We understand there is no place like home but we are proud to provide a sense of family and comfort for our boarders who love living, learning and playing at Windlesham House.
Our 65 acre estate is the perfect setting to provide a safe space for boarding children to seek adventure and develop lifelong friendships after classes finish for the day. It is also an amazing location for weekend adventures, including trips to the coast and camping on the South Downs.
With our flexible approach to boarding, it is no surprise that many of our day pupils go on to become boarders, wanting to take advantage of this flexible approach and having seen the benefits of boarding, keen to spend more time with their friends and more time enjoying the evening activities and weekends.
Boarding at Windlesham House is also great preparation for those thinking about boarding at senior school.
We believe strongly in the great virtues of a boarding education for children, and in the qualities which it develops in them as well as the broad all-round opportunities which it offers.
Boarding at Windlesham House is based on the following principles:
We encourage our boarders to be respectful, kind and live tolerantly with their fellow boarders. Each year we are proud to wave pupils off at the end of their time at Windlesham knowing they are well-equipped both academically and socially to continue successfully on to senior school.
Although most children who board at Windlesham happily settle into life in West Sussex very quickly, we promote regular contact with parents and family – as there is much to share! We encourage children to send a weekly letter home to parents, a school tradition which we know from first-hand reports are loved and treasured and there are telephones around the school which children can use at any time. Parents can also phone the boarding houses each evening to say goodnight to their child.
There are plenty of opportunities for parents to attend sporting events or musical recitals and we are able to recommend many exciting day trips within the local area should families wish to explore at weekends. We understand that children whose parents reside overseas have different needs and we work hard to ensure they have time set aside to FaceTime (working with time differences) as well as organising travel home when requested.
A typical weekend at Windlesham, starts with the exciting new Windlesham Diploma and Windlesham Challenge programmes on a Saturday morning, followed on most weekends with a sports fixture in the afternoon. There are always activities on offer in the afternoon, eg baking, karaoke, swimming and then supper and a film.
Sundays offer a relaxed breakfast/brunch (which parents are warmly invited to) and options for a range of activities from nature walks on the downs, shopping or cinema trips to local towns, inflatable obstacle courses in the pool, textiles and pottery making.
We also plan several extra trips per year like ice-skating at The Natural History Museum, outings to Harry Potter World or to watch rugby at Twickenham along with trips to local tourist attractions and theme parks.
We are one of the oldest independent prep schools in the UK and we were the first independent prep boarding school to become co-educational. Our forward-thinking approach continues today with the introduction of flexible boarding options to meet the changing needs of our parents and pupils. Full boarding, of course, remains an option as well.
Full boarding:
Full boarding at Windlesham is Monday to Saturday or over the weekend (apart from exeats which we call long weekends).
Weekly boarding from Year 3 – 8:
Weekly boarding for 4 nights a week.
Flexible part-time boarding:
2 or 3 nights a week, any night of the week (Monday to Sunday).
Occasional boarding:
One night per week (any night).
To discuss these options and explore the best choice for your family please don’t hesitate to contact Admissions on telephone: +44 (0)1903 874701 or email: admissions@windlesham.com