Sports

When school resumes after the Easter holiday the summer sports season will begin, so which are our top British boarding schools for athletics?

As the sport grows in popularity, with both girls and boys, I am often asked for help with placing keen players at one of our top British boarding schools for hockey. Here is a selection of those I’d recommend.

One of the many reasons to consider a boarding school in England is the quality of their sports provision. All our schools have excellent facilities, and make time within and alongside the curriculum to support all students to enjoy a wide range of physical activities, but some specialise in certain sports. In no particular order, here are our top British boarding schools for tennis.

What are our top 5 British boarding schools for riding?

To reassure the young equestrian who might worry about missing their riding if they were to go to a British boarding school, we are pleased to confirm it is an option at many of the schools we recommend. So many, in fact, it is hard to pick a top 5 but here we go…

Sport plays a central role at all the British boarding schools we recommend. Recognising its importance to the physical and mental health of their students, their main focus is on participation, and schools offer a huge range of activities to engage even the most reluctant sportspeople, but many schools also have academies to help nurture the true talents in their midst.

Continuing our “Focus on…” series, this time we are shining a light on golf at some of the Scottish boarding schools we work with.

After a quiet weekend in terms of international rugby, this week excitement is building again as we look forward to the next round of the men’s Six Nations Championship. Alumni of British boarding schools feature strongly in the home nations’ teams, so what better time to feature the sport?

Hockey is the main sport during this spring term at many British boarding schools, with high levels of competition across the age ranges and in all parts of the country.

For example, Aldenham School has recently been celebrating the success of its girls’ hockey teams at U14 and U15 level, both having been crowned district champions after winning a competitive tournament against other schools from the local area.

All the British boarding schools we recommend have some enviable facilities and we often receive news of further developments. One such update came from Giggleswick School recently, when Olympic medallist triathlete Jonny Brownlee opened its new state of the art fitness centre.

Occupying a purpose-built extension to the school’s sports complex, the suite features the latest in weights, strength and conditioning training equipment, as well as top-end treadmills, cycle trainers, rowing machines and other cardio-vascular training aids.

Culford School has recently announced a new Football Academy, which promises to combine a first-class education with a passion for football. Hoping to emulate the success of this English boarding school’s existing tennis and golf academies, this new initiative will be delivered in partnership with Ipswich Town Football Club, with academy pupils receiving individual development plans designed by the Director of Football, Alan Lee, a UEFA ‘A’ and FA Advanced Youth Licensed coach.