bromsgroveboarding

I am a very lucky man. I don’t know if I have the best job in the world, but I do know I don’t want anybody else’s. Bromsgrove is a very special place to be.

Why? It’s not because the Good Schools Guide says “Bromsgrove inhabits the academic stratosphere” or that we have only received the highest verdict - “Outstanding” - from recent Government inspections. No. It’s because boarding at Bromsgrove is a life changing experience. You can see and feel it all around you. The happiness and warmth of the community are palpable on a first visit; the results are sensational: the School crackles with energy and purpose, and our ancient setting is magnificent. But the beautiful grounds and marvellous facilities can be misleading. Please forget the Victorian boarding schools of old novels and films. We may well be five-hundred-years old, but we are not a snobbish sanctuary or palace in which students are cut off from real life. On the contrary, we are introducing young people to the adult world. And our aspirations for those young people are sky-high. We aim to produce moral, creative men and women who will make a difference for the better in the 21st century.

In the safest and most welcoming of environments, young people will find both a home from home and the opportunities to develop skills crucial for adult life. Bromsgrove boarding instils independence, confidence, and tolerance. We are a community, and cooperation and compromise (attributes not always associated with teenagers) are vital to its success. Our young people will leave us not just, we hope, with outstanding academic results, but with an awareness of how to behave and succeed in a globalised world. This community thrives on respect, so there are no airs and graces at Bromsgrove. Humility is every bit as important as ambition.

I believe everything written above to be reality, not grand rhetoric. I know they are big words, but our aspirations for young people are bigger still. And I hope, if you join us as a boarder, you will feel as I do about this wonderful School.

CHRIS EDWARDSHeadmaster

Welcome

The first thing most people notice about the atmosphere of Bromsgrove boarding is the friendliness. We are people-centred and driven by our values, and that comes through in everything we do. You might think a School with such impressive academic results is run along military lines. Far from it. The boarding Houses, for example, are run with the intention of creating a family feel as opposed to rigid hierarchies. Of course there are rules, and of course those rules are enforced, but the level of respect pupils have for one another means the Houses are treated like homes. You might go as far as to say that day-to-day discipline at Bromsgrove is strict without anybody actually realising. Behaving thoughtfully comes naturally.

Although our boarding population is diverse, we are very much a British School with a global perspective (as opposed to an International School with a British curriculum), and that means traditional moral values are instilled. Life is much easier if everybody knows where they stand, and at Bromsgrove we make a point of explaining why the traditions and values we hold dear are so important. It is our hope and expectation that the very best of our five-hundred-year experience is distilled and taken out into the world by our boarders.

introduction to boarding

Computer generated images of the new girls’ boarding Houses (all with ensuite rooms).

Bromsgrove is a large School, and our boarding pupils are part of a wider community which includes many hundreds of local pupils as well. So, wherever a boarder comes from, they know that the School is rooted in local English soil, even though the tree that has grown up has many international branches. And another thing boarders and their parents should know is that we never close in term time. Sundays included. The community exists seven, not six, days per week.

All boarders and day pupils are attached to a particular House, and loyalty to that House is very strong. So in the Senior School, for example, nine-hundred pupils are divided among eleven Houses. Five of those eleven Houses are for boarders. With one exception, Houses contain pupils of different ages, so in a Senior School House the youngest pupils would be 13 and the oldest 18. The older one gets, the more opportunities one has to lead, set examples and discover more about one’s own potential. There is only one House not on the main campus (Housman Hall), and that is a Sixth Form only House, five minutes’ walk away in Bromsgrove town. Sixth Formers do, however, have the option to stay in one of the other Houses and live on the main campus if they wish.

Our youngest boarders (aged 7 -13) are in the Preparatory School, and their accommodation is in a state of the art house accommodating seventy pupils. Our Senior School Houses range from buildings you would expect in a Harry Potter novel (refurbished inside of course) to superb 21st century structures.

A thriving community

More important than anything else is that Bromsgrove’s boarders are safe, well and happy. Many people work hard to achieve this.

Each House has a resident Houseparent who is a member of the academic staff and usually married and with a family of his or her own. So immediately, a sense of homeliness is established because there are real families in the Houses. This Houseparent is in charge of the House and will know all the pupils exceedingly well. Also resident will be an Assistant Houseparent who is similarly a member of the academic staff and usually (though not necessarily) younger than the Houseparent. In the House too is a Housemother. The Housemother, who is not a teacher, oversees the tidiness and cleanliness of the House on a day-to-day basis, and in this role she establishes a close relationship with the pupils.

And finally, we have the very important tutor team. Every teacher at the School is attached to a House, and so each House has about ten teachers who do regular evening duties and have special responsibilities for the wellbeing and happiness of certain pupils in that particular House. In this capacity, the teachers are known as tutors. Houseparents, Assistant Houseparents, Housemothers and tutors are just as proud of their Houses as the pupils are, and the strength of these communities is tangible.

