Located within the heart of the main school, our boarding house is very much an extended family. It is valued as a home away from home for our boarders; creating a relaxed and comfortable environment separate from academic life at the school.
Alongside the separate boys' and girls' sides, which include dormitories and washrooms, we have a lovely common room; this houses table football, boardgames, shelves full to the brim with books, art supplies, a television with sofas and beanbags, and a mini pool table. We offer a full laundry service, as well as a dispensary and the ministrations of a school nurse.
At the centre of the boarding house is the Senior Houseparent, Katherine Kirkwood's flat. We also employ Gap Students who are not only involved in school life but very much feel like older and more responsible siblings to the boarders.
Children board for many reasons but, whatever the reason, we will do our best to accommodate. We offer full, weekly or flexible boarding open to all Prep children. We hope boarding life at Vinehall will help support families as the children go through the school year.
Our flexi-boarding choice offers an easy solution for parents who may have social or work engagements and we would like our care to be considered as a first option for families.
Weekly boarding at Vinehall gives you the best of both worlds - a fantastic education, with outstanding facilities in beautiful surroundings, alongside the fun that goes with boarding, plus a hassle-free weekly commute and weekends spent at home.
All boarders have the opportunity to enjoy additional co-curricular activities such as ballet, cookery, fitness, judo, carpentry and swimming, as well as further supervised prep sessions to ensure that academic levels are maintained.
Full Boarding for National and International Students
Boarding has always been an integral part of Vinehall life, and we recognise that many working parents need additional support from the school, whilst at the same time giving children the chance to learn the importance of independence with their friends in a safe and caring environment.
For families from further afield, including those living overseas, boarding at Vinehall is made as easy as possible. Staff organise transport to and from airports and offer an escort on the train to and from London for exeats and holidays.
Any boarder needing things such as haircuts, new shoes, or extra storage etc. can be arranged by Matron.
Students are given a school email address through which they can contact their parents at any time, they also have access to their phones for a time-limited period 6 evenings a week (we like to keep Wednesday nights phone free when we do our weekly movie night with popcorn and hot chocolate!).
Individual and small group lessons in English are offered to children for whom English is not a first language.
Vinehall School is a registered Tier 4 sponsor and as such we are able to welcome International students and provide sponsorship to support pupil studies. To ensure the school remains compliant, we have retained the services of Sable Education to ensure all UK immigration applications are prepared in compliance with UKVI requirements. Sable is our trusted partner for all child student and UK Immigration applications. The company has been providing immigration services for over 30 years and is regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner.
Weekly boarding at Vinehall is five nights and can be from Monday to Saturday or Sunday night to Friday.
The ‘Vinehall Express’, our escorted train service, runs on Friday evenings to London and back to Robertsbridge on Sunday evenings.
Weekly boarding at Vinehall gives you the best of both worlds, a fantastic education with outstanding facilities in beautiful surroundings with the fun that goes with boarding but weekends at home plus a hassle-free weekly commute.
All boarders, have the opportunity to enjoy additional co-curricular activities such as clay pigeon shooting, ballet, mandarin and swimming as well as additional prep sessions to ensure that academic levels are maintained.
Full and weekly have a boarding tutor who they can meet with once a week to discuss any issue they might have. The tutor is a teacher who can help with academic and pastoral matters.
VINEHALL 12 - Extended Day Care
Available from Year 3 upwards, Vinehall 12 offers extended day care from 8am to 8pm. Children will join for supper, supervised prep and an activity allowing parents the chance to finish work knowing their child is being well cared for, with friends and having fun!
Vinehall 12 is a totally flexible solution and whilst prior notice is always helpful, we fully appreciate that the odd spanner can be thrown into the works some days and unforeseen circumstances mean last minute care is needed.
If this arises, all you need to do is to call the office or boarding house and we will always do our best to accommodate your needs.
Vinehall 12 extended day from 8am to 8pm £12 per session. We will still be offering the supper only option (6.30pm pick up) for £6 per time.
Our flexible boarding solution allowing families the opportunity to reserve a regular space for however many nights a week suit their situation. Flexi Boarding offers supervised prep, a hot cooked supper, an evening activity and a bedtime snack followed by a family-style cooked breakfast the following morning.
Flexi Boarding is open to all children from Year 3 up. Every effort is taken to make sure children are in the same dorm with their friends.
We really hope these boarding options at Vinehall will help support our families as the children go through the school year. It also offers an easy solution for parents who may have social or work engagements and we would like for the care being offered to be considered as a first option for a lot of our families.
If you would like any further information, please contact Katherine Kirkwood, our senior house parent, at houseparent@vinehallschool.com or on 015808 83098.
We aim to create a family atmosphere here at Vinehall Boarding.
Children are encouraged to personalise their rooms to really allow that feeling of home away from home. Most boarders bring personal items such as photographs, a duvet, blankets, pillows, and cuddly toys, to decorate their dormitories with. However, we do provide bedding should this be easier.
We have a boarders council made up of five students: the boarding prefect, one girl and one boy selected by the boarders, and then one girl and one boy selected by the boarding staff.
The council then hold meetings with the boarders to decide what activities we should do each term, what meals they would like to see at mealtimes and things they would love to see in the boarding house.
During the week we have an array of evening activities including movie nights with hot chocolate, talent shows, sports: on both the astroturf and in the sports hall, and board games.
The weekends are a perfect amalgamation of going out exploring new places including various castles and trips to London, trying new activities such as tempering chocolate, trampolining, mini golfing, ice skating, or laser tag, and relaxing; with an afternoon in pyjamas watching movies, a sundae-making contest, or having down time with a book.
There is a wide variety of food offered here at Vinehall and there really is something for everyone (including fussy eaters!). During the week, breakfast varies from bacon sandwiches, sausages, eggs, and hash browns, to pancakes and maple syrup, or croissants. There is always cereal and fruit offered each morning and a salad bar with fresh vegetables at both lunch and dinner.
We encourage the children to eat healthily and have at least one item from the salad bar alongside their hot meals. Our lunch and dinner meals range from burritos, fajitas, and chilli con carne with rice and vegetables, to full roast dinners, spicy chicken thighs with vegetables and potato wedges, various stir-fry's, and everything in between; we also always offer a homemade dessert, and these really are delicious.
There are always vegetarian and dietary requirement options. Sundays are often a winner for most boarders with a full English breakfast in their pyjamas after a lie-in (9 am!), then a proper Sunday lunch (a roast of course), followed by an evening supper of toasties.
If you would like any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact Katherine Kirkwood our senior house parent at houseparent@vinehallschool.com or on 015808 83098.
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