International Information Booklet 2016

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 A total of 217 girls
o 149 girls in Year 7 - 11
o 68 girls in Sixth Form (Year 12 and 13)
o 54% full boarding
o 46% 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 17 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 Casillas, Mexico City, Year 10
Our international students come from the following countries:
2% 2% 2% 2%
Belarus
13%
13%
China
2%
France
Germany
2%
13%
7%
Hong Kong
Italy
Japan
Mexico
9%
11%
Nigeria
Russia
13%
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5%
Seychelles
4%
Westonbirt is 1½ hours by car from London Heathrow Airport
Bristol International Airport is 50 minutes hour 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 in 2015
100% A*-B for Drama, Music, Biology, Spanish, Textiles at GCSE in 2015
Pupil to staff ratio 1:7
Choice of 25 subjects at A Level
Girls go onto study at the top global universities of their choice
Parent of Year 8 Boarder
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Each house has its own housemistress and assistant housemistress who live in the boarding houses
Sixth Form have 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
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Girls in years 7 - 9 have lessons in ‘Skills for Life’
Girls in years 10 – 11 have subject specific teaching and time for coursework
Girls in the Sixth Form have individual study / sport / work experience
Saturday Afternoons
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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:
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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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Geography field trips
Art trips to London and overseas
Theatre trips
Ski trips
Overseas sports trips
Spanish exchange
World Challenge
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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 £3m 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.
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Facilities are extensive and include:
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Girls do the following sports at Westonbirt:
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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
Rounders
Swimming
Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
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:
Art
Creative Crafts
Lacrosse
Bible Study Group
Current Affairs
Maths Challenge
Book Club (Compulsory for Year 10 & 11
International Students)
Debating
Netball
Call My Bluff
Drama Club
Orchestra
Chamber Choir
Duke of Edinburgh
Science Club
Christian Union
Flute Choir
Sixth Form Lecture
Confirmation Class
Guitar Group
String Group
Contemporary Dance
Horse Riding
Swim Squad
Contemporary Vocal Group
Jewellery Making
World Challenge
Cookery Club
Junior Alpha Group
Young Enterprise
We encourage pupils to join in as many clubs, societies and groups as they can.
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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.
We get pupils ready for ELT exams, GCSEs, A Level and university.
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 Gall, 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
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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: [email protected]
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The school year runs from September to June. 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
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.
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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.
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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.
In cases where students have applied through nominated agents, visa assistance can often be provided by them.
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