Our boarding experience - Ipswich School Sept 2022

A boutique boarding experience in an outstanding British co-educational independent school

Our boarding houses are situated in historic grounds in the centre of Ipswich.

Ipswich School is located close to the stunning Suffolk coast and neighbours the historic Christchurch Park with rolling lawns, wooded areas, and an arboretum.

The school is within an hour of London Stansted Airport, London and Cambridge.

Ipswich School is the top independent school in Suffolk and in the top ten in East Anglia (Sunday Times Parent Power).

Founded earlier than 1399 it has a longstanding educational heritage and is the only school to be mentioned in one of Shakespeare’s plays.

Our students achieve excellent examination results and progress to top Russell group universities, including Oxbridge.

Most importantly, our students are happy – reaching their potential, supported by outstanding pastoral care and part of our friendly community.

Westwood, Ipswich School’s boarding house for younger students, is a Victorian mansion set in wooded grounds, just a five minute walk from the main school site.

The Sixth Form boarding house is also within minutes of the main school. This is a modern attractive space, with ensuite facilities, providing an experience similar to a university hall of residence.

The majority of our boarding students come from overseas but we also have a small number of UK boarding students and overall the significant majority of students are British pupils.

Ipswich School has excellent provision for boarders who have English as an additional language, and they receive a minimum of two lessons of specialist EAL tuition weekly. Sixth Form students study for IELTS with our specialist EAL teacher.

All boarders benefit from a friendly, homefrom-home experience combined with the best of British schooling.

All boarders

homefrom-home experience

Outstanding results and curriculum

Inside the classroom, our teachers enthuse pupils with their passion for their subject. Ipswich School is consistently the top independent school in terms of exam results in Suffolk.

In 2022, two-thirds of GCSE exams were graded 9-7 and 41 pupils achieved 9-7 grades in all their exams – nearly a third of pupils.

At A Level, over a third of pupils achieved at least three A grades. 18 pupils achieved three or more A* grades and 8 pupils achieved all A* grades.

Students secured places at Oxford and Cambridge and the most popular university destinations included Durham, Kings College London, Exeter, Warwick and Edinburgh. 92% of students secured their choice of university.

Whilst academically highly successful, the school provides significant value-added and participation is high across music, drama and sport.

Tutors keep a close eye on each individual student to ensure that they balance their activities and are happy and fulfilled.

In the Sixth Form our offer expands to 27 A Level subjects including Economics, Politics and Psychology. A BTEC in Sport and Exercise Science is also available.

Co-curricular activities

Our rich and varied co-curricular activities promote physical and mental well-being and foster a sense of belonging and community spirit, as well as giving our pupils the opportunity to develop many valuable transferable skills.

We have excellent music, sport and drama provision in particular, and boarders are encouraged to join music ensembles, sports teams and take part in clubs and activities during the school day as well as at weekends.

In the Sixth Form, students take part in The Edge, which includes a Level 3 qualification in Leadership and Management, and a week away at an outdoors study centre in South Devon.

In the boarding house

Our younger students start their Ipswich School boarding experience in Westwood House, under the careful watch of Mrs Christie, our Head of Boarding.

They enjoy shared bedrooms, while our older students at Westwood have their own rooms.

Our Year 13 boarders live in our Sixth Form Boarding House at Anglesea Heights. All rooms in this boarding house have ensuite facilities.

Shared facilities in the boarding houses include a warm and welcoming lounge and IT suites. The Sixth Form boarding house also has music rooms for pupils to use, while at Westwood there is a large astroturf pitch.

Meals are provided by our gold awardwinning Catering Team, who cater for all food requirements.

The Sixth Form Boarding House is looked after by Miss Rebecca Halford-Thompson. Miss Halford-Thompson is also our School Nurse and she has two teenage daughters, which gives her an excellent background to work with our Sixth Form boarders.

She has been at Ipswich School since 2012, and is part of the school’s pastoral team, looking after pupils and staff when they are ill, injured or in need of emotional support. Miss Halford-Thompson says she loves getting to know pupils through the life skills lessons she teaches, covering essential topics such as consent and relationships.

