Information for International Families at Sherborne Prep by Sherborne Boys

Information for International Families

Welcome

Sherborne Prep - where all pupils are encouraged to seize every opportunity.

A very warm welcome to Sherborne Prep. We are a caring, nurturing, and inspiring community that places the holistic care of every child at the heart of what we do. Our staff are passionate, dedicated educators who are committed to supporting children to be happy, kind, courageous learners, and outward facing individuals. We also laugh, a lot!

We are a vibrant school that celebrates the magic of childhood. We will push children beyond their comfort zones; to be ambitious for themselves but also for their community, be that through academic rigour, music, sport, performing arts, or adventure. Our children have character as they know they are safe to explore and will be guided throughout their time at Sherborne Prep to be ready for senior school and beyond.

Mrs Annie Gent, Head

At a glance...

Broad, varied curriculum

Academic excellence

Excellent scholarship success in all disciplines

12 - 14 children per class

Over thirty different Saturday morning activities

Full boarding Sunday activity programme

Flexi, regular and full boarding from Year 3

One-to-one teaching and learning support

Dedicated English as an additional language(EAL) department

Use of state of the art facilities at Sherborne School and Sherborne Girls

Superb sports facilities, fields and multi-use astroturf pitches

Individual, personalised Senior School advice

A true family community

Enrichment

We have an extensive list of enrichment activities available to all children in Years 3 - 8. Enrichment takes place before school, at lunchtime, after school and during breaktime. Our enrichment programme is designed to help the children develop their engagement with a favourite topic or to try something new. Here are just a few of our daily activities...

Brass Ensemble

School Choir

Hockey

Shooting

Percussion Ensemble

Bouldering & Climbing

Hockey

Chess Club

Woodwind Ensemble

Maths Extension

Joint Schools Orchestra

Music Theory

Gymnastics

Football

Design Club

Drama

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning Assessment Practice

Saturday Activities

One of the highlights of the Sherborne Prep week is the Saturday morning activity programme, which runs between 09:00am - 12:30pm, for children in Years 3 - 8. Each child attends three different sessions across the morning and it is an excellent way for our children to try something new or to indulge themselves in an activity they are passionate about. A list of some, but certainly not all, of our wonderful sessions can be seen below...

Bouldering & Climbing

Photography Club

Textiles Club

Arts Club

Junk Modelling

Latin

Chess Club

Eco & Science Club

Fun with Maths and ICT

Kawaii Cartoons

Creative Writing

Fun & Games Pod

Music Theory

Design Club Cantores

Theatre Skills Tennis

Circuit Training & Fitness

Guardians

As part of the terms and conditions for families living abroad or more than a twohour drive from the School, a local Education Guardian must be provided for all boarders, even those on a short-term placement.

An Education Guardian may be a known family member or a close family friend based in the UK within two hours of travel to the School or a guardian agency accredited by the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) Certified Guardian Schemewww.boarding.org.uk or by the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students (AEGIS) - www.aegisuk.net

Visas

If your child has a valid UK passport, they will not require a visa to study at Sherborne Prep. If they do not have a UK passport, they will require a Child Student Visa to study at the School. Even if they live in the UK, they may still require a visa; please visit www.gov.uk for further information.

Sherborne Prep School is a Child Student Visa Sponsor for the UK Visa and Immigration Service. This means we are licensed to issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) for boys and girls who require a Child Student Visa to study at the School. If applying for a visa from outside of the UK, the earliest you can do so is six months before the start of the academic course, subject to being in receipt of a confirmed place. We will work with you to ensure all is in place to enable you to make your application in a timely manner.

Exeats

The School closes for two weekends a term. During these weekends, all children must either go home or to an accredited guardian. Exeat weekends are published under the term dates on the Sherborne Prep website.

Boarding at Sherborne Prep...

Our Termly and Short Stay Placements offer a fully immersive British boarding school experience, providing the very best opportunities for children to improve their English, make new friends and learn in an exciting environment during a minimum half-term stay with us.

There is a real family feel to our Boarding House; run by our Housemaster, Mr Chiappa-Patching, who lives on-site with his family, and with support from all the Prep School staff, he provides a warm and homely environment in which to nurture the emotional, physical and intellectual needs of our boarders. Strong and lasting friendships are formed at Sherborne Prep, and many of our short stay pupils return year after year to our lovely school.

Weekends are busy for our boarders. They take part in whole-school activities on a Saturday morning with a wide range of opportunities including sailing, climbing, eco club, to name a few. Saturday afternoons see our children in sports matches across the school, with themed evening activities. On a Sunday, our boarders are given some well-deserved rest time with a welcome lie-in, after which there may be activities on-site, or a trip to the beach, water park, Christmas shopping or a country walk – life is never dull at Sherborne Prep!

Our boarders are in cosy rooms with 2-4 beds, and are encouraged to bring photographs and other personal items to make their bedspace feel like a home from home. Our bespoke boarding programme offers activities that many other schools are unable to offer, and we tailor these to our children, rather than the other way round.

Sherborne Prep - a home from home.