Westonbirt School is one of the UK’s leading independent boarding and day schools for girls aged 11-18, located in beautiful grounds in the heart of the Cotswolds, close to the cities of Bath, Bristol and Cheltenham. Westonbirt School enables every girl to achieve her full potential, instilling confidence without arrogance. We aim to balance the academic, cultural and recreational within a strong spiritual framework in an inspiring rural setting. Westonbirt makes the best of every pupil. We achieve this within a boarding tradition, which is shared by day pupils, in an educational environment which combines tradition with modernity.
Westonbirt School is: o An independent girls school o Boarding and day o Educating girls aged 11-18 o Located in the heart of the Cotswolds (South West of England) o 100 miles West of London o Close to cultural cities of Bath, Bristol and Cheltenham
Westonbirt has o Approximately 200 girls o 75% girls in Year 7 - 11 o 25% girls in Sixth Form (Year 12 and 13) o 55% full boarding o 45% day pupils
Parent of Year 10 Boarder
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International pupils o We welcome students from overseas o 26% of our pupils are from other countries o Pupils from 19 different countries have English as a Second language o English is taught by qualified and experienced staff in small groups in our specialist centre
Isabel, Mexico City, Year 10
Our international students come from the following countries: Austria
Belarus
Bulgaria
Chile
China
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
Nigeria
Russia
Seychelles
Spain
Thailand
Turkey
United Arab Emirate
United States
2% 2%
2%
2% 2%
2% 2% 2%
5% 2%
5%
20%
11%
2% 4% 14% 13% 5%
5%
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o o o o o o
Westonbirt is 1½ hours by car from London Heathrow Airport Bristol International Airport is 50 minutes by car There are direct rail links to London from a local station The school will arrange transport to / from airports and the train stations We run a school bus to London at exeats and half terms Other travel arrangements should be made in conjunction with the pupils’ guardians in the UK
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Excellent teaching Outstanding pastoral care Balance of academic, cultural and recreational Small class sizes High ‘Value Added’ Strong spiritual framework
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Each pupil has an academic tutor and a student mentor for support Progress of each child is monitored very carefully There are interim grades and written reports every term 100% pass rate and 52% with an A* - A grade and 81% A*-B grades 100% A*-A for Latin, Chemistry, Physics, German and Russian at GCSE 100% A*-B for Drama, Music, Biology, Spanish, Textiles at GCSE Pupil to staff ratio 1:7 Choice of 25 subjects at A Level Girls are given excellent guidance on university and 90% go on to their first choice destination
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Parent of Year 8 Boarder
o o o o
Each house has its own housemistress and assistant housemistress who live in the boarding houses Sixth Form have a separate boarding house, with university style study bedrooms There is a telephone number for each house and students are allowed mobile phones There is prep time each evening when girls do their homework
The Houses are homely and have common rooms with TVs and DVD. They have laundry facilities and small kitchens where pupils can prepare drinks and light snacks.
Meal Times 7.45am
Breakfast
11:10am
Break
12.45pm - 1.40pm
Lunch
4.10pm
Tea
6.30pm
Supper
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Saturday Mornings o o o
Girls in years 7 - 9 have lessons in ‘Skills for Life’ Girls in years 10 - 11 have subject specific teaching and time for applied learning Girls in the Sixth Form have individual study / sport / work experience
Saturday Afternoons o
Pupils in school teams do sport on a Saturday afternoon
Weekend Activities We are one of the few boarding schools that offer a full programme of activities every weekend. There is very little time for pupils to be bored! Below is an example of what they might do: o o o o o o o o
Trips to Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, Swindon or London Socials with boys’ schools House outings In house DVD evenings Trips to the Theatre and Cinema Formal house dinners House BBQ Specific events, such as a visit to the Clothes Show in Birmingham and the Harry Potter Studios
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o o o o o o o o
Geography field trips Art trips to London and overseas Theatre trips Ski trips Overseas sports trips Languages trips to Spain and France Cultural exchange with Japan and China World Challenge and service projects
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Music is taught to a very high standard at Westonbirt. We have recently opened our state-of-the-art Music Technology Centre with a recording studio and Apple Mac suite. Most girls learn at least one instrument. All pupils are encouraged to join the choir, orchestra or one of the many ensembles. We frequently stage concerts in the Orangery, Camellia House, Great Hall and Chapel as well as frequent lunch time concerts.
We have a very strong Art Department at Westonbirt. There are two light and spacious classrooms as well as a fully equipped Design Studio providing the perfect environment for creativity to flow. The girls are further inspired by trips to art galleries and exhibitions. In recent years girls have gone on to study Art and Design at top London art schools and colleges.
The whole school enjoy getting involved in at least one of the two drama productions every year. Whether they are in the lime light, backstage, looking after costumes, lighting or sound, there is a part for everyone.
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Sport is a very important part of life at Westonbirt and all girls enjoy the variety of sports on offer at the school. We have extensive playing fields and wonderful facilities for sport. If you love sport, you will almost certainly represent the school in a team; playing lacrosse, netball, tennis, rounders, golf or polo.
The girls really benefit from the ÂŁ3m Sports Centre which has an impressive 25m indoor swimming pool, sports hall, aerobics room and fitness suite.
Many girls also participate in our popular tiered Tennis Coaching Programme and enjoy Golf Coaching on our superb nine-hole golf course.
Lacrosse is a particular favourite with the girls.
Year 12 Day Girl
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Facilities are extensive and include: o o o o o o o o
Girls can do the following sports at Westonbirt: o o o o o o o
25m Swimming pool Nine hole golf course Sports hall Aerobics room Fitness suite Tennis courts Netball courts Lacrosse pitches
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Lacrosse Tennis Golf Polo Riding Netball Fitness
Rounders Swimming Athletics Badminton Basketball Cricket Yoga or other exercise classes
The ethos at Westonbirt is to stimulate and educate the whole person and we encourage all girls to take part in extracurricular activities during the week. Below is a selection of the options: Aiming High
Cookery Club
Junior Alpha Group
Art
Creative Crafts
Lacrosse
Ballet
Current Affairs
Maths Challenge
Bible Study Group
Debating
Netball
Book Club for International Students
Drama Club
Orchestra
Business Breakfast
Duke of Edinburgh
Science Club
Chamber Choir
Flute Choir
Sixth Form Lecture
Christian Union
Guitar Group
String Group
Confirmation Class
Horse Riding
Swim Squad
Contemporary Vocal Group
Jewellery Making
Young Enterprise
We encourage pupils to join in as many clubs, societies and groups as they can.
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o o o o o o o o o o
The English Language Training (ELT) Centre is for specialist English language lessons We have fully-qualified, experienced staff A variety of methods and materials are used Students are tested before and on arrival ELT has small classrooms for group teaching or one-to-one tutorials We focus on grammar, reading, writing, vocabulary and speaking We get pupils ready for ELT exams, GCSEs, A Level and university For all other subjects girls are taught in mainstream lessons Students are prepared for: Cambridge, ESOL, PET, FCE, CAE & IELTS exams, depending on ability There is an extra cost for ELT lessons (see fees)
Greta, Hamburg, Year 10
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We celebrate our cultural diversity every year on our International Day! The girls host the day, which embraces the rich variety of countries and cultures of our international pupils and promotes an international understanding across the school.
Each 'country' offers traditional food and drink for all to try, an insight into their culture, a brief lessons in key phrases and a demonstration of their national dress.
The day provided the girls with an excellent opportunity to familiarise themselves with the different cultures within the school and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
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All students from overseas must have a guardian resident in the UK They must notify the school of the name and address of the guardian before they arrive Guardians receive a letter outlining the School's expectations of the guardian's role The School can provide details of guardianship agencies We have 2 compulsory exeats and one half term break Students may not stay at school during the holidays, exeats and breaks
All enquiries about admission, registration and entry to the school should be directed to the Admissions Department at Westonbirt. Please telephone Patricia Stevenson on + 44 (0)1666 881301 or email: pstevenson@westonbirt.org o o o
The school year runs from September to July. Pupils may join during the academic year in exceptional circumstances Westonbirt will consider taking pupils for one year Every year we offer up to 45 places to international students 11
Entry can be through UKiset (UK independent schools’ entry test), at designated test centres worldwide. Information about this can be found on the link on our website or at www.ukiset.com. Where this option is not available entry will be as follows: 1. All candidates will: o Take an age appropriate non-verbal Reasoning Test o Have a Skype interview with the Headmistress (where possible) 2. Entry to Years 7-10 o All candidates whose first language is not English must take the school’s English Language Examination. In addition they will also take the school’s Mathematics test o
Their timetable will be designed to match their level of English, which must be strong enough for them to join mainstream lessons in all of the core timetabled subjects
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They will also be required to take the weekly number of chargeable English Language lessons recommended by the school’s English Language Training (ELT) Department
3. Entry to Year 12 (Sixth Form) o Candidates for the Sixth Form who have not been educated in an English medium school for at least three years are required to submit an IELTS Certificate to gain entry, with a minimum level of 6.0 in the Reading and Writing Sections o
They will take the school’s age-appropriate ELT test, and may be required to take some additional tests in the subjects chosen for AS level
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They will also be required to take the weekly number of chargeable English Language lessons recommended by the school’s English Language Training (ELT) Department
4. References from your previous school A copy of the candidate’s recent school report/grades must be submitted with every application
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Westonbirt is Tier 4 licensed sponsor, enabling us to issue a CAS to pupils to non-EEA students wishing to study in the UK When the offer of a place has been accepted and the deposit and fees paid, the School will provide the student with the CAS and supporting visa letter Without the CAS, non-EEA students will not be able to apply for a Tier 4 visa to study in Britain Such visa applications should be made, by the student online at www.gov.uk In cases where students have applied through nominated agents, visa assistance can often be provided by them
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