Best boarding schools in Berkshire

For such a small county, Berkshire is a Mecca for boarding schools, both in quality and quantity. We have counted 28, but we were conservative with our tabulations! The boarding schools mentioned below are described in further detail in the private school sections (with the exception of state boarding schools Reading School and Holyport College - read more about these in the state secondary section).

Almost all take a mix of day and boarding pupils: exceptions are Eton College for boys, St Mary’s Ascot for girls and Ludgrove Prep, none of which cheerfully admits day pupils (St Mary’s generally has a handful in year 7; Eton will make a few exceptions to the rule: ‘full boarding for all, but with a dash of elasticity,' we say in our review). Downe House used to discourage day attendance but has recently loosened up considerably. 

In West Berks, Horris Hill and Cheam School offer boarding from year 3 although boarding tends to be weighted towards years 7 and 8. Elstree School offers boarding from year 4, with 20 weekly and around 100 flexi, but no full boarding. St Andrew’s Pangbourne retains a bit of flexi boarding. Moving east, you have The Oratory Prep – its full-time boarders are the majority, but flexi is a popular option. About 30 per cent of leavers go on to newly co-ed Oratory School, although the schools, since 2019, are no longer connected.

Sticking to the traditional full-boarding recipe, Ludgrove takes boys from age 8 – 13. Roughly half its parents are Londoners, another 40 per cent live within two hours of the school and 10 per cent hail from overseas. Wellington College Prep (formerly Eagle House) has lots of flexi-boarders (50 when we visited) with a big handful of weeklies and a few full boarders providing consistency in the boarding house. Parents see it as good preparation for boarding at Wellington College.

On the eastern side of Berkshire sits an unusually dense constellation of boarding preps. Lambrook and St George’s Windsor Castle offering flexi and weekly boarding only – choristers have weekend commitments and must board – so will not suit pupils from abroad. Sunningdale and Papplewick specialise in more traditional weekly and full boarding. Sunningdale has hardly any day pupils at all, while boarding is compulsory at Papplewick from the summer term of year 6.

Girls’ senior boarding options include Downe House which has recently announced that it now welcomes day pupils. It remains very much a mainly full-boarding school however with a strong house system and lots of London and international families. Queen Anne’s School in Caversham offers a surprisingly modern twist on girls’ boarding and day education. On the east edge of Berkshire, closer to London, St George’s School Ascot (not to be confused with prep school St George’s Windsor Castle) is a welcoming, non-selective girls’ boarding school where around 50 girls stay in at weekends and another 50 take part in flexi or weekly boarding. It’s a happy blend of local Berkshire families, girls from London, and international students. Six minutes away, Heathfield has a similar profile and also offers boarding from 11. 

Among co-ed senior options, Bradfield College and Wellington College both offer weekly boarding par excellence to ages 13 to 18. Around 80 per cent board at both schools, but the vast majority decamp home on Saturday nights. Both offer the IB in addition to A levels. At Pangbourne College, almost 40 per cent board in some capacity (from age 11 up), mainly weekly or flexi (no Saturday school). Leighton Park, in Reading, suits academically able children who thrive with a gentler approach. Fewer than 10 per cent are boarders in years 7 and 8; by sixth form around one-third board. Luckley House offers full, weekly and flexi and although the majority of pupils don’t board they do benefit from the school’s boarding ethos and opening hours. LVS Ascot is a proudly non-selective all-through school that offers boarding from year 6 upwards. 

The county boasts two top state boarding schools. At Reading School the 12 boarding places available in each year group are fiendishly oversubscribed around 10 to one. Families hail from up to two hours away, Holyport College receives around 260 applications from 50+ schools (state and independent) for 64 day places and 24 boarding places in year 7.