one academic year.
In summary
* Initial fee
£200 is payable by bank transfer at the time of submitting the
application forms. As places are in such short supply in the better
state boarding schools and the process requires our experience,
relationships and a lot of preparation, this is the only
arrangement where we ask for an initial payment which is not
refundable if the application is unsuccessful. Bank details for the
initial transfer can be found on the application form.
** GUARDIANSHIP SERVICE FOR BOARDING
SCHOOLS
All boarding schools require foreign students to have a UK-based
Guardian, which can be a friend or relative of the student, who
lives in England. A guardian for a student at a boarding school has
to be prepared to care for a student in the holidays and any
weekends when the student has to leave the boarding house (exeat
weekends). They also have to assist a student with their travel
arrangements and be available in case of an emergency. If you do
not have an adequate relationship, please contact us and we can
offer you two different levels of Guardianship agreements (fully
included in all packages where a student lives with a BARNES host
family).
