Summary: Have you ever wondered ‘do you have to stay full time at a boarding school’? At Rendcomb College in the beautiful Cotswolds, the answer is ‘no’. Let’s explore how our versatile boarding options work in practice.

Modern parenthood has been likened to spinning precious plates, while balancing on a ball, above a 30ft drop!

Not least as there's no such thing as a ‘normal’ work pattern and life has a habit of taking twists and turns. It all means that your obligations and priorities can change week by week. One of the reasons Rendcomb College offers various boarding options at our leading UK independent school.

However, the most important motive for offering different boarding arrangements is to meet the diverse needs of the children. Some relish the prospect of a full-time place at Rendcomb College, to optimise on all the out of classroom stimulation, support and fun. While others prefer to stay overnight just part of the week, or when their activities keep them here well into the evening.

As we are an independent school that pivots in treating each student as an individual, it’s vital to reflect that in the variety of options for overnight arrangements at boarding school.

Accommodation arrangements

Of course, students don’t have to stay ANY nights at this outstanding independent school! We have a lively and happy group of ‘day boarders’ at Rendcomb College who live close enough to sleep at home.

Day boarders can stay under our care until 6 pm, at no additional charge. Or, later into the evening for a small additional fee. This is something many parents find extremely convenient. Though largely it is to enable our pupils to engage in the many out of classroom activities at boarding schools.

However, day boarders may occasionally want to stay over and we have systems in place to make that possible too

The other end of the spectrum is boarders who stay all through term times, only joining their families in school holidays. This works brilliantly for when parents are working overseas or have complex career commitments. Or, if the student wants to get lots of additional support to excel in their studies, for example.

The different options that lie between day boarding and being with us all through term times are entirely your choice. For instance, some full-time boarders return home every weekend, while other students take advantage of Flexible or Occasional Boarding arrangements.

Flexible v Occasional boarding school stays

For some parents and students, it is possible to establish a clear pattern of when staying at boarding school works best to keep everyone happy. This could be one or two nights every week of term time, or every alternate week for example. The pattern does not even have to be consecutive nights.

Rendcomb College welcomes a planned pattern of overnight stays. Students benefitting from this Flexible accommodation option will usually have the same room every time.

We also welcome Occasional boarders with no fixed pattern. If we have boarding accommodation available, this can even be organised the same day. This could be due to parents going away, or the student wanting to sleep at school when they have an evening activity for example.

Sometimes, they just want spontaneous ‘sleepovers’ with their friends and to stay in our year-specific Houses for extra fun time! All under the care of our professional Houseparents of course.

It’s not always possible to give occasional boarders the same bedroom every time of course, and sometimes if we are absolutely full, we have to remove this option. However, most of the time this is an ideal way to support the changing needs of the student community at boarding school.

The costs of top boarding schools

The fees charged for boarding at our Cotswolds independent school would be clearly outlined, depending on which accommodation option best suits your child and their age.

Occasional boarding for day pupils - or as an addition to a Flexible Boarding arrangement - is subject to a sliding scale, and includes meals and all the nurturing supervision we provide. It is £37.50 per night for pupils in Year 7 to 9 and £48 per night for pupils in Year 10 to 13.

Should you need to take advantage of this option for irregular and spontaneous accommodation at boarding school more than eight times a term, the cost rises to £52 (all year groups).

Please give us a call to discuss Flexible boarding school fees, or see our boarding page that outlines the cost of boarding school.

What’s best for your child?

We are always happy to discuss specific questions and requests, with regards to boarding at Rendcomb College. That’s the best way to create an education, development and support ‘package’ specific to the individual needs of your son or daughter. For further information, please see our what is boarding school like page.