Boarding school costs: full vs weekly boarding explained

Last reviewed: November 2026 by Catherine from ISA. Fee ranges are indicative; always confirm with the school.

Boarding is the single biggest jump on a school bill. At Whitgift in south London, the same 14-year-old costs £31,410 a year as a day pupil in 2026-27 and £61,614 as a full boarder. So the honest answer to how much does boarding school cost is roughly double the day fee, and the type of boarding you choose moves the total by thousands of pounds a year.

VAT is part of the story: Whitgift lists full boarding at £16,475 a term before VAT in 2025-26, £19,770 with it. Below are the real 2026-27 costs of full, weekly and flexi boarding at named schools near London, the extras and a worked budget.

How much does boarding school cost in the UK in 2026-27?

At the four schools in this guide, full boarding costs between roughly £53,000 and £70,000 a year, VAT included. The ISC Census 2026 puts the average boarding fee at £14,980 a term excluding VAT, rising to £15,601 in the sixth form. With 20% VAT, the average sixth-form boarder costs about £18,721 a term, or about £56,200 over a three-term year.

The boarding fee adds a bed, all term-time meals, evening supervision and usually laundry to tuition. The Census average day fee at boarding schools was £8,611 a term before VAT, and at three schools in the table below boarding adds £7,438 to £10,068 a term to the day fee.

The Census counted 57,836 boarders in January 2026, 11.0% of all pupils and 8.2% fewer than in 2025, mostly in southern England rather than London itself.

What is weekly boarding, and how is it different from full boarding?

Weekly boarders sleep at school from Sunday night or Monday morning until the end of the school week and spend weekends at home; full boarders stay seven days a week and join weekend activities run by the boarding staff. Headington School Oxford says its weekly boarders arrive on Sunday evening or before registration on Monday and go home on Friday. At Bedford School, weekly boarders' meals run from Monday breakfast to Saturday lunch, which reflects Saturday school there: day boys also get lunch from Monday to Saturday.

Flexi boarding sits in between. Bedford prices two, three or four nights a week; Headington sells half-weekly boarding of up to three nights. Single nights are charged separately, at £120 a night at Headington and £80 to £148 a night in Bedford's Upper School.

In ISC schools, weekly and flexi boarders were 21.5% of all boarders in 2026; in the sixth form 86% board full time, while more than half of junior-age boarders are flexi.

Full vs weekly boarding fees: four schools compared

Annual figures are three termly fees, VAT included, from each school's published 2026-27 fee schedule; TASIS England publishes a full-year fee, and its boarding fee applies from Grade 8. Headington charges sixth-form direct entrants more: £17,488 a term for weekly and £20,688 for full boarding.

The weekly discount is not standard, about £900 a term at Bedford and over £3,000 at Whitgift and Headington, and the day to boarding gap is far bigger, so the real decision is whether to board at all.

Three boarding schools within reach of London

TASIS England, Egham

TASIS England is an international day and boarding school for ages 4 to 18 on a 46-acre campus in Surrey, just outside London, with boarding for students aged 13 to 18. It publishes full boarding only: £69,650 for 2026-27, covering tuition, room and full board, laundry facilities, most curriculum trips and, for Grades 9 to 12, the October Travel Week. It also sells semester boarding: £39,325 for the first semester or £35,000 for the second. SAT, AP and IB exam costs are billed separately.

Whitgift School, South Croydon

Whitgift School is the only school here inside Greater London. Boarding is for boys aged 13 to 18 in Founder's House, as weekly or full boarding, and the fee includes all meals and laundry; weekend activities are included for full boarders only. Families living abroad should plan for a large acceptance deposit: in 2025-26 it was £13,000 for international weekly and £16,000 for international full boarders, against £6,500 and £8,000 for UK families. The international entrance exam costs £295. Tip: for a London family, weekly boarding costs £20,556 a year more than day schooling, so ask exactly what the boarding evenings add in supervised study and activities.

Headington School Oxford

Headington School Oxford takes girls aged 11 to 18, plus boys and girls aged 3 to 11 in its prep school, and offers the widest menu of the three: full, weekly, half-weekly and occasional boarding. Weekly boarding for Years 7 to 11 costs £15,773 a term against £18,882 for full boarding, and the school notes that coaches from central London stop outside its gates. One budgeting detail: its bursaries are limited to local day girls in the senior school, so there is no help with boarding fees.

What else goes on the boarding bill?

