How was Gina’s trip to two Welsh boarding schools?
Gina’s recent road trip took her first to Wales, to visit Christ College Brecon and Haberdashers’ Monmouth School. Read on for her findings and thoughts on these two Welsh boarding schools.
Christ College Brecon
Founded in 1541 by King Henry VIII on the site of a Dominican Priory, Christ College enjoys a glorious location in the small town of Brecon at the foot of the Brecon Beacons National Park, only 1 hour from Cardiff and about 1.5 hours from Bristol.
A happy, buzzy, friendly feeling pervades the whole school. Just over half the Senior School pupils board, with plenty of British pupils among them, while a little under 20% of pupils are international throughout the Senior School.
Each of the 6 boarding houses has its own distinct character with a palpably family-feel. The committed houseparents are supported by a team of assistants, tutors and domestic staff and an ‘open-door’ policy encourages the formation of strong relationships. Boarding and day pupils are fully integrated into the houses, and a broad range of activities is available, along with lively inter-house music, singing and speech and drama competitions.
A beautiful Creative Arts Centre opened in 2013, providing a 400+ capacity multi-functional auditorium with retractable seating, enabling whole school assemblies and providing a professional venue for speech, drama and music.
Music is very strong at Christ College, with just under half of all students having individual music lessons, and a huge array of different instrumental groups, 3 choirs, a Choral Society and a regular Open Mic night.
Sport is also strong, with facilities including an astroturf, gym, a climbing wall, squash and tennis courts, swimming pool and a beautiful cricket ground. As an extension of sporting and outdoor pursuits opportunities, the Brecon Beacons are ideal for mountain biking, cross-country, climbing, canoeing and sailing so there is no shortage of things to do.
Students enjoy lessons in small classes within well-resourced departments, such as the impressive modern science block, with plenty of individual attention. Nearly all teachers are also tutors in the boarding houses, meeting their tutees weekly as a group and individually as needed, monitoring academic progress to help each child achieve their potential.
Haberdashers’ Monmouth School
Located across two sites in a beautiful setting just under an hour from Cardiff and Bristol, the Senior School and boys’ boarding are situated near the centre of Monmouth, with the Prep School, Sixth Form Centre, a co-ed boarding house for younger pupils and two girls’ boarding houses being on the outskirts of town, a 5-to-10-minute walk or a 1-minute bus ride away. Regular shuttle buses operate between the two sites.
Boarding facilities are very good, the Sixth Form girls’ house in particular, with single ensuite rooms and modern, light and airy common areas. The boarders’ weekend programme is impressive, offering an array of activities and outings. No surprise then that there are just short of 200 boarders, of which around 50% are British and 50% international.
The Sixth Form Centre has a lovely modern addition including library, common room and café.
Academically, school leavers achieve impressive results year on year and the list of typical university destinations does not disappoint. Textiles is a very popular subject at both GCSE and A Level, with Jimmy Choo being a mentor!
Outside the classrooms, sport, performing arts, art and music are all strong. There are two wonderful dance studios, and a beautiful theatre also shared with the town of Monmouth.
The main sports for boys are rugby, football and cricket, while for girls hockey, netball and cricket. The school’s wonderful location in the beautiful Welsh countryside makes outward bound activities such as canoeing very accessible too.
On top of all this, there are around 100 extra-curricular activities on offer including a sign language club and sustainability club.
If either of these Welsh boarding schools sounds like the one for your child, let us help you apply. Contact Gina now.
