Boarding at Taunton School

Full Time and Flexible Boarding at Taunton School

Join our Boarding School Community in the heart of Somerset

Taunton School offers industry leading teaching and the highest quality boarding facilities for students aged 7-18, based in our 56-acre campus in the heart of Somerset, less than a two-hour train journey from London. Our boarding community has access to various facilities on site, from indoor swimming pools, sports halls, fitness suite, climbing wall, tennis and squash courts, football pitches, music school, theatre, dance studio, library, sixth form centre, and art school.

Speak to Admissions

‘Of all the school’s attributes, pastoral care stands first and foremost’ – The Good Schools Guide.

Boarding for Military Families

Taunton School has a rich history of providing exceptional education and pastoral care for families in the armed forces.

Being a part of the armed forced can cause significant disruption and upheaval to a child’s education, Taunton School offers a home away from home for military pupils. Our students enjoy the consistency of uninterrupted full-time education with home comforts in our boarding houses.

Taunton School offers CEA support to full time boarders. We also offer an extensive range of flexi and day boarding options to suit your particular needs.

Learn more about Military Boarding at Taunton School >

Prep Boarding School

Taunton School offers boarding from 7 years old, when students start at our Prep School. Typically we have between 45 and 55 boarders in our Prep School ranging from full-boarders, weekly boarders, and flexi boarders.

Pastoral care is at the forefront of our work in our pre boarding houses. Our first class-boarding houses provide our students with a safe, secure, and fun environment.

With an extensive range of co-curricular and enrichment activities for our boarders during the weekends, providing your child with a home away from home.

Learn more about Prep Boarding at Taunton School >

female boarder at taunton school

Senior Boarding School

Our Senior Boarding caters for student’s ages 13-18.

We create a ‘family feel’ within our boarding houses, to create lifelong friendships and a sense of belonging within our diverse community.

With regular activities, inter-house competitions, trips and socials, we pride ourselves on creating an unforgettable boarding experience, where memories are made.

Boarders at Taunton School can be either full-time, weekly or flexible. Our senior students have Saturday school with lessons and sports fixtures. Boarders at Taunton School have a wealth of more than 100 enriching co-curricular activities to keep them occupied and entertained outside of the classroom.

Find out more about Boarding at Taunton School >

International Boarding School

Our international boarding community is made up of students from over 54 different countries. Taunton School International offers students a warm, welcoming, and enriching environment to learn and flourish in their education.

All of our international students make full use of the outstanding facilities on the 56-acre Taunton School campus, including two indoor swimming pools, sports halls, fitness suite, climbing wall, tennis and squash courts, football pitches, music school, theatre, dance studio, library, sixth form centre, and art school.

No matter your child’s level of English , there are a range of boarding and course options available to our international students.

Discover Taunton School International >

Scholarships at Taunton School

Scholarships at Taunton School recognise hard work, talent and a passion for learning.

Each year, we are delighted to recognise and support pupils who have artistic, academic or sporting gifts with a scholarship award. We warmly invite students to find out more and apply for our scholarship opportunities to discover the benefits of an inspiring education here at Taunton School.

We want every student to succeed in aiming high and achieving their goals. From attending some of the world’s leading universities, to pursuing their career ambitions, we’ll support students each step of the way.

Find out more about scholarships at Taunton School >

Contact our admissions team

Find out more about boarding with us from one of our expert admissions team, who can provide you more information on the benefits of attending Taunton School as well as the application process.

How big is the boarding community at Taunton School?

There is a total of 450 boarders across eight different houses at Taunton School. This includes the Taunton School International Middle School based at The Grange and Taunton School International. Each house is proud to have their own unique history, identity, and community. However, they share many things in common: outstanding pastoral care, inviting and spacious, and well equipped rooms, and a fantastic range of modern facilities within the Taunton School campus.

What kind of pastoral care does Taunton School offer its boarding students?

We put pastoral care and student wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. A happy and contented child is one who will flourish, and what better place to start that journey than at Taunton School? Here, students have the free reign of our safe and secure 56-acre campus in the beautiful county of Somerset in the South West of England.

Students have access to medical care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the centrally located Health Centre. Mrs Emily Kane is the sister-in-charge, and she is well supported by a team of nurses, doctors, matrons, a physiotherapist and counsellors. There are also links with local dentists and opticians allowing us to support students who require emergency appointments. The county hospