Aim high, stay grounded

Independent co-educational day and boarding school in Bristol for 0-18.

Clifton College continues to lead the way as one of the best public schools in the country providing exceptional pastoral care, inspirational teaching, first-class inclusive sports, diverse and targeted co-curricular activities and excellent facilities.

Adrian Underwood Education Consultant

Choosing the right school for your son or daughter is one of the most difficult decisions a parent must make. The school’s website and prospectus will give you a flavour of the school and its defining characteristics. But a visit to the school is vital. This is where you and your child can assess whether they will fit the environment (and more importantly, whether it will fit them). It is important not to become too fixed on a particular school and forget to consider your individual child’s needs. And if you have more than one child, the school you choose will not necessarily suit all of your children.

Visits to a school should be in three parts: an initial visit, an open day visit and a pupil taster day/overnight stay. Boarding schools enjoy having prospective pupils to visit and current pupils are usually pleased to give you their genuine view of the school.

Here are some questions you might want to ask about a school before and during a visit.

Academic Issues

Q: What are the school’s entry requirements? Is our child likely to obtain a place, and when?

A: Most places will be available at the ages of 7, 8 and 11 for a prep school and 11, 13 and 16 for a senior school. You need to know whether to have alternative schools lined up, and at what age the school recommends entry and has places available.

Q: How does the school organise its 14 to 19 curriculum?

A: Larger schools may offer a range of options such as A levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTECs. Most schools will be attempting to broaden their sixth-form curriculum, introducing more skills-based courses and, in an A-level school, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).

Examination results are usually made available on the website. League tables should be treated with caution, as they do not give a rounded picture of the school’s real success or failure in enabling pupils to reach their full potential. The list of university entrants will give you an indication of pupils’ attainment and progress in the school. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools marked the public examinations and these results were moderated by the examination boards. This means there is no national data for public examinations in 2020 and 2021.

Boarding And School Life

Q: What are the key rules for boarders in the houses? Can we see a copy of the student and boarding handbooks?

A: A question for the boarding staff, as this is aimed at finding out as much as possible about the regime of the boarding house.

Q: What is the weekend programme for boarders and what activities are on offer? How many full boarders are there in school?

A: A question for the boarding staff, as this is aimed at finding out as much as possible about what boarders can do at weekends and the school’s ability to offer wider cultural and social opportunities for its boarders. If the school does not have lessons on Saturday mornings and does not have a co-curricular programme on a Saturday, it is important to find out what the boarding programme is from Friday after school until Sunday evening. Also, ask about numbers staying in the house over a typical weekend. It is particularly important to know how many other pupils are present at the weekend if your son or daughter is a full boarder.