All these people are here to help the pupils. Not just with academic work, but with every possible issue that affects young people away from home. Nobody can be happy all the time, and in any pupil’s career there may be moments of stress, homesickness or personal sadness. With extreme sensitivity, House staff (tutors especially) will establish strong bonds with individual pupils and be on hand to listen and help whenever they are needed.

pastoral care within the houses

Of course, it may be that pupils will need support from places other than the boarding House.

If pupils fall ill, the School can usually deal with the problem in its own medical centre which has isolation wards and twenty-four hour residential nursing cover. A doctor visits the centre daily and virtually all medical issues are dealt with in this way. However, in the rare event that hospital treatment is needed, the School is ideally positioned close to many major hospitals in Birmingham and elsewhere. Should such facilities be required, we ensure pupils are taken immediately to appropriate local centres. If ever there is the slightest doubt about a medical situation, the School will always take pupils to receive attention.

Sometimes, a problem does not require a doctor. Perhaps a boarder just needs to talk to somebody. There are many options to do this in confidence. Among the adults available, the School counsellor will listen and advise in absolute confidence; the School Chaplain speaks with pupils on a daily basis; and the School has a Pastoral Deputy Head, together with an Assistant Pastoral Head who are trained to listen and help in such situations.

We also have Student Listeners. These pupils are specially trained to offer support to other pupils. The Listeners may have experienced similar issues to those they are now trained to deal with, and we often find that young people like to discuss problems in confidence within their own peer group.

pastoral care outside the houses

People are far more important than buildings, but there is no denying that Bromsgrove’s facilities and setting are superb. The largest build programme in the School’s history commenced in 2011 to make our offer even more stunning. Boarders at Bromsgrove have numerous opportunities right on their doorstep.

The boarding Houses themselves are refurbished every five years to a very high standard, and we also replace Houses with brand new buildings when appropriate. It is important that boarders feel their House is being looked after as if it were their own home. The School has kept abreast of technological development: we are very aware of the expectations of young people when it comes to cutting edge communication and information gathering.

However, boarders do not spend all their spare time in Houses. They make use of the outstanding recreational facilities which were enhanced still further by the huge new building programme of 2011. Boarders have use of music rooms and instruments, the library, sports halls (including one of the UK’s largest school sports centres), an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, a fitness centre, dance studios and one hundred acres of leafy grounds. The list goes on, but in essence it is best to think of Bromsgrove not as simply as a school, but as a self sufficient, wonderfully resourced community – a small town if you like – populated by young people who can inspire and support one another in the journey to adulthood.

facilities and grounds

Sixth Form boarding at Bromsgrove is an unbeatable preparation for university life. These boarders are not children anymore and will need to hone their independence, but they will often need reassurance as well. It is rather like swimming in the sea but knowing there are lifeguards watching intently from the shore.

Sixth Formers can choose either A Level or the International Baccalaureate, and House tutor teams are there to help when lessons are over. Indeed, staff can offer round the clock support if necessary. The working day does not end at 5pm at Bromsgrove.

Sixth Formers also have more freedom than younger pupils. They are still subject to rules designed to keep them safe, but they can visit the town more often and take trips further afield provided appropriate permission has been granted. Also, they can assume positions of responsibility within the House and School. A team of Prefects or Monitors is selected for each House, and Sixth Formers find out a great deal about themselves when they know younger pupils are looking to them for examples.

The advice our boarders are given regarding university and career choices is second to none. These are not casual words. A dedicated team of university specialists offers bespoke one-to-one advice on the most appropriate university choices. Everybody is cared for with a mixture of interview practice, university open day visits and numerous other supports. As I write these words, forty of our pupils went to the mighty triumvirate of the London School of Economics, University College London and London Imperial last year. Yes, they were wonderful students, but they used the wisdom of Bromsgrove’s university team to help them on their way.

The Sixth Form

Activities, the Arts and Sport

It is Bromsgrove’s breadth that sets it apart from many other schools. Yes, academics are crucially important, but there is more to a successful future than examination grades. We aim to provide a 360 degree education that will produce assured, humble, compassionate people. You cannot teach all that in a classroom.

There are scores of different activities available, from sport to music, drama to community service. We even provide military training for those who wish it, while the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme is immensely popular. Some pupils will spend many hours practising in the orchestra, choir or jazz group; others might undertake daily physical training with particular sports squads and perhaps go on to represent their country. Singers, debaters and basketball players and numerous other interest groups will all find a busy schedule at Bromsgrove.

Many activities involve optional overseas trips. So, in the last year, for example, the choir was touring in New York, the sports teams were in Hong Kong and Australia, while the debaters won the national debating championships and went to the European final in Croatia. As I said, some things simply cannot be taught in a classroom.

Bromsgrove keeps people busy. There are no exeat weekends (some schools close down on certain weekends), so the School is always vibrant, even on a Sunday. Yet we all need breathing spaces, and so we ensure boarders have time to relax in the School’s new café, swim in the pool or simply stroll around the grounds with a friend after a busy day.