The termly fee is rarely the whole cost. From the schools' 2026-27 terms and GOV.UK:

• Registration and entrance fees: £150 at Bedford, £240 at TASIS England and £205 to £375 for Whitgift's entrance exams.
• Acceptance deposits: £1,200 at Bedford, plus an additional £16,800 for families normally resident outside the UK; up to £16,000 at Whitgift for international full boarders (2025-26 figure).
• One-off funds: the £900 development fund at TASIS England.
• Visa and health surcharge: £558 for a Child Student visa from outside the UK, plus £776 a year of immigration health surcharge for applicants under 18.
• Insurance: medical cover is mandatory for TASIS boarders.
• Exams, kit and travel: public exam entries, UCAS fees, music lessons, trips and airport taxis are extras at Whitgift; Bedford bills taxis, sports kit and house activities to the pupil's account.

A worked example: one London family, three options

Take a Year 9 boy at Whitgift in 2026-27 whose family lives in London:

1. Day pupil: £10,470 a term, £31,410 a year, plus lunches, the school bus and the compulsory uniform list of about £470.
2. Weekly boarder: £17,322 a term, £51,966 a year, with meals and laundry included. That is £20,556 a year more than day schooling.
3. Full boarder: £20,538 a term, £61,614 a year, weekend activities included. That is £9,648 a year more than weekly boarding.

Over five years from Year 9 to Year 13 at 2026-27 prices, weekly boarding comes to about £259,830 and full boarding about £308,070. The ISC Census 2026 reports boarding fees up 4.2% on 2025, so budget for annual rises. An overseas family would add the £16,000 deposit (2025-26 rate), the £295 exam, the £558 visa and £776 a year of health surcharge.

Is weekly boarding worth it? Questions to ask the school

Weekly boarding suits families who can collect their child every Friday. It keeps weekends at home and removes the daily commute; for families abroad it rarely works without a relative or guardian in the UK.

Full boarding is better value when the weekly discount is small. At Bedford it is £892 a term for two extra nights and weekend activities; where the gap passes £3,000 a term, as at Whitgift, weekly boarding saves real money.

Before you accept a place, ask:

• Which nights and meals does the weekly fee cover, and is Saturday a school day?
• How many boarders usually stay in at weekends, and what do they do?
• Can we switch between weekly and full boarding during the year, and how much notice is needed?
• Is the quoted fee VAT-inclusive, and what will the deposit be for a family living abroad?
• Which exam fees, trips and transport costs are billed on top?

Compare London schools before you shortlist

Many international families in London choose a day school instead. Our guide to international school fees in London covers day fees across the capital, and the guide to school fees in Oxford covers the schools around Headington. To compare schools on curriculum, fees and reviews, see the ranking of the best schools in London.

Sources: Independent Schools Council, ISC Census 2026; HMRC guidance on VAT and private school fees (GOV.UK); GOV.UK pages on the Child Student visa and the immigration health surcharge; 2026-27 fee schedules and boarding pages published by Whitgift School, Bedford School, Headington School Oxford and TASIS England.

More guides to schools in London

• Best international schools in London
• International school fees in London
• How to choose an international school in London
• International school admissions in London
• Bilingual schools in London
• ranking of the best schools in London

Further reading: how VAT applies to private school and boarding fees, IB boarding schools in Switzerland and their 2026-27 fees.

Frequently asked questions

Is weekly boarding cheaper than full boarding?

Usually, but by less than many parents expect. For 2026-27 the gap is £892 a term at Bedford School and about £3,100 to £3,200 a term at Headington School Oxford and Whitgift, VAT included. Weekly boarders still pay for five or six nights, weekday meals and evening supervision, so the saving comes mainly from weekends.

Do UK boarding school fees include VAT?

Yes. Since 1 January 2025, education and boarding services supplied by private schools in the UK have been subject to VAT at 20%, according to HMRC guidance. All four schools in this guide publish VAT-inclusive fees, and Whitgift also shows its 2025-26 fees without VAT, so check which figure you are reading. The ISC Census reports average fees without VAT, so add 20% to compare.

Can international students do weekly boarding in the UK?

In principle yes, but it only works if your child has somewhere to stay every weekend, usually with relatives or a guardian in the UK. Headington School Oxford, for example, presents weekly boarding as ideal for girls who live in the UK. Most overseas families choose full boarding and need a Child Student visa, which costs £558 plus the health surcharge.