The right boarding school,
without the guesswork.
Boarding admissions carry a different level of risk than day school applications — Common Entrance and pre-testing often happen a year or more before entry, and a mismatched shortlist is a far costlier mistake than with a day school. Ariston runs full boarding school placement for UK and international families, from first shortlist to final offer.
Boarding placement for every situation
International families
Relocating from abroad and considering boarding instead of (or alongside) a house move? We handle shortlisting, guardianship, and visa timelines together, not as separate problems.
UK families new to boarding
Never considered boarding before? We give an honest read on whether it suits your child — academically and temperamentally — before you spend a year applying to the wrong schools.
13+ & Common Entrance candidates
Pre-testing often starts as early as Year 7, with Common Entrance itself sitting in June of Year 8. We coordinate preparation against each destination school's specific requirements.
Sixth Form boarding entry
Joining a boarding sixth form at 16? Entry requirements, house allocation, and settling-in support differ from the standard 13+ route — we manage that separately.
What boarding school placement covers
An honest assessment of whether boarding suits your child — academically, socially, and temperamentally — before we build a shortlist. Boarding is a full-time commitment, and getting the fit wrong is a far costlier mistake than with a day school.
We help you weigh weekly, flexi, and full boarding against your family's circumstances — travel distance, how often you want your child home, and what each school actually offers, since the terms mean different things at different schools.
Pre-testing by the destination school often happens as early as Year 7, with Common Entrance itself sitting in June of Year 8. We coordinate exam preparation with our tutors against each school's specific syllabus and format.
Which house your child joins shapes their day-to-day experience as much as the school itself. We factor in house culture, year-group size, and pastoral structure alongside academics when building the shortlist.
For international students under 18 studying without a parent resident in the UK, most boarding schools require a UK-based guardian. We advise on accredited guardianship options and coordinate the arrangement alongside the school application.
For families relocating from outside the UK, we factor Student visa or dependant visa timelines into the admissions plan from day one, so paperwork isn't a last-term scramble before entry.
Boarding school interviews often assess independence and resilience alongside academics. We prepare your child for what boarding-specific interviews and assessments actually look for.
Once an offer is made, we help you evaluate it against the original brief, and arrange tutoring support so your child starts their first term academically confident, not playing catch-up.
When to apply — boarding entry points explained
Boarding schools run to fixed entry points, and the highest-risk mistake is registering too late for pre-testing or Common Entrance. Here's how the main routes break down:
Year 7 (age 11) — Senior boarding entry
Some boarding schools take their main intake at 11+, running alongside grammar and senior independent day school entry. Assessments typically run January–February of Year 6, with offers in March. Registration should begin in Year 5.
Year 9 (age 13) — 13+ / Common Entrance
The traditional entry point for the leading boarding schools. Common Entrance exams take place in June of Year 8. Pre-testing by the destination school often happens 18 months earlier, in Year 7. Registration should begin in Year 6.
Year 12 (age 16) — Sixth Form boarding entry
A significant boarding intake happens at sixth form. Applications typically open in autumn of Year 11, with conditional offers in January–February, usually requiring predicted grade 7+ at GCSE in chosen A-level subjects.
In-year / relocation entry
For families relocating with limited notice, boarding schools manage their own mid-year availability directly — unlike the state system's rolling local-authority process. Contact us immediately; we can move quickly when a place exists.
Boarding school placement — frequently asked questions
What's the difference between weekly, flexi, and full boarding?
Full boarding means your child lives at school during term time, typically home for exeats and holidays. Weekly boarding means home most weekends. Flexi boarding lets families choose specific nights on an ad-hoc basis. The terms aren't standardised across schools, so we check exactly what each option means at each school on your shortlist before you apply.
How does Common Entrance actually work?
Common Entrance is a set of standardised exams sat in June of Year 8, used by many independent senior schools for 13+ entry. Most destination schools also require pre-testing — an earlier, separate assessment, often in Year 7 — before they'll confirm a conditional place pending Common Entrance results. We coordinate preparation for both stages against each school's specific requirements.
Do you arrange guardianship for international students?
Most UK boarding schools require an approved UK-based guardian for international students under 18 without a parent resident in the UK. We advise on accredited guardianship options and coordinate the arrangement so it's in place well ahead of the school's own deadline — guardianship gaps are a common cause of delayed admission.
We're relocating from abroad — can you manage this remotely?
Yes. We regularly manage the full boarding admissions process for families relocating from Spain, the UAE, the US, Singapore, and elsewhere, coordinating shortlisting, pre-testing, and guardianship before your family arrives in the UK. Visa and immigration timelines are factored into the plan from the outset.
How is this different from your general school placement service?
Our school placement service covers every route into UK education — state, grammar, independent, and sixth form as well as boarding. This page exists because boarding carries specific complications day schools don't: pre-testing timelines, house and pastoral fit, and guardianship. If boarding is your main focus, start here; if you're weighing boarding against day options, our general school placement page is the better starting point.
When should we start the boarding application process?
For 13+ entry, registration should begin in Year 6 — around two years before entry — because pre-testing happens in Year 7. For 11+ boarding entry, start in Year 5. If you're relocating with limited notice, contact us immediately; in-year availability is handled directly by each school and can move faster than the standard timeline.
Let’s find the right boarding school for your child
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll give you an honest read on fit, timing, and what the process actually looks like for your family.
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