Admissions
Overseas Boarders
As a full boarding school, Packwood is an attractive option for a number of overseas pupils, whether foreign pupils, children of ex-pats, or children of parents in the forces.
We currently have pupils from China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia and Spain.
Boarding is an important part of life at Packwood. Most pupils board at some point during their time here, whether this is as a full boarder, a couple of nights a week or on an ad-hoc basis.
Packwood’s boarding houses are happy places: busy, yet calm and relaxed. Boarders enjoy a happy, supportive environment in which they thrive. They benefit from first-class pastoral care, support and stability provided by a dedicated team of Houseparents, boarding tutors, matrons and graduate assistants.
Settling in
Every effort is made by all members of the school community, from the Head to teachers, the Houseparents and matrons, support staff and children, to help our overseas pupils settle happily into life at school.
When pupils arrive for their first day at Packwood, they are met by their shadow, another boarder from the same year. A shadow will stay with them for the first week or so to help with settling in and getting to the right places at the right times. They will introduce new pupils to their friends and generally make them feel welcome and very much part of the Packwood community.
English as an Additional Language
Our recommendation is that foreign pupils have at least some English before they arrive at Packwood, to help them integrate and feel at home, as well as to help access the academic curriculum. As part of the admissions process, English will be assessed and most overseas pupils will have specialist ‘English as an Additional Language’ lessons to start with. We will advise you on what is appropriate for your child.
We have dedicated members of staff who provide ‘English as an Additional Language’ lessons on a one-to-one basis or in small groups, and time is found to do this when the pupils would otherwise be studying Latin or French. Support is also offered with subject content for other academic subjects such as History and Science.
The curriculum
Overseas pupils follow the same curriculum as all pupils at Packwood. Please see the curriculum section of the website for more details.
Weekends
With a large and vibrant full boarding community, weekends are always busy and enjoyable.
We have Saturday morning school followed by sport in the afternoon. After this the boarders enjoy free time where they make the most of the extensive school grounds and facilities. On Saturday night our boarders enjoy film night with hot chocolate, noodles and snacks.
On Sunday mornings boarders enjoy a relaxing lie-in, followed by a full English breakfast. Once every half term we have a ‘Sloppy Sunday’ (breakfast in pyjamas). Once a month we go to the local village Church where the choir performs. Sunday activities are often the highlight of the week. These may include on site activities such as camp fire building in school, cooking, pottery making or off site activities such as the zoo, cinema or go-karting.
Communication
Overseas pupils are allowed to bring a mobile phone to school. They can use this to make phone or video calls to home using the school Wi-Fi network – although we recommend limiting this to no more than three times per week. For those in different time zones, if the evening timings are not convenient, we will find another time for calls, such as break-time or after lunch.
Mobile phones are looked after by our matrons. A particular feature of life at Packwood is the fact that pupils are not allowed mobile phones around the school site.
Parents are encouraged to keep in contact with House Parents with any questions or concerns and email is always the best first approach.
There is a private twitter feed for each Boarding House and weekly school newsletters are sent out to the whole school community to keep you up to date.
Food
The food at Packwood is fantastic and it is all home made at school. There is always a vast choice and plenty to eat. There is also a school food council where pupils can put forward their ideas. Meal times at Packwood give the children an opportunity to sit and talk to their friends and teachers whilst enjoying their food.
Exeats and half-terms
If an overseas pupil is not seeing parents at exeats and half-terms, he/she will often spend the time with a guardian, a member of the family, or a friend.
Travel
If travelling by plane, we are happy to make arrangements with one of our regular taxi drivers to transport the pupils to and from the airport. The taxi driver will remain at the airport until the plane has taken off. The nearest airport is Manchester, just over an hour away.
Senior Schools
We prepare pupils for all senior schools and advise on scholarship requirements. Many of our Year 8 children gain a scholarship of one sort or another to their chosen senior school, be it academic, all-rounder, sport, music, art or drama.
We are part of the Shrewsbury School family of Schools and a large proportion of our pupils will move on to Shrewsbury at the end of Year 8.
Where relevant, we will advise upon a suitable senior school for the pupil in consultation with parents. Registration at the school is the responsibility of the parents or the guardian. If requested to do so, we will arrange transport to and from the senior school for entrance exams.
