Best boarding schools in Brighton and East Sussex
There are numerous choices in the neighbouring counties of Kent and West Sussex, and some families in East Sussex choose to send their children even further afield. If you are considering boarding for your child, our guide to different types of boarding provides valuable insights.
One of the most well-regarded independent schools in the UK, Brighton College provides both weekly and full boarding. It is worth noting that the weekly boarders are typically from London and the full boarders tend to be international.
Roedean, near Brighton, offers a range of boarding options for its girls, including weekly, flexi and full boarding. While many full boarders come from overseas, the school also attracts more local families seeking a nurturing home away from home.
Bede’s Prep and Bede’s Senior both offer boarding across its two separate sites. Described by one boarder as ‘a real atmosphere of family… brotherhood’.
At Eastbourne College, around half of students participate in some form of boarding. ‘No difference in status between boarders and day pupils or in the provision of care,’ said a boarding parent. ‘School tries to integrate day and boarding,’ said another – and a few talked of their boarding children meeting up with day children in town at weekends. International boarders make up around 15 to 20 per cent of the cohort, and a handful from London.
A highly regarded all-girls Catholic boarding school, Mayfield School has around 50 per cent boarders. Our reviewer commented that there is ‘no work on Friday night – movies, popcorn and mocktails!’. ‘Food is important to these girls,’ said the housemistress. Brunch in house on Sundays: pupils turn up in their pyjamas for waffles and eggs of all sorts. Laundry is done for younger ones, with pupils gradually assuming more responsibility.
Frewen College near Rye has boarding facilities for children whose primary need is dyslexia, speech and language difficulty, dyscalculia and sometimes dyspraxia, taking children from 7 years old. A uniquely special school where the children are ‘encouraged to value themselves and eventually walk, fully equipped, over the bridge to face the world beyond’.
St John’s College in Brighton is a residential college for students aged 19-25 with autism, offering a supportive and structured environment that helps young adults to develop independence and life skills.
Boarding schools near Brighton and East Sussex
Boarding is particularly popular in years 7 and 8 at Cumnor House Prep in West Sussex, attracting families after a well-rounded prep school experience before heading to senior school.
Windlesham House prep school, also in West Sussex, offers an exceptional boarding experience.
Another highly regarded private school in West Sussex is Hurstpierpoint College. It attracts boarding students from East Sussex, as well as further afield. Weekly boarding is the norm, with children heading home on Friday nights and returning Monday morning. Full boarding remains the ethos at Lancing College where some 60 per cent of pupils board in come capacity (full, weekly and flexi options all available).
In Kent, Cranbrook School is a grammar and state boarding school that allows students from outside the priority area to apply without taking the 11-plus entrance exam. Instead, families simply pay for the boarding portion of fees. Our reviewer commented that the ‘school is proud of its boarding community, where a quarter of pupils are full boarders. Around 70 per cent hail from the UK (eg Kent, Surrey and Sussex, some from further afield), the rest international (eg Hong Kong and Nigeria)’.
Also in Kent is Benenden, one of the best-known girls’ boarding schools in the UK, offering full boarding as well as a more flexible option of coming home on a Saturday night after fixtures and returning on either Sunday night or Monday morning. For two weekends each term, this doesn’t happen, ensuring that weekends are busy and well catered for. King’s School Canterbury is an ancient and well-respected boarding school offering the range of boarding options. A minibus picks up in Tunbridge Wells on a Sunday evening.
