Yes, we have availability at the present time but are interviewing and testing at the moment.
When should I first be in touch with Admissions about a place at the school?
You should start your journey as soon as possible to get a feel for the school and whether it suits you. Availability varies by year group so we recommend registering your interest as soon as you can.
What is the school day routine?
The school day varies depending on the age of your child. We have guides for each year group. These can be found on the Parent Portal
How do pupils travel to school?
We offer a daily local bus service during term time. For weekly boarders in London, there is a Friday afternoon bus to Putney, with a Monday morning return service. Airport pick ups and drop offs arranged to London airports, Gatwick and Heathrow, by our Travel Secretary.
What is the ratio between girls and boys?
Currently 40/60
Do you accept pupils all year round?
Yes, depending on spaces available.
Are there matches on Saturday?
Yes we do have occasional Saturday matches. Please contact our sports department for more information.
What sort of activities do the boarders do over the weekends?
The children engage in a wide variety of activities at weekends this might include:
Sport: Some might be involved in sports fixtures on Saturday afternoons
Creative activities: Art, craft, pottery and cooking
Woodland based activities: such as camp building, campfires, roasting marshmallows
Chill time: watching a film, chatting, reading, playing a computer game
Trips out to places such as the beach, cinema, ice skating, flip-out, a local town
Active activities including bike riding, badminton, table tennis, basketball, bench-ball, inflatables in the swimming pool, walk on the South Downs, golf, tennis, football.
Is any before or after school care available?
Yes, Gems (up to Y2)
The teaching day finishes at 4.30pm after which pupils can go home or take part in a wide range of activities. Prep (homework) can be done at school from 5.30pm and then pupils can be picked up or stay for supper. Pupils can also come for breakfast from 7.30am. There is a small charge for day pupils to attend breakfast and supper. Do you run extracurricular activities?
We have a wide range of activities many of which are free of charge and are provided by our teaching staff (for example football, water polo, outdoor club, newspaper club, textiles, lego robotics, coding and art), while others incur an additional cost such as karate, fencing, horse riding.
Do pupils use mobile phones?
No to mobiles unless they are travelling.
Do I need an iPad before I join? Do you provide them or do pupils need to sort their own?
In order to support learning, students are required to acquire their own iPad with keyboard case and stylus to School for educational purposes from our IT Services provider “Easy4U”.
Prior to children joining Windlesham, they are invited for a taster day, or overnight visit, where they will be introduced to children in their year group and attend lessons to get a feel for the school. During the taster experience, hosts will be allocated to ensure that the children visiting are well looked after and introduced to friends and routines.
Ahead of the new academic year, if children are joining in September, we hold a transition morning where the whole school spends the morning with their new form, and form teacher. This allows connections to be made before starting fully. For children joining in Reception, a series of nursery visits, home visits and stay and play story sessions happen prior to starting school.
On joining, each child is appointed a form host (and a boarding host if they are a boarder) when they first arrive at the school. The host will guide the new child and help them feel settled in by ensuring they are in the right place at the right time! Every aspect of the school day will be explained, so over time the new child will become more familiar with their new surroundings until they are able to move independently around school with confidence.
The new child’s form tutor, houseparents and heads of boarding, as appropriate, will maintain regular contact with parents and guardians to feed back on how they are getting on.
My child has SEND needs, what provision is there to support them?
The Learning Enrichment Department is well staffed and we can internally assess your child to determine the level of support they require to assist them with their learning.
The support on offers varies from in-class support to small group work or 1:1 individualised sessions working towards termly set targets. We work alongside external therapists to support formal diagnosis to ensure your child receives the current level of support for them to make progress.
How many children share a dorm?
The size of each dorm varies between 3 and 10. Your child will be with children of their own age or similar.
For example we have dorms of year 3-5, year 5 and 6, year 7 and year 8. Each dorm is looked after by the boarding staff and a number of matrons who ensure that they have everything they need and are well looked after.
How can I contact my child?
Please contact our front office for any urgent enquiries 01903 874700.
Do I need a guardian?
If you are a family who do not reside in the UK, you will need to appoint an educational guardian who takes a full interest in your child’s welfare and life at the school. This includes when school is closed during long weekends and holiday periods as well as taking full responsibility for them in an emergency.
How many full boarders are there this school year?
108 full boarders this year
Which nationalities stay as full boarders?
American, British, Canadian, Chinese, German, Greek, Hong Kong Chinese, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Nigerian, Russian, St Lucian, Spanish, Swiss and Ukrainian.
How many Spanish students are there this year? How many of those are girls on years 7 & 8?
15 Spanish students. Year 7 is 3 and Year 8 is 4. Two of the Year 8 girls are only here for one term
Do the weekend activities imply an extra cost?
Some do and some don’t
How many British students stay 2 or 3 days as boarders?
We have 43 full boarders and 3 who part board
Do the children get to pick the extracurricular activities or are they selected for them by term and age?
The children are given a selection of extra-curricular activities and they can choose from those.
Are there any extracurricular activities that imply an extra cost? For example tennis?
See attached activity booklet
Are there any requirements to be part of extracurricular activities and sports teams?
Everyone does extra-curricular activities and is in the sport teams.
Are there any extra costs implied when they have to attend competitions or other special occasions?
If they attend competitions that are a long way away and would require hotel accommodation then we would charge them.
What is the average size of alumni per classroom?
All class sizes are less than 20 pupils
Do they do any fieldtrips and are there any that imply an extra cost?
There are Geography field trips
Do they need to bring any electronic devices of their own for class?
All students are required to have an iPad
What is their homework approach and do they have specific guided times to do it?
All pupils are given homework and there is time after the school day where all pupils complete their homework.
What type of methodology do they follow to evaluate the alumni and how do they report it to the parents?
Grades are sent out every 3 weeks and written reports at the end of every term. There are also parent teacher meeting once a year either in person or online.
Do they get assigned a buddy or any sort of responsible friend who will help them get started and explain them how the school works?
All pupils are given a form host and dorm host who look after them in the first two weeks.
Are the parents expected to be present in any school event?
Parents are welcomed to a variety of events and sports matches, but it is not compulsory to attend.
″The ethos. The kids are open, curious, well-rounded and kind. They support each other and importantly the international environment prepares them for today’s world″
01903 874700
admissions@windlesham.com
