Queen Ethelburga’s, York
Set in 220 acres of beautiful countryside between Harrogate and York, Queen Ethelburga’s College is an award-winning day and boarding school that welcomes girls and boys aged from three months to 19 years and boarders from Year 3. It is known for its high-ranking academic performance. College, one of its two senior schools, placed second nationally last year for A-levels and 18th for all-round academic performance. The other senior school, Faculty, which offers more ‘creative and vocational subjects’, climbed several places to third in the north for A-levels and seventh for overall performance. The college places emphasis on growing pupils into resilient, caring and confident adults. It has more than 100 clubs, making full use of facilities that include more than 30 acres of sports pitches, a cushioned running track, a 25-metre swimming pool and a 314-seat theatre.
Dauntsey’s, Wiltshire
Dauntsey’s is a leading co-educational boarding and day school, on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain, for around 860 11- to 18-year-olds. Pupils are expected to look after each other and the school says that a culture of mutual respect makes them feel they belong – and that happiness, self-esteem and confidence are the consequences of a Dauntsey’s education. It aims to be a place where everyone can be themselves, where friendship and kindness really matter and where pupils make the most of their talents. The school is proud of its academic success, but says its ethos is about much more than exam grades. It was founded in 1542, under the will of William Dauntesey, Master of the Worshipful Company of Mercers. The school has its own tall ship, the Jolie Brise (left) – named after France’s equivalent of the Beaufort scale force five wind – which pupils have sailed across the Atlantic.
Sunningdale Prep School, Berkshire
The main school building at Sunningdale is an attractive red-brick Victorian villa and has the feel of a family home – for the very good reason that it is one. This family-run boys’ boarding prep, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, sits in 25 acres of woodland, playing fields and gardens – but is just 45 minutes from London. The school boasts a floodlit all-weather astro pitch, an indoor-heated swimming pool, outdoor tennis courts, a seven-hole golf course, a sports hall with cricket nets and no fewer than three Eton fives courts. The characterful 1880 church, next to the vegetable garden, is used daily for Chapel, as well as for Sunday services and concerts. A host of dogs live happily on site with the boys and staff. The school also has its own house in Normandy to which the boys make three trips during their time at Sunningdale.
Marlborough College, Wiltshire
This boarding school could be about to get even more famous than it already is, with rumours circulating that the Prince and the Princess of Wales (herself a former pupil) are considering sending Prince George there. Founded in 1843 as a school for the sons of the clergy, in 1968 Marlborough became one of the first traditional boys’ boarding schools to admit girls in the sixth form and it has been fully co-educational since 1989. Some 14 per cent of pupils receive fee assistance. The Marlborough Mound, a 60ft neolithic monument, lies within the grounds, and close to that is an observatory with an impressive refracting telescope. The school recently opened a refurbished science building, as well as an ‘innovation centre’ where the pupils practise design technology. Marlborough has a sister school of the same name in Malaysia.
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