Boarding Life

Boarding at Berkhamsted offers both the experience of being part of a friendly, close-knit school community and access to outstanding facilities and resources.

As a boarder at Berkhamsted, you will experience life at a traditional English independent school as a member of a small, diverse boarding community of around 80 or so students.

Our boarding community is a mixture of full boarders (termly), weekly boarders from Year 9 (Sunday – Thursday nights) and local pupils who flexi-board from Year 7, on one or two nights a week due to school commitments.

Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2021 Finalist

Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2021 Finalist

We are delighted to be a finalist for the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2021 in the category of International Student Experience.

boarding

Academic Excellence

We provide inspirational teaching, outstanding support with university applications and effective careers advice so that a Berkhamsted education serves as a stepping stone between school and university or the professional world.

25% of Berkhamsted international boarders achieved an A* in 2022 – and 98% achieved A*-B.

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Boarding Houses

The School has two boarding houses: St John’s for girls and Incents for boys. Both are located in Chesham Road within a few minutes’ walk of both Senior and Sixth Form campuses and the town centre. All bedrooms are furnished and decorated to a high standard and many are en-suite. Each House has a common room and kitchen facilities. There are large gardens shared by both Houses.

Dining facilities allow boys and girls to meet together and joint house outings are arranged on a regular basis. Boarders can also use their free private membership at the Knox-Johnston Sports Centre, which offers a fitness suite, sports hall and 25m swimming pool. Here, boarders can take part in any of the classes run in the evenings or at weekends ranging from aqua aerobics to pilates.

Home from Home

St John’s House, the girls boarding house, provides a warm, friendly and secure atmosphere in which students are valued, supported, encouraged and challenged so that they can be themselves and realise their potential.

Each of our boarding houses is managed by a Head of House who acts ‘in loco parentis’. The Heads of House are supported by matrons and two residential tutors in providing a caring environment in which pupils can work and develop both as individuals and as part of a community.

 

Boarding Options

Full boarding

Full boarding

This enables students to focus on academic studies while participating fully in all that the School has to offer. Boarding also offers an ideal preparation for university. At Berkhamsted, we offer a number of Full-time boarding places to overseas students.

Weekly or Flexi boarding

Weekly or Flexi boarding

These options offer families the added benefit of being able to fulfil work commitments during term-time knowing that their children are being cared for. It can also offer last minute accommodation for pupils who may need support during unexpected family difficulties or to help pupils who have a long daily journey to school to spend a few nights at the boarding house to minimise the amount of time involved transporting them to and from school each day.

LEAP INTO ACTION

Open Event

Leap into action and join us at one of our open events. Click the link below to view our open events and book your place now.
Book your place now

We are delighted to be a finalist for the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2021 in the category of International Student Experience.

Ambitious go-getters who are always looking for ways to make themselves stand out from the crowd, and want to get the absolute utmost from the education and opportunities available to them.

Pupils show pronounced and highly effective study skills, appropriate to their age. Strong research skills are evident in many examples of project work, and older pupils, in particular, show excellent ability to assimilate and analyse a wide range of sources.

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Congratulations to Incents boarder Jack who made his debut for the 1st XI today against Tonbridge, scoring 2 goals. What a debut! 👏 #berkoboarding

Congratulations to Incents boarder Jack who made his debut for the 1st XI today against Tonbridge, scoring 2 goals. What a debut! 👏 #berkoboarding

A great final game of the season for the 1st Basketball team today. #berkoboarding #berkoschool #berkosport

A great final game of the season for the 1st Basketball team today. #berkoboarding #berkoschool #berkosport

Boarding house ice cream night is always a winner! Lovely to bring the boys together after another busy week of various activities. #berkhamstedschool

Boarding house ice cream night is always a winner! Lovely to bring the boys together after another busy week of various activities. #berkhamstedschool

Just back from an excellent trip to Hong Kong and Shanghai!

I had the privilege of representing @Berkhamsted School The Old Berkhamstedians at the fantastic Britannia educational fair with 陳思銘 Samuel Sze Ming Chan meeting many fantastic potential students and parents. Hosting drinks with past and current parents gave an opportunity to update them on the latest developments at Berkhamsted, particularly the new Sixth Form campus opening at the end of this year. 
It was a pleasure catching up with The Old Berkhamstedians Harvey Graham and finding out about his experience of playing professional rugby in the Hong Kong premiership. 
My first trip to Shanghai in which I visited and gave presentations to parents at UKBS and Hope Study Abroad and caught up with Daniel Zheng  who was a fantastic host, showing me around Shanghai.

Just back from an excellent trip to Hong Kong and Shanghai!

I had the privilege of representing @Berkhamsted School The Old Berkhamstedians at the fantastic Britannia educational fair with 陳思銘 Samuel Sze Ming Chan meeting many fantastic potential students and parents. Hosting drinks with past and current parents gave an opportunity to update them on the latest developments at Berkhamsted, particularly the new Sixth Form campus opening at the end of this year.
It was a pleasure catching up with The Old Berkhamstedians Harvey Graham and finding out about his experience of playing professional rugby in the Hong Kong premiership.
My first trip to Shanghai in which I visited and gave presentations to parents at UKBS and Hope Study Abroad and caught up with Daniel Zheng who was a fantastic host, showing me around Shanghai.

Happy Valentine’s Day from St J💕hn’s!

Happy Valentine’s Day from St J💕hn’s!

新年快乐 A great night was had by all as we celebrated Chinese New Year last night!🧧 Happy ‘Year of the Dragon’ from St John’s and Incents! 🏡

新年快乐 A great night was had by all as we celebrated Chinese New Year last night!🧧 Happy ‘Year of the Dragon’ from St John’s and Incents! 🏡

Another enjoyable 1st team Basketball match against @dwightschool today. Great to see so many boys representing the school in Basketball. Many thanks Dwight for the game.

Another enjoyable 1st team Basketball match against @dwightschool today. Great to see so many boys representing the school in Basketball. Many thanks Dwight for the game.

Extending the festive cheer into January… because why not?! A big thank you to Meghan for capturing such wonderful moments of the Christmas party! 🎅🎄❄️

Extending the festive cheer into January… because why not?! A big thank you to Meghan for capturing such wonderful moments of the Christmas party! 🎅🎄❄️