Boarding at an independent school

After the turbulent past two years, the need for excellent pastoral care has never been more important. Since it was established in 1965, St David’s College has always placed enormous value in focusing on the individual and supporting each pupil to realise the potential of their own gifts – giving them the freedom to flourish.

Consider the experience of being a boarder in the twenty-first century – tentatively exploring ‘who I am’ through the glaring lens of relentless social media feeds, with the emotional burdens of ‘always on’ connectivity, commentary and unprecedented self-comparison to peers. Add to this the worries of climate change, political upheaval and the arrival of a game-changing global pandemic. Such psychological...

The arts are often considered the poor relation to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, which are seen as vital skills in a modern economy. Indeed, some people regard the arts as a soft option. However, there is now a growing recognition of a critical need for creative thinking and visual skills within the STEM mix, and a new acronym STEAM (Science, Technology Engineering,...

The North of England is understandably a popular choice for boarders and their families. With vibrant cities, stunning coastlines and spectacular landscapes, the North attracts boarders from across the UK and beyond. This area of the UK is renowned for its friendly communities, and a warm welcome awaits boarders who choose to call the North of England their home. 

The physical and mental wellbeing of pupils is central to a boarding school’s sports offering. Sport is a crucial part of boarding school life. It provides a healthy and active lifestyle, promotes good physical and mental wellbeing, teaches teamwork and leadership skills, and develops resilience, determination and many other important lifeskills. 

Sherborne Girls sets out to nurture and inspire a vibrant community of fulfilled, inquisitive and confident young women who are thoroughly prepared to enter higher education and embark on their future lives, with a desire to make a difference. A fundamental part of our vision and aim to develop the future generation of twenty-first century women is ensuring every pupil...

Far beyond any of our memories, our predecessors spent most of their day outside. Nature was where they spent their free time, worked and ate. Fast forward to the present day and many of us are guilty of putting time outdoors at the bottom of our to-do list. In fact, a fifth of the teenagers we surveyed at The Duke...

Deeply embedded in articles on what makes a good school you may find a short paragraph on its provision for the ordinary pupil, but that genus deserves further attention. Some of the hardest work a school has to undertake is to care for the pupils who are seen, or perceive themselves, as ‘nothing special’.  

Independent schools have been connecting with their local communities and collaborating with state schools for many years, but it is only in recent years that we have begun to collect data which clearly demonstrates this. Thousands of mutually beneficial partnerships now exist between independent and state schools, unlocking new educational experiences for all involved. This work was reinforced in a...

The word ‘wellbeing’ is used a lot in today’s culture but what does it really mean? When the Office for National Statistics (ONS) measures wellbeing it looks at an ‘individual’s feelings of satisfaction with life, whether they feel the things they do in their life are worthwhile and their positive and negative emotions. [1]