Anderson Education

Summertime is always the best of what might be.” – Charles Bowden.

It is always such a delight to visit a school when the sun is shining, exams are over and the excitement of the end of term is within touching distance. Our thanks to Simon Fitch for showing us King Edward’s Witley last month, on the hottest day of the year. We were able to hide from the sun in their impressive new coffee shop and speak with several students who were very happy to share their experiences. They praised their teachers and the support they receive, but their top thing about KESW were the people and the friendships they have made at the school.

Sport is very much available to all, with one of the country’s highest ranking girls football team and the badminton team carrying equal interest and enthusiasm. KESW has been around for over 450 years and here’s to the next 450!

🤔 Did you know? Boarding School - Fact or Fiction?

We’ve explored student firefighters, young pilots and even schools with centuries-old traditions… but this week’s boarding school fact is truly Olympic. 🥇

Could the medal haul from just one UK boarding school at the Paris 2024 Olympics have rivalled that of an entire country?

👉 See how sporting excellence is nurtured both on and off the world stage
👉 And find out why some of the UK’s leading athletes began their journey at boarding school

Every child has different talents. Whether your child’s passion is sport, music, the arts or academics, our team offers free, impartial advice to help families find the school where they can thrive.

We visited Cothill Prep School and came away genuinely impressed. This is a school that feels like a family. Many staff live on-site or in the surrounding villages and you sense immediately that they’re not just teachers; they’re a core part of how these children grow up. Four school houses, each built around their own family unit, reinforce that ethos at every turn.

The school is ambitious but not a hot house. Pupils regularly go on to leading senior schools, yet the entrance process is deliberately gentle and holistic and the school culture built around kindness, confidence and the whole child. Maximum class sizes of 16 keep the focus firmly on the individual.

The facilities are outstanding, — a state-of-the-art sports hall, climbing wall, skate ramp, and art that is clearly thriving. 80% of pupils learn an instrument. The grounds are beautiful.

Boarding houses are comfortable and cosy, genuinely homely, with 85% of the school boarding. This year Cothill went co-ed, with a new girls’ house opening as part of its growth within the Radley Schools Group.

What stayed with us, though, was the culture of kindness, formal awards, a kindness board in the dining hall, and a palpable sense that being a good person matters here as much as academic achievement.

🎭 Creativity deserves room to grow.

From drama productions and music performances to art studios and creative workshops, UK boarding schools give students the time, encouragement and facilities to explore their talents and discover new ones.

The arts help build confidence, communication, collaboration and self-expression—skills that are valuable in every walk of life.

If your child has a creative spark, we’d love to help you find a school where it can flourish.

📩 Contact us to learn more.

“There is no formula for imparting love of learning” (from A Quaker Book of Wisdom)… but at Leighton Park School there are plenty of ways to support it.

Our thanks to Merrigan Twelves for showing us this amazing school; it was a pleasure to visit somewhere so at peace with itself, confident in the knowledge that it is offering the best start in life it possibly can to it’s students.

The Quaker ethos is very apparent in the acceptance and tolerance shown to many different walks of life. LP welcomes all faiths and none, but all are included and welcomed into their traditions.

Boarding at LP is truly a home from home with some of the cosiest and well thought out houses we have seen; we whole heartedly agreed with the adage that Leighton Park is a home with classrooms, rather than a school with beds.