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As spring gradually transforms into summer here in the UK, some of the British boarding schools we work with look to their own transformation during the long summer holiday, when they offer English language courses to short stay students.

These courses aren’t just an ideal way to give international students’ English language learning a boost; as the summer schools complement their academic offering with all the sports and other activities available on and around their campuses, this is the ideal “taster stay” for any child considering a longer placement in a British school.

The latest newsletter from Bede’s, a British boarding school in the south east of England, includes a feature about its diploma programme, which we thought would make an interesting addition to our blog.

The external qualifications offered in Bede’s Sixth Form are A Level, Pre-U and BTEC. Alongside studying for those exams, all pupils undertake a holistic enrichment programme, the Bede’s Diploma, which has four elements: Extend, Enrich, Enlighten and Enhance.

It is always hard to pick out one British boarding school’s news and achievements over the rest, but a recent update from Strathallan School in Scotland caught the eye for the sheer breadth of achievements in the spotlight; it really was a shining example of all that is great about British independent education.

Each year Warminster School, an English boarding school in Wiltshire, holds a Curriculum Enrichment Day (CED), which takes learning out of the classroom, crosses subject boundaries and combines the talents of students from years 7 to 13, as they work together within their House groups to solve a problem or create a product.

Model United Nations (MUN) is an extra-curricular activity in which more than 400,000 people from schools, universities and beyond participate each year. Lots of the schools we recommend have delegations that get involved, both within school and at conferences further afield.

St Swithun’s is a highly regarded girls’ day and boarding school in Winchester in the south of England. Its pupils benefit from a broad curriculum that promotes individual choice, so they can fulfil their intellectual, physical and creative potential. In addition, right from the off, girls are taught to examine social, cultural and moral issues, so they can make informed decisions about their own way of living while respecting the values of others.

The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Each CCF is an educational partnership between a school and the Ministry of Defence, and may include Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army or Royal Air Force sections.

Many of the British boarding schools we recommend are active within the CCF, as it provides students with a myriad of opportunities outside the classroom but within disciplined structures.

Something that sets our British boarding schools apart is their commitment to providing an all-round education. While academic ambition, commitment and achievement are important, they are not the be all and end all, so the schools we recommend offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

Gresham’s, a British boarding school on England’s east coast, recently sent us a link to their new video, which provides an insight into boarding life at their prep school. It’s well worth taking a couple of minutes to watch and it got us thinking it would be good to let you know more about a few of the other prep schools we work with.

As delegates of last week's annual conference start the new week back at their schools, we thought you might be interested to know a bit about the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, or HMC.