Our sixth form house is fantastic. Our senior boarders are given more responsibility which helps them feel ready for independence at university. Staff are on hand to support, and make sure that our house offers a good balance between working hard and relaxation.

Meet our Head of Boarding

weekends, or visit family friends and guardians with their parents’ consent.

We have a relaxed feel at weekends. Saturday mornings for example start with fun lessons in our pavilion in the garden, followed by a very popular brunch.

Students might choose to play football in the afternoon, go to the beach or visit the shops in town. We want them to have space to relax and enjoy being with their friends.

QWhat’s special about the Ipswich School boarding experience?

Having small boarding houses means that House Parents get to know their boarders well. I love the fact that I know everyone and everyone knows me.

QMrs Christie, you live in a house with your own family and 45 children from all over the world. How do you help everyone to get along together?

We all get along as we are all sharing the same experience. We are dining together, studying and going on trips together.

I also believe in being available to talk to boarders every day, like I am for my own children. This means that any issues can be discussed in a timely way, so problems don’t arise.

We have a House Promise, which is to be respectful. I find that if we are all respectful of each other, we can get along very well.

QWhat do you like most about being a boarding house parent?

The laughter, I laugh every day. I enjoy the company of children and young adults, they have a fresh and positive perspective to life, and they are a lot of fun.

I find it a huge privilege to be part of a young person’s life and it is really rewarding, watching them grow and reach their potential.

QWhat are the qualities that make a good boarding parent?

Huge amounts of patience and the ability to listen to the voice of the boarder and not interrupt.

Experience is also important. I have been involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Cadet Force, and have taken part in many residential trips.

This experience has given me great confidence in looking after children outside of the classroom.

QWhat do the boarders do at weekends?

We do not have exeats so boarders are welcome to stay with us for all their

The boarders get to recognise everyone in their House and this results in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We do not have large dormitories, so boarders’ rooms are relaxing and homely.

The older students who board at our bespoke Sixth Form boarding house often come back to Westwood for a chat and this makes me very happy.

I’m proud that this is a place they feel so comfortable in and like returning to.

QWhat have been your favourite boarding moments?

I really like being in a multicultural boarding community. We really enjoy celebrating our different cultures, and we also celebrate Christmas in traditional English style with stockings, crackers , presents and silly games.

Mrs Justine Christie has taught chemistry at Ipswich School for 20 years. She started working in boarding ten years ago and has been Head of Boarding here for the last six years.

Mrs Christie lives at Westwood with her husband Simon (a nurse practitioner) and two sons, Oliver and Joseph.

Our

history

The earliest record of Ipswich School is a bill, sadly unpaid, dating back to 1399. The school, which has Cardinal Thomas Wolsey as one of its former pupils, was established on several different sites throughout Ipswich until it moved to Henley Road.

Prince Albert laid the foundation stone for this building in 1851, and it was occupied from 1 July 1852. Acknowledging its Tudor past, the school has a tower, reminiscent of both the Dean’s Turret House of Cardinal College and Christchurch’s Tom Tower at Oxford, and a main entrance recalling Wolsey’s Gate - which can be found near Ipswich Waterfront.

Otherwise, the frontage is Elizabethan in nature, in keeping with Headmaster Rigaud’s keenness on Queen Elizabeth’s Letters Patent to the school of 1566, which re-established the school’s Royal Charter.

Among many interesting facts about Ipswich School is that it is the only school which is mentioned in any of Shakespeare’s works. The reference is in Henry VIII, Act iv, Sc. 2, in a reference to Cardinal Wolsey, and his ‘twins of learning’ - Ipswich School and Cardinal College in Oxford.

Ipswich School Information

Co-educational school aged 4 to 18 years. Boarding from Year 9, aged 13

Number of pupils: 1152, with 930 in the Senior School.

Number of boarders: 65

Fees per term: Full Boarding: £12,470; Weekly Boarding: £11,319

Nearest international airports: London Stansted (1 hour), London Heathrow (2 hours)