Boarding Life
Our Boarding Houses
Shebbear offers Boarding facilities in three Houses, all of which are furnished to an extremely high standard.
- Ruddle, the girls' house, caters for girls from the age of seven to eighteen where the resident Housemistress makes sure the girls work, rest and play very happily.
- Pollard, the boys' Boarding house is a comfortable home from home for senior boys from the age of thirteen to eighteen. The resident Housemaster and his family promote a happy and stable environment.
- Pyke House is specially equipped to accommodate junior boys aged seven to thirteen.
Each House has a Senior Houseparent and two assistants who 'live-in'. The Houseparents encourage pupils' academic progress and general development. Age groups socialise together and pupils are very much at ease with staff
Latest Ofsted Boarding Report please click for a PDF
Boarding Life
To many people a boarding school in the English countryside conjures up scenes of a bygone age: misty, dewy mornings, a place where the air is healthy and good for you, where children can climb trees, camp out and do the things that you read about in the Enid Blyton books.
At Shebbear College we strive to have the best of the old but add to it the very best of the present. Many parents feel that the essence of boarding in the United Kingdom is best captured in a rural setting. The natural elements of peace and quiet, fresh air and space to play are combined with modern facilities housed in historic buildings.
Modern boarding houses offer comfortable ‘home from home’ facilities and a stable environment where changing family situations and relationships do not disturb a child's equilibrium.
A country setting provides an environment where children can be children. Equally important are the members of staff that dedicate their time to help growing children.
Shielded from the dangers of city streets, pupils experience personal safety - a highly desirable pre-requisite to learning. The pressures of city schools to adopt more ‘sophisticated’ lifestyles are to some degree, held at bay. Similarly, the drug culture that dominates so often in urban society is diminished by a rural location and the bounds of a residential campus.
Removed from the hurly-burly of the metropolis, our pupils keep in touch with what goes on through e-mail and internet provision. This rapid communication system allows the best of both worlds. Thanks to the Internet, there is no sense of the isolation that used to prevail in country schools. Technology allows frequent communication with home and parents can feel reassured that, in an increasingly hostile world, their children are in a safe, secure environment.
Shebbear College welcomes both British and overseas boarders and provides accomodation in 3 houses (Girls, Senior Boys, and Junior Boys) providing a safe, secure and caring environment which encourages the development of confident and fully rounded individuals.
Shebbear offers a range of boarding options to meet the differing needs of its pupils including Full, Weekly and Flexi-boarding, with weekly boarding being a particularly popular option for the children of working parents.
