Demand for boarding places has increased steadily in recent years with this upsurge driven in some part by a recognition that boarding enables pupils to maximise the opportunities available to them in a school as busy as Bede’s.
Bede’s Senior School offers full and weekly boarding options as well as day boarding by which day pupils are attached to a boarding house.
"‘A real atmosphere of family… brotherhood,’ said a pupil. In large boarding houses of around 80, pupils are organised into family groups of 10, spanning the year groups, who look out for each other."
- The Good Schools Guide
Bede's boasts five stunning boarding houses, two of which were recognised by the Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 2013 for their Outstanding Design and Innovation
New Dorms Boarding House
In September 2022, we opened our new boarding house - Dorms House. The stunning new development features inspiration from its location next to the South Downs and includes modern facilities, accommodating 70 beds, as well as a 170 square metre atrium, learning spaces, flexible spaces for meetings and conferences, offices, kitchen facilities and storage areas. It also uses an eco-friendly heat source as part of the Trust's pledge to reduce its carbon footprint. See photos of our new Dorms House below:
"Bede's was the best decision of my life, and I had the time of my life. The house is a community, and everyone is friends with everyone. We play house soccer, poker, Monopoly, and much more together. The day flies by, and even though I sometimes miss my family and friends, someone is always there for me. I love the activities I do in the afternoons and mornings during my free time. It's easy to make friends, and you feel like everyone knows everyone at school." - Benni, Pre-Sixth
Bede’s remains committed to its full boarding culture, by which we mean that we continue to invest resources in order to ensure that there is a comprehensive provision of care, support and enrichment to those pupils who remain in school at the weekends.
We offer a comprehensive Weekend Programme full of social activities, academic enrichment, trips and general fun! Friday nights are socially focussed with trips to the cinema or bowling for those who want to stretch their wings off campus. On Saturdays pupils can get involved with sport, academic activities, drama, music or art as well as hobbies such as mountain biking or paddle-boarding. In the afternoons pupils can head out for some shopping in the local towns and on Sundays can have a much needed lie-in before Sunday Brunch. For some, Sundays will be an opportunity to take it easy and recover from a busy week or catch up on prep but for those who want to get out and about there is a comprehensive programme of trips on offer throughout the year.
Weekly boarding is a popular option for pupils who live in London, Surrey and Kent or at the outer limits of our day catchment area.
Pupils board throughout the week, leaving on a Friday evening or indeed at lunchtime on Saturday if they have sporting or other commitments on Saturdays. They can return on Sunday evening, but many pupils choose to return to School on Monday morning allowing them a full weekend with their family.
Pupils who weekly board (and indeed their parents) often comment that they feel they have the best of both worlds; having access to all Bede’s facilities and staff throughout the mid-week evenings as well as quality family time at the weekend and of course this option can help alleviate the stresses of balancing family and professional commitments for parents during the week times.
As pupils go through the School and particularly approach the demands of public exams, some day pupils opt to switch to weekly boarding and find that it can help them find some crucial extra hours in the day!
Day boarders are day pupils who are attached to a boarding house rather than a day house and stay at school in the evenings for prep and supper, taking the late bus service which leaves at 7.15pm home.
Day boarding is a popular option for pupils who have commitments at School in the evenings as well as for families whose week times can be busy due to work or other commitments.
Day boarders are expected to complete their prep with the rest of the House and can take advantage of the staff available in the evenings to supervise prep time.
Bede's is located less than an hour away from Gatwick and London Heathrow, making us a fantastic School for overseas pupils.
More importantly, we believe that there is little reason for International Boarders to come to an English boarding school unless they will be truly integrated into school life.
With award-winning boarding houses and one of the country's leading EAL departments, we guarantee that those boarders who join us from outside the UK have every opportunity to become fluent in English, and with our exceptional school caterers and action-packed Weekend Programme full of trips and events we pride ourselves on offering a 'better than home' experience.
To help international pupils assimilate into the Bede's community, we keep caps on our total numbers of overseas pupils and ensure that we have no more than 30 pupils of each nationality at the school at any one time - apart from UK boarders, of course!
Our Head of Boarding also works closely with our Admissions Team to ensure that pupils who speak different languages are evenly mixed into our five Boarding Houses and year groups, guaranteeing that all of our International Boarders enjoy a truly British experience.
Our Student Travel Coordinator is here to assist parents, guardians and students with half term and end of term travel arrangements. The service is offered to all boarding students.
Take a virtual tour one of our boarding houses below:
