Secure your child’s place at top-tier British boarding schools, without stress or guesswork

Senior schools typically have students from Year 7 (age 11) or, more often for boarding schools, Year 9 (age 13) to Year 13 (age 18). There are preparatory schools (junior schools) that offer boarding for younger children.

In Years 10-11 (ages 14-16) most British school students study GCSE courses in around nine or ten different subjects. English, mathematics and sciences are compulsory; students can then pick from a range of options.

Most boarding schools tend to offer A Levels in the final two years before university – often known as the ‘sixth form’. Students typically take 3-4 subjects. Many British boarding schools also offer the IB Diploma. For Italian families the IB route is more familiar and closer to the maturità model.

The most highly selective British boarding schools pre-select their Year 9 (age 13) intake years ahead, conducting entrance assessments and offering conditional places when children are aged 10/11, in Year 6.

However, there are plenty of British schools that admit students after then, including some of the top schools. Some reserve places specifically for international candidates.

You will realistically need at least one year’s preparation to submit applications, complete entrance assessments and prepare systems behind the scenes (e.g. nominated guardians).

British schools’ academic year runs from the beginning of September to early July, with three terms of teaching. Each term usually has a week or two’s half term holiday midway through.

For families choosing the School Search & Select service, the whole process usually takes 3-4 weeks from start to finish.

Once we have completed the age-tailored character profiling and academic benchmarking assessments, it usually takes around a week or two to prepare the detailed school search report, which includes personalised why and why not for your child for each school.

Traditionally, educational consultancy was a ‘legacy’ business, built on the individual relationships between consultants and school admissions departments. This is a vital piece of the puzzle, but cannot be the whole story.

• EQ (Emotional Quotient) profiling: We conduct a tailored assessment of your child’s character, interests and motivational style. This is vital for assessing how they will cope with a new culture, climate and the transient nature of expat schooling.

• Targeted shortlisting: We shortlist schools not just on academic results (IQ), but on their pastoral care structures, the diversity of their expat community support systems and the quality of their transition programmes for newly relocated students.

• Preventative fit: By understanding your child's character, we avoid schools that might be a good academic fit but a poor cultural or social fit, mitigating the risk of adjustment challenges a few months into the relocation.

Our IQ+EQ approach combines data-driven academic benchmarking with an empathetic all-round portrait of your child’s interests, motivational style, strengths and weaknesses. Select:ed’s in-house dataset now extends to more than 3000 data points on 300+ schools around the world, allowing us to track patterns in academic performance.

In short, no.

Given the complexity of variables, we cannot warrant or guarantee a particular educational outcome for your child. However, our unique IQ+EQ approach is developed to identify potential right-fit schools for your child, thereby increasing your chances of success.

Founder of Select:ed Adam D’Souza is a renowned teacher and expert in school entrance. He and his team have experience as teachers, heads and admissions directors in British and international schools. In addition:

• Regulatory deep dive: We have in-depth knowledge of how to interpret British school inspection reports, looking beyond headline scores and ‘reading between the lines’.

• Local market dynamics: There is no substitute for being on the ground, and understanding the ‘texture’ of the market; Adam regularly visits schools across the country to build relationships, learning about their innovations in academic and personal development provision. Our relationship with you as a family extends well beyond the day your child starts at their new school.

• School leadership track record: Alongside teaching in premium private schools in London, I have held leadership roles overseeing admissions, as a founding member of the management team of an international schools group. I was an academic scholar at a boarding school in south-west England. My team includes former UK and international headteachers and admissions directors. This gives us a unique insight into the standards and expectations of top British schools.

Yes, definitely. Select:ed is a consultancy, not an agent, so our singular aim is finding the right-fit schools for your children. That may be separately or it may be together – we understand that there are lots of factors around that decision.

Adam’s expertise encompasses schools across the UK (and indeed English-speaking schools globally).

We are happy to offer a sibling discount.

We recognise that your timeline might not align with the typical September school year start. Our strategy for securing competitive in-year admissions is:

1. Proactive relationship management: As an unbiased consultancy, led by former teachers and school senior leaders that does not accept referral commissions, we maintain transparent, trust-based relationships with school admissions directors and senior leadership in schools.

2. We can prepare a ready-to-offer portfolio of schools that are somewhat ‘below the radar’, based on our IQ+EQ profiling, allowing you to submit a complete, compelling application to schools that are actively recruiting, where you won’t be fobbed off with a waiting list.

Select:ed is an unbiased consultancy that works for you; we are not agents. Therefore we will only contact schools on your behalf if you give us the go-ahead to do so.

In addition, we have developed strong data security procedures, e.g. around sensitive personal data and assessment scores. Our data protection policy includes AI.

After our initial consultation call, which is free of charge, Adam D’Souza will prepare an individual proposal for you and your child. We will then schedule a follow-up call, usually within 2-3 days, to talk through our planned programme of support.

This depends on their citizenship. International boarders who do not hold British passports generally require a Child Student Visa, which is sponsored by your son or daughter’s school.