Weekdays start with breakfast at around 7.30am, and lessons begin at 9.00am. Lessons are fifty minutes long and continue (with a morning and lunch break of course) until mid-afternoon. Lunch is eaten centrally in the School dining hall, and many dishes from around the world are on offer.

Late afternoon sees the activity programme begin, and the atmosphere in the School changes as hundreds of pupils make for their chosen areas. There is over one hour’s free time before supper at 6.30pm, and then pupils go back to Houses to do their supervised prep (or “homework”) at 7.30pm. Pupils can, of course, use the library as well. After prep, pupils have free time before bed. In the summer months, this time is often spent outside as the long, light nights at Bromsgrove are a joy, but if the weather is poor, there are all the other

indoor facilities to enjoy. Of course, pupils can continue to work if they so wish, but equally they can relax with their friends in the House in front of a television set if they have had a very busy day.

Saturday morning has pupils choosing from a host of activities that range from the intensely academic (extra preparation for Oxford and Cambridge for example) to horse riding. Saturday afternoon is when sports teams play other schools from around the country in many different sports. Hundreds of our pupils will be representing the School on a Saturday and we are often to be found in regional and national sports finals.

Sunday trips are optional for boarders, but we have a full programme of organised trips that vary from cultural visits to Stratford and Oxford through to fun days out at theme parks or shopping expeditions to London.

Daily Routine

Although Bromsgrove is most definitely not a “military” School (despite a thriving CCF), we have a long and proud relationship with the children of UK forces personnel. We are always very happy to care for the children of forces’ parents and provide the most generous provision possible. We ask that forces’ families make direct contact with the School for further information.

Forces’ Families

For some local pupils, weekly boarding is a very sensible option. All the facilities and services provided for full boarders such as free transport and laundry services are provided, but pupils can return home for the weekend (once they have fulfilled their Saturday commitments). This kind of boarding generally suits two kinds of pupil. Firstly, those who live very close to the School but who want to enjoy a full boarding experience, and secondly those who live just slightly too far away to make comfortable daily journeys but who wish to access home after Saturday commitments. As Bromsgrove is a full School, places for weekly boarding are limited, but we always welcome enquiries.

Weekly Boarding

International Boarders

We know how very worrying, even traumatic, it can be for parents when their children come to study abroad. The young people usually worry less than their parents, but even so, at all times, we at Bromsgrove are here to reassure and help. Everybody is cared for and no international pupil will ever have to face any challenges alone. We have thousands of Old Bromsgrovian men and women around the world who can testify to the fabulous experience Bromsgrove can offer international pupils.

Just as with medical care, the School deals with the administration and logistical issues that sometimes concern parents. We take care of all transport to and from airports (the School has its own minibus fleet) and can book taxis where necessary. All visa and passport issues are dealt with by the School, and the School will also communicate with parents regarding UK guardians. For pupils requiring extra support with their English, we have a special department dedicated to teaching English as an Additional Language (though all pupils need a sufficiently good level of English on arrival to access the curriculum).

This special group of teachers provides an invaluable service to those international pupils who need assistance with, for example, technical language. They also prepare pupils for examinations such as IELTS and Cambridge Proficiency where relevant.

Because the wellbeing and happiness of our international pupils is paramount, we have a special induction programme for new boarders. They arrive in September before the day pupils and get to know one another over a few relaxing days. We get through some practical matters during this time (such as helping pupils open bank accounts) but we also familiarise international pupils with British customs and traditions by taking them to places like Oxford. In this way, international pupils can be sure of the warmest of welcomes and the opportunity to make new friends quickly.

Whether parents and guardians are one-hundred or ten-thousand miles away, they will expect open and regular communication. We have traditional parents’ evenings, active parent liaison groups and House committees, while local parents can of course see Houseparents and tutors anytime they wish. However, for boarders’ parents, especially those living overseas or in distant corners of the UK, membership of liaison committees and regular face to face contact with staff may not be possible.There is no need to worry.Technology can never replace face to face meetings, but it has helped enormously. Obviously the website is very important because it has a news section that is updated daily and we urge all parents to follow the website closely. However, parents will also want frequent reports and observations on their own children, and for that we use a different route.

In terms of hard facts such as academic results, attendance and disciplinary records, every pupil has an area on the School computer system to which parents have access via a password. Wherever in the country or world parents may be, they can see up-to-the-minute records in all areas at the touch of a button. If parents just want a general talk or to share confidential information with the School, Houseparents and tutors welcome emails and telephone calls

if any questions need answering. They are here to help. Similarly, the Houseparent will email or telephone parents if there is anything that needs communicating quickly.

It should be pointed out that the Bromsgrove Headmaster and senior staff frequently visit other countries, and when they do they often hold sessions for current parents when direct feedback is given about pupils’ progress. So, having said nothing can replace face-to-face meetings, we have actually had such meetings in Hamburg, Shanghai and a host of places in between.

Communication

Bromsgrove School, Worcester Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B61 7DU 01527 579679

www.bromsgrove-school.co.uk