We are constantly reminded of the vital and special contribution made to the life of the school by our overseas pupils. Some join us at an early age and very quickly master the English language, while others join us in the sixth form and perform magnificently in music, drama, outdoor education and sport. A number have developed life-long friendships with British pupils and have stayed on to attend British universities. All have opened the eyes of other pupils to the diversity and richness of world culture and customs - beyond the shores of the British Isles.

So if you come to our school you we promise you that even if it's strange to begin with it won't be for long. What helps particularly is that we are so informal and have a culture in which all ages talk to and support each other.

We always have English pupils in the school whose parents are working abroad, for the Foreign Office, for the British Council or for various commercial organisations.

Just so you know we never have more than 10% of our school population for whom English is not the first language and we restrict the number from anyone language group to a handful. This is so that you may well have one or two people to talk to you in your own language but not so many you do not learn English! At the moment we have a couple of French pupils, two Korean, two from China/Hong Kong, three from Nigeria, two from Tanzania, one each from Brazil, Moldova and Croatia, five German speaking pupils and five for whom Russian is their mother tongue.

We do insist that if your parents are abroad, whether English or non English-nationals, that you have a UK based guardian and that you make these arrangements yourselves. And you should note that the school is not open at half term or in the holidays. We have an excellent, and very friendly, taxi service. We know all the drivers and they take good care of all the pupils they take to and fro to the airport.

For pupils for whom English is not their first language Emma Wyld, our ESL specialist, will assess your individual needs and make recommendations accordingly. She builds up an excellent rapport with her pupils who regard her as a particularly good friend, dropping into her room for coffee, cake and a chat.  These are the exams you will take

• Those coming into Year 12 are prepared for the IELTS examination.
• Those coming into younger years take the IGCSE in either English Language or English as a Second Language as and when they are ready to do so.

Entrance Procedures

• The UK entrance texts for Year 7 & Year 9 take place in January of the year of entry with offers going out in early February. It is unlikely there will be places available thereafter. It is wise therefore, to apply for places by this date.
• We make offers to UK based pupils wishing to enter the Sixth Form in December preceding the required year of entry. There may be the occasional sixth form place available after the first day of the summer term preceding the year of entry.
• We require a registration fee before examination papers are dispatched. Once these have been returned and marked we will hope to arrange an interview (assuming the candidate has not already visited the school and met the Headmaster). Ideally this should be in person but we fully realise this is not always practicable and are content that we should set up a telephone, preferably video-link, interview.
• Places will be offered as a result of exam and interview, reference and school reports. A place is confirmed after the deposit fee has been received and cleared through the bank.

Entrance requirements:

• For those pupils entering the Sixth Form there must be evidence (by examination and interview) of a good understanding of English so that A-level courses can be followed.We can normally arrange for this to take place in the candidate's own country.
• For certain subjects there will be specific testing.
• At GCSE there must be sufficient understanding of English so that with appropriate support a full curriculum can be followed.
• For the younger years (especially Year 7) there is greater flexibility.

Useful links:

www.boardingschools.hobsons.com

www.schoolbritain.com