Swanbourne House School is now the only co-educational, full boarding prep school in Buckinghamshire.
Boarding has been at the heart of our school for 100 years and we pride ourselves on our excellent standard of care. The Boarding House is a home away from home at our Buckinghamshire school, with a strong nurturing, diverse, family feel. The children enjoy lots of fun and adventures together!
Children may live as a boarder at Swanbourne from Year 3, with most children starting their boarding life in Year 4 or Year 5 as they prepare to move on to full or weekly boarding places at senior schools across the country (click here to see Leavers’s Destinations). We generally have around 35-40 full and weekly boarders and another 40 children who flexi-board for 2-3 nights per week.
Our Location in Buckinghamshire
The Boarding House is located on the first and second floor of the Main House at Swanbourne, welcoming local, national and international boarders.
Locally, we have children board from Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire. Our handy location near the A5 and M1 as well as being just 20 minutes from Central Milton Keynes means we are a boarding destination school for families across the United Kingdom. Close transport links to London – Milton Keynes Central has direct trains to London in around 30 minutes – make us a convenient choice for families in the city. We also have children come to us from a range of international backgrounds around the globe – we’re near major airports, about 1 hour from London Heathrow Airport and 40 minutes from Luton Airport. We also have a good deal of experience of working with military families.
The Facilities
Our Boarding House was renovated and the comfortable, modern and spacious shared bedrooms offer stunning sights across the region with views of our beautiful woods and parkland and the rolling Buckinghamshire hills beyond.
The Boarding Week
During your child’s stay in the boarding house there is ample opportunity to socialise with friends, engage in sporting activities, practise their musical instruments, consolidate schoolwork in a supervised prep, read, get messy and creative, cook and bake, go on day and weekend trips and generally enjoy the homely atmosphere.
Benefits of Boarding at Swanbourne House School
The routine in boarding gradually increases the children’s ability to manage their time and organise their academic work other school commitments and personal belongings. We carefully guide and support the children as they learn how to become more independent, thoughtful, tolerant and considerate. By the time they reach the Upper School, our boarders are exceptional leaders and role models. We frequently receive great praise from Senior School Housemasters/Housemistresses when our pupils progress to boarding houses at their next schools.
The children forge life-long friendships in the Swanbourne Boarding House and they develop invaluable life skills. Day children benefit from attending a boarding school too, as they completely integrate with our full-time, weekly and flexi-boarders. Day children are always welcome to try boarding on a taster night, although be warned – they may well want to stay here much longer!
We very much look forward to welcoming your child to the Boarding House.
Full Boarding
Our full boarding pupils arrive on the day before each academic term commences. They spend their weekends in school (or away on school trips), save for our twice termly exeat weekends when the school closes at Friday lunchtime. All full boarders participate in the Saturday Enrichment Programme, Saturday afternoon matches or activities and evening events, and a variety of trips on Sundays. They leave school to return to their families during exeats and school holidays.
Weekly Boarding
Weekly boarders arrive in the boarding house on a Sunday evening or Monday morning each week. They enjoy boarding life throughout the week before heading home at the weekend, usually after Saturday matches. If your child intends to board at senior school, we strongly advise they either full or weekly board in the Upper School.
Flexi Boarding
The flexi option is taken when a child boards regularly for one, two or three nights a week. Wherever possible, the chosen nights should remain consistent. All boarders then benefit from the stability of knowing in advance when they and their friends are boarding and who is in which dorm each night. In exceptional cases, we offer the option of ad hoc boarding, at times at short notice to assist our families. The earlier we are notified of these requests the better as spaces can be very limited.
At Swanbourne House, we have a long and proud history of supporting military families with boarding.
With expertise in boarding, a passionate commitment to pastoral care and a real understanding of the needs and challenges of military families, Swanbourne House School is ideally placed to support those families with their boarding needs.
The Boarding House at Swanbourne House School is located in 55 acres of Buckinghamshire countryside. This peaceful, inspiring and energising environment for education and enrichment has handy transport links to main hubs including the M1 and A5, and London Heathrow Airport (1 hour away) and Luton Airport (40 minutes away). Milton Keynes Central train station is just 20 minutes away (with trains to London taking around 30 minutes).
Our nurturing environment, coupled with a progressive approach to academics and enrichment, has made Swanbourne House School a boarding choice for many military families. Our friendly and experienced team of Boarding Staff create a home-away-from-home that is caring and understanding, dynamic and fun, structured and playful, allowing friendships to develop, academic progress to continue and hobbies, interests and passions to thrive.
We understand the emotional needs of the children from military families and our Boarding Team and Director of Pastoral Care are always on hand to offer support and understanding during difficult times.
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