State boarding schools

If you are considering boarding, a state boarding school may be an option. As always, it is important to do your research and above all, see the school in action before you make any choice. Schools provide free education but charge fees for boarding. Some boarding schools are run by local councils and others are run as academies or free schools. These schools give priority to children who have a particular need to board and will assess children’s suitability for boarding. At state boarding schools and academies, including sixth-form colleges, parents pay between £10,000 and £17,000 per year for their children to board, with an average of £12,000 per year. In England there are 40 mainstream members of the BSA State Boarding Forum (SBF), including academies and free schools.

For more information on state boarding schools go to www.stateboarding.org.uk

School	County	Region	Boarding places
Ashby School	Leicestershire	East Midlands	30
Beechen Cliff School	Somerset	South West	42
Brymore Academy	Somerset	South West	123
Burford School	Oxfordshire	South Central	99
Colchester Royal Grammar School	Essex	East England	28
Cranbrook School	Kent	South East	236
Dallam School	Cumbria	North West	121
De Aston School	Lincolnshire	East Midlands	57
Exeter College	Devon	South West	100
Five Islands Academy	Isles of Scilly	South West	17
Gordon’s School	Surrey	South East	247
Haberdashers’ Adams	Shropshire	West Midlands	100
Hockerill Anglo-European College	Hertfordshire	East England	290
Holyport College	Berkshire	South East	202
Keswick School	Cumbria	North West	53
Lancaster Royal Grammar School	Lancashire	North West	155
Liverpool College	City of Liverpool Borough	North West	34
Old Swinford Hospital	Metropolitan Borough of Dudley	West Midlands	244
Peter Symonds College	Hampshire	South Central	71
Polham Hall School	County Durham	North East Yorkshire and Humber	15
Reading School	Berkshire	South Central	77
Richard Huish College	Somerset	South West	54
Ripon Grammar School	North Yorkshire	North East Yorkshire and Humber	80
Royal Alexandra & Albert School	Surrey	South East	477
Sexey’s School	Somerset	South West	119
Shaftesbury School	Dorset	South West	97
Sir Roger Manwood’s School	Kent	South East	54
Skegness Grammar School	Lincolnshire	East Midlands	17
St George’s School, Harpenden Academy Trust	Hertfordshire	East	112
Steyning Grammar School	Sussex	South East	125
The Duke of York’s Royal Military School	Kent	South East	490
The Harefield Academy	Middlesex	London	14
The National Mathematics and Science College	Coventry	West Midlands	50
The Priory Academy LSST	Lincolnshire	East Midlands	41
The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe	Buckinghamshire	South Central	69
The Royal School, Wolverhampton	Metropolitan Borough of Wolverhampton	West Midlands	100
The Thomas Adams School	Shropshire	West Midlands	44
The Wellington Academy	Wiltshire	South West	51
Welbeck – The Defence Sixth Form College	Leicestershire	East Midlands	316
Wymondham College	Norfolk	East England	630