The sisters who are shining at a state boarding school
MOLLY, Rose and Edie John are simply flourishing at state boarding school.
Because their father Mark John is posted around the world with the Army, the sisters attend Wymondham College in Norfolk, the largest state boarding school in the country, and it has proved to be an ideal choice for Molly, 17, Rose, 15, and Edie, 14.
Their mother Clare, 45, a former primary school teacher, from Catterick, North Yorkshire, says: ‘We have moved around all the time throughout my daughters’ primary years, but when we hit secondary, we decided to look for something with some stability.
‘We went to look at various boarding schools, in both the private and state sector, and Wymondham was the only one we felt comfortable with. It was a school I recognised.
‘It also really does cater for all children. We have three girls with different likes and interests, and it was somewhere we felt would allow all three of them to flourish.’
Clare adds that she was also impressed with the school’s ‘phenomenal pastoral care’.
‘They are absolutely wonderful,’ she says. ‘The boarding houses are incredibly well- staffed. They have heads of houses, and the “house parents” and their residential fellows are recent graduates, which creates a fantastic bridge between the student body and the staff.
‘It is quite obvious they are very aware of the needs of the children they look after and they are very approachable — there’s always someone available to talk to. They are phenomenal.’
The college, which is set in 84 acres of beautiful Norfolk countryside, has 400 full and part-time staff and educates around 650 boarders and a similar number of day students. It is an extremely popular choice among parents.
The high-quality education is free for day students and boarding fees are just under £10,000 a year. This makes it an attractive alternative to private schooling, where boarding fees can exceed £30,000 a year.
The school has more than 60 weekly clubs and societies beyond the academic day, together with more than 700 annual sporting fixtures, an active cadets unit and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
Senior vice-principal John Chitty says: ‘It is the inclusive nature of free education that makes state boarding schools stand out from the independent sector. We help develop ambitious, successful young people, for less than a third of the cost of independent schools.’
For more information, visit wymondhamcollege.org