Forces Families
Senior
In our 275th year, we reflect on our many years of welcoming children of Armed Forces Families, as well as the ongoing support of serving and retired military personnel across our Governors, teachers and support staff.
We currently have over 75 children with parents serving across all ranks and branches of the Armed Forces, from our Nursery to the Sixth Form. We understand the specific pressures of military life, with the potential stress of frequent moves and school changes. A Kingswood education provides pastoral stability and educational continuity, as well as the chance to establish life long friendships in our warm, welcoming inclusive community.
HM Forces discount:
Kingswood Senior School offers a HM Forces discount of up to 10% off the basic boarding fees for Years 7 and 8 for the children and daughters of serving members of the HM Forces. From Year 9 onwards the discount rises to up to 20% off the basic boarding fees.
For eligible families, the CEA (Continuity of Education Allowance) can help towards the cost of boarding school. Families will need to apply for this directly, and Kingswood can not advise on eligibility.
Our Admissions team will be happy to discuss any aspect of our Forces Family support. Please contact Mrs Hannah Drew or Mrs Rebecca Sharp via email on [email protected]
FAQs:
A boarder feeling homesick is actually far more rare than you would imagine, particularly for those children who may be more used to frequent moves. On the rare occasions it does happen, our experienced House Staff are able to talk through these feelings with the boarder and help them find ways to feel more settled. Keeping busy during the day and getting used to the evening routine helps and all boarders are given the opportunity to buddy up with bigger “brothers and sisters” in the House who can also offer support. We encourage our pupils to get stuck into our extensive activity programme during lunchtimes, in the afternoon and evenings and at the weekends. Staff are always on hand to support and conversations with parents on mutually agreed strategies to help with this are always worthwhile.
All boarders know who is on duty each night and who they can contact for help and support. Boarders in Years 7 – 11 can knock or ring the doorbell on the House Parents door, which is within the main boarding house. Our Sixth Form boarders are able to contact the House Parent on duty via the duty phone.
CEA is designed to fund up to 90% of the costs of boarding at a school like Kingswood. This includes discount of up 10% for boarders in Year 7 and Year 8 and up to 20% discount for boarders in Year 9 and above, for those families in receipt of the CEA.
Parents will need to plan to fund uniform and kit costs, small charges for the House fund, transport costs to school and some school trips. Our aim is to offer most weekend activities free of charge or ones which incur only a small cost.
No, we do not have exeat weekends.
Absolutely. We understand that flexibility is needed for all boarding families, but particularly for families in the Forces. House Parents will be able to arrange for you to see your child during the school term.
On rare occasions this is acceptable and we understand why you may wish to excuse your child from a school commitment. However, to make the most of being a boarder at Kingswood, we strongly encourage full involvement in our sports and extra-curricular activity programme. Being selected to represent the School at sport, be a part of a group run by the Music department or rehearse for a school production is an honour and we would expect full commitment from your child. Wherever possible, do come along to watch your child perform; we aim to share the dates of school activities as far in advance as possible. They would love for you to be there!
Our House Parents will help to support your child during this change. All of our House Parents and the Head of Boarding are very experienced in helping our boarders to deal with this. Open dialogue and communication with parents about where they will be stationed helps. If House Parents have the knowledge to be able to answer questions about where their parents will be and for how long, it helps inform the reassuring conversations our staff can have. Communication is key!
Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee to match CEA funding for those who have left the Armed Forces but wish to continue at Kingswood. Subject to availability, we are able to offer means-test Bursaries to ensure that your child can complete key stages of education (such as GCSE or A Level) should your eligibility for CEA change. We recommend speaking with the Director of Finance as early as possible if you think this may be the case for your family during your child’s education.
Our on-site Health and Wellbeing Centre are available to help. As with other aspects of boarding, early communication and requests for appointments are important so that time can be given to arrange the appropriate care. The appointments will be planned to have least impact on the Boarder's day but most importantly, they will give them the support they may need. We are very lucky to have the excellent Royal United Hospital just ten minutes away. All of our boarding and on-site staff also have basic First Aid training and all boarders are registered with a local medical practice.