Last remaining girls’ boarding school to introduce day pupils as they acknowledge 'family life has evolved'
The last remaining girls’ boarding school is introducing day pupils as they acknowledge that “family life has evolved”.
Benenden, which is based in Kent charges £39,372-a-year for boarders, is to open its doors to day pupils from September 2021 for the first time since it opened a century ago.
Anne Wakefield, the school’s deputy head who oversees boarding and pastoral care, said that while demand for boarding remains strong, it “does not suit all families”. She said that since “family life has evolved in recent decades”, the school has decided to move with the times.
It is the last all girls’ sole boarding school in the UK, and its decision to offer places to day pupils follows similar moves in recent years by many of its rivals.
Of the 1,374 private schools in the UK, 474 have a boarding element in the UK, according to the most recent census conducted by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), meaning they have at least one boarding pupil.
But of these, just 13 are exclusively for boarders. These include Eton College, which charges £42,501-a-year, Winchester College which costs £41,709-a-year and Harrow School where parents pay £41,775-a-year. The rest offer places to a mixture of full boarding, weekly boarding, flexi-boarding and day pupils.
Stephen Spriggs, managing director at William Clarence Education which assists some of the country’s leading public schools with recruitment, said that while it is still popular with overseas students, boarding has largely fallen out of favour with British families.
“Generally the trend is going away from boarding for the domestic market,” he said. “British middle class families traditionally – up to a generation ago – sent their children to boarding schools. But now the fees are so high and have been priced out.”
While it used to be the “done thing” to send children away to school, this is no longer the case, he said. “There has also been a change in taste where parents want their children to be at home rather than sending their children away,” Mr Spriggs told The Daily Telegraph.
“There has been a trend for boarding schools to have to offer a day component.” In recent years there has been a rise in the number of schools offering “flexi-boarding”, where pupils stay at their school overnight from time to time. It is a popular option for children who are staying late at school for an extra-curricular pursuit, whether it’s a debating club, a sports match or a zume class.
The proportion of weekly and flexi-boarders has increased for the past four consecutive years, according to the ISC census, and now makes up a fifth of all boarders.
Benenden, which was founded in 1923, is based at a Victorian mansion and occupies 250 acres of gardens and woodland in the Weald of Kent. It educates 550 girls aged 11 to 18, and will charge day pupils £29,550 per year.
The school counts Princess Anne, the actress Rachel Weisz and the former director of M15 Lady Manningham-Buller, among its alumnae.
Samantha Price, headmistress at Benenden, said: “We know from families living locally that there is a strong demand for girls to join us as day boarders and we are delighted to be able to welcome some of these girls to Benenden for the first time next year.
“In many ways this is an historic moment for Benenden – and a very exciting one for the School. This move is of significance because Benenden is the final all-girls’ boarding school in the UK to have moved away from offering ‘full boarding’ only, with day, weekly and flexi boarding having been widely introduced across the sector in recent years.”
