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Why board at Beechwood?
Pupils and their parents choose boarding at Beechwood for a variety of reasons – for the flexibility it offers, to give children a taste of independence, to prepare for boarding life at senior school, or just because they have heard how much fun our boarders have!
Whatever your reason for trying boarding, we know that staff and boarders alike share a true sense of family and community, ensuring a genuine ‘home from home’ experience, forging closer friendships that often last a lifetime.
Boarding at Beechwood supports family life by offering a flexible approach that reduces travel time, increases sleep time and maximises enjoyment. Pupils can board for one, two, three or four nights a week – no matter how many nights they choose, their bed is their own (no “hot-bedding” here!). As they progress through the School, pupils tend to board from Monday to Friday, whereas younger children enjoy the balance of having a night or two at home during the week. This means they can still take part in family meals at home, or remain part of their local sports team and attend other after school clubs and activities, but with the added bonus of boarding too.
Given the longer days together, boarders tend to develop stronger friendships both within their year groups and across other year groups. They gain the support of their peers, and learn to encourage – and live with – each other. Boarding creates a real sense of community and our pupils freely talk about the boarding house feeling like “home”.
Boarders need to take responsibility for their own sleeping area, and for their belongings, helping them to develop great independence and responsibility for their belongings and their time. Most children don’t get the opportunity to learn these key life skills until they are much older, but prep boarding schools like Beechwood enable pupils to get a head start on this. Whilst boarding gives children the opportunity to grow in independence, they aren’t completely alone; they can develop independence with the help of a supportive network of peers, tutors as well as the boarding house parents and other resident staff at the School.
Boarders at Beechwood are able to make the most of the School’s facilities “after hours”. The boarding activities programme accesses the School’s extensive grounds and facilities, with evenings often including sports and outdoor games.