WHY I DID IT

A parent of a student at The Leys School in Cambridge explains what led her to make this decision about her son’s education

Kira Ashcroft is a teacher at a local state school, whose son Harry is now in year 10 at The Leys School where he’s a weekly boarder.

She says: “I didn’t go to independent school myself but we educated Harry’s older sister in the sector so my ex-husband and I wanted to do the same for him. One of the reasons we decided on an independent-school education was due to the lack of good state schools in our catchment area. We wanted a good all-round 360-degree education, including sport, which Harry loved. He has really thrived in the sports he’s involved in at school, which include cricket, rugby, swimming, hockey and football with his friends.

The small class sizes were also attractive, as Harry had a propensity to get a little distracted and in a small class you can’t hide! Because the classes are small the quality of teaching is excellent.”

Kira also feels that the subject offer is balanced and not weighted towards core subjects or science for example. There’s an equal emphasis across all subjects. Harry was also keen to board: “From year seven, which is when Harry joined the school, he was determined to board. “He loves weekly boarding; it has improved his organisational skills and given him a certain amount of autonomy and independence.

It also means he does his homework or ‘prep’ at school and that there isn’t the emphasis for us as parents to oversee it when he comes home. Ultimately it means that home time is exactly that.

“The school keeps them extremely active all week with clubs and sports matches on Saturday afternoons so they ask that when the children are home at the weekend that they ‘be allowed to stop’. In fact, the school has a name for it – blobbing.

“Although the quality of teaching, activities, pastoral care, opportunities and sense of community open to him were all factors in our decision to opt for this type of education, I’ll always remember the Headmaster saying to us when we first met him: ‘What we’re really looking to achieve is that when pupils leave the school, they’re really brilliant human beings’.”

HE HAS REALLY THRIVED IN THE SPORTS he’s involved in at school, which include CRICKET, RUGBY, SWIMMING, HOCKEY AND FOOTBALL