Advice for parents

Schools and colleges

With hundreds of independent boarding schools and colleges to choose from, you’re bound to find one that suits your needs

Covered here:

 Independent preparatory schools
 Independent senior schools
 Independent sixth-form and tutorial colleges

Choosing a school for your children is one of the most important decisions you will make, and if that decision includes sending your children to a boarding school, it may well seem doubly difficult. As well as their education, you will also be trusting your children's day-to-day welfare and happiness to the school. However, by choosing one of the schools featured on this website, you can rest certain in the knowledge that high standards are assured.

There are three main types of independent school for students aged 5-18. These are preparatory schools (sometimes called junior schools), senior schools (sometimes called secondary schools) and independent colleges (which are often referred to as tutorial or sixth-form colleges). All of the schools listed on this website operate in the independent sector. There are also 33 state-sector boarding schools in England and Wales. These schools provide free tuition, with the parents paying only for boarding fees. (For more information on boarding in the state sector, go to the State Boarding Schools' Association website.) The majority of the schools on this website are preparatory and senior schools, although you will find some independent colleges listed.

Independent preparatory schools

Specialist schools There are a number of specialist schools in the independent boarding sector: – Special needs schools – Choir schools – Music schools – Performing arts schools Find out more about specialist schools.

Between the ages of 7 and 13, pupils can attend their first boarding school, known as a preparatory (often called 'prep') school. Some schools also have pre-preparatory departments that take non-boarding pupils from age five or even three or younger. Most prep schools are now co-educational, but there are still those that cater exclusively for boys or for girls. There are also church schools, non-denominational schools and prep schools that specialise in dyslexia or other special educational needs. There are freestanding prep schools and those that are junior departments of large senior schools. There are schools that are fully boarding, and schools with a greater or lesser proportion of day pupils.

The 500+ IAPS schools are regularly inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Accreditation by ISI guarantees that the quality of the school has been assessed and confirmed by rigorous inspection, as a condition of ISC membership. In addition, all independent schools must be registered with the Government and meet minimum legal requirements for the premises, accommodation, staffing, instruction and pupil welfare. Inspection reports are available for parents to see, so do not hesitate to request a copy or at least a summary (as the reports are long and very detailed) from the shortlist of schools you are considering. All of the prep schools featured on this website are members of IAPS.

Study

All prep schools offer the highest standard of basic academic education, and most now cover the National Curriculum, with many assessing their pupils at Key Stages 1 and 2 (ages 7 and 11 years respectively). Their results are, on average, 20% better than those of state schools. However, these results (in English, mathematics and science) are only the core of the broad and varied curriculum that all prep schools offer.

Prep schools traditionally prepare pupils for an entrance exam to independent senior schools, called the Common Entrance (CE). The exam is taken at age 11+ and 13+, depending on the senior school, and the subjects covered depend on the age at which it is taken. Find out more about the Common Entrance exam.

The next step

As your children mature and move up through the prep school, the head will always be ready to advise you, as parents, on what the next stage could, or should, be. If you have chosen the junior department of a senior school, the transfer may be a matter of course, but it could be that you decide to look elsewhere as well. A change of environment or a change of peer group may be beneficial and the head will be happy to discuss your options. If you have chosen a freestanding prep school (one that is not an integral part of a senior school), the head will be able to recommend the sort of senior school he or she thinks might be suitable for your child, and will be able to weigh up the various alternatives with you.

Get advice on choosing a preparatory school.

Independent senior schools

Accreditation

There are more than 800 independent boarding schools in the UK. Of these, over 600 schools and their heads are members of at least one of the constituent associations of the ISC. For senior schools, these associations are: 

• the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC)
• the Society of Headmasters and Headmistresses of Independent Schools (SHMIS)
• the Girls' Schools Association (GSA)
• the Independent Schools Association (ISA).

These bodies make sure that all aspects of the education offered – academic, pastoral, financial and administrative – are maintained to a high standard. All of the schools featured on this website are ISC members, and as such are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

Boarding schools in Scotland fall under a different body. There are currently 27 schools which have membership of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), and all are subject to curriculum and welfare inspections by the Government inspectorate.

Study

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, senior school pupils are prepared for and sit GCSE examinations. In Scottish senior schools, pupils sit either Standard Grade or GCSE examinations. Pupils who achieve suitably high grades in these examinations qualify for further study at sixth-form level.

Many boarding schools have an integral sixth form for pupils aged 16-18 (Years 12 and 13 in the national numbering scheme). In the sixth form, students prepare for taking A-levels and/or Vocational A-levels (or possibly Highers and Advanced Highers in Scotland). An increasing number of schools are offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, which is accepted as an entrance qualification for degree courses throughout the world. In the UK, the IB is always taught in English.

As sixth-formers are young adults, nearly all schools relax the rules in the sixth form - for example, no school uniform for this age group.

The next step

Sixth form at a boarding school is a fine preparation for university life. Schools and colleges do everything they can to help their pupils get the best university place they can possibly achieve.

Get advice on choosing a senior school.

Independent sixth-form and tutorial colleges

Instead of staying on at a boarding school sixth form, some students choose to move to an independent college. These institutions accept students aged 16+ and, like school sixth forms, provide a bridge between school and university. Independent colleges vary greatly in their character, with most being co-educational. Some are fully residential, with similar sporting and social facilities to those you would find in a boarding school, while others are day schools where students live at home with their parents or in privately rented accommodation.

Accreditation

Independent colleges have their own membership scheme, run by the Conference for Independent Further Education (CIFE). CIFE colleges are regularly inspected and accredited, by either the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education (BAC) or the ISC. (A full list of BAC-accredited colleges can be found on the BAC website. Child protection measures operate in all accredited schools and colleges in the UK.

Study

Independent colleges offer the same qualifications as boarding school sixth forms: A-levels, Vocational A-levels, Highers, the IB. Some colleges also offer university foundation programmes. Colleges tend to use an intensive tutorial style of teaching - the small group teaching and regular testing developed at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Cutting-edge learning techniques are backed up by established traditional approaches. College teachers - many of them examiners and authors of textbooks - are proven educational thinkers.

The next step

As with integral boarding school sixth forms, independent colleges provide an excellent preparation for life at university.

It is preferable to join a senior school at the beginning of the academic year, which starts in September. There are three terms in the school year: September to December; January to March; and April to July.

Pupils generally transfer to a senior school between the ages of 11 and 13, and stay there until age 16 or 18. Senior schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have three main points of entry: age 11+, age 13+ and age 16+. In Scotland, independent schools are generally more flexible about points of entry, but most pupils join senior schools at age 12+, age 13+ or age 16+. Like preparatory schools, senior schools can be single sex or co-educational.

Some boys' senior schools start at age 11, but most boys' schools start at age 13. (Many boys' schools have associated prep schools for pupils aged eight or younger, and some have small junior departments for boys aged 11-13.) Girls' senior schools usually start at age 11, although many have their own prep or junior schools. Most single-sex schools ensure that pupils spend time with members of the opposite sex by sharing activities, outings and theatrical productions with other schools. Several schools now offer single-sex teaching up to 16 and have a mixed sixth form.

Co-educational schools, which teach boys and girls together, are on the increase in the UK. This is due to single-sex schools admitting the opposite sex or merging with a girls' or boys' school to which they are linked. In schools that have always been co-educational, the ratio of boys to girls is usually around 50:50. It is possible that a co-educational school that was once single sex may still have significantly greater numbers of boys or girls.