finding your place in a UK boarding school - frequently asked questions

Although you can go directly to any UK boarding school and approach them yourself, many people find using a UK-based representative such as Bright World much more straightforward as we can approach multiple schools on your behalf and share our extensive knowledge of schools with you.

No. Our service is free of charge. Provided we contact the boarding schools for you, we will entitled to a referral fee from them if you attend the school. You pay the same as if you went directly to the school.

You will see if you look in the school search on this site that we work with over 350 UK boarding schools so you will have plenty of choice if you work with us.

Yes, if you use our online Pre-Academic Consultation Form, you simply upload your reports, tell us your preferences and give us up to four choices of schools initially, then we will approach them all at the same time for you. If you want more choices then you can keep on asking until we get it right for you.

No problem, with your preferences and school reports we can select some choices for you as soon as you complete the form.

Up until the age of 14/15 to include years up to and including Year 9 you can join any year as there are no public examinations at these times. After that, entry points are in Year 10 to start a two year GCSE programme or Year 12 to start a two year IB or A level programme.

Most traditional boarding schools only accept students into Year 10 for a two-year GCSE programme. However Bright World works with a selection of schools who also offer a one year GCSE programme starting in Year 11 or a Pre-A level programme that lasts one year before Year 12. Just ask us if you would like more information.

In traditional boarding schools, once you reach Year 10 or GCSE age then you can only start in September as that is when courses begin. If you are starting in Years below that such as Years 7-9, if the school has a spare bed in the boarding house and room in a class you can start in January or April. Other schools that Bright World work with are more flexible on entry points and we can help you with lists of those if you need us to.

Some very high-ranking boarding schools who are very selective start enrolling at least a year in advance, if not sooner. Entries close usually in September for the following September. Other great schools continue to recruit students throughout the year. Bright World records availability throughout the year so you can save a lot of time asking different schools if you use our service as we can tell you immediately usually if there are places in the year group you require.

Yes, indeed we do encourage parents and children to visit schools. We always say it is little bit like buying a house. You know the place is right for you as soon as you step inside. Bright World can help you arrange visits to schools, make the appointments for you and help you with directions of how to get there. We can even arrange drivers for you in the UK should you need us to.

When you register for a place at a school you need to pay a non-refundable registration fee that can vary from £50 - £500 depending on the school. This fee can often be paid by credit card. Bright World will send you all the details. Testing then follows registration and you are paying for the administration involved in the testing and consideration process leading up to an offer.

A British boarding education does not come cheap. Tuition and accommodation fees are, on average, around £10-12,000 per term with three terms each year. Bright World will be able to give you fees for each school when you enquire.

The answer to that question lies with the student and what suits them. Both will get you into any university in the UK or around the World. The difference is in the number of subjects and the depth at which each is studied. With A levels, 3 or 4 subjects are studied intensively. (students doing Further Maths or who want to study Medicine do 4 usually). The subjects chosen are often related to the degree programme they wish to follow. IB Diploma students choose six subjects in compulsory core areas which are Language & Literature, Language Acquisition, Sciences, Maths, Social Sciences, and the Arts.

UKiset is a centralised testing system that has been adopted by some of the boarding schools we work with. Some schools will only accept UKiset and others accept it or have their own test depending on a parents' preference. There are testing centres around the World and in the UK. Bright World can advise you on your nearest testing centre. To do your test and create your UKiset profile Bright World will register for you and you simply need to pay a one-off fee of £295 with which you can apply to up to 5 schools. After that you pay £50 per application.

Although we are not qualified to give advice on visa applications, you can check with your local embassy on their rules. We can also recommend visa support agents locally to you who will help you. Usually, to gain a Tier 4 visa without paying all fees in advance, you do need to provide extensive proof of funds. If you pay your fees in advance then the information you need to provide is less and the process is much more straightforward.

A CAS or Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, is an electronic document issued to students who need to make a Tier 4 (General) application. Your CAS number, which is required on your visa application, will be found on the CAS statement email you receive from the school you are applying to. Bright World will make sure that the school issues your CAS in time for your visa application so this part of the process goes smoothly.

You don't have to but if you do we will make sure that the experience is a positive one and that things move along efficiently and you are kept informed along the way of every step of your application. Bright World has been placing students into boarding school since 2000 so our experience speaks for itself and we have helped hundreds of students gain a place at a school. They are now starting to think about sending their own children to the UK themselves.

Cory Holden is our Admissions Manager. You can either email him directly on cory@brightworld.co.uk or you can use the enquiry form at the bottom of this page. He will get back to you by return, answering any further questions you may have and sending you a link to our easy online Pre-Academic Consultation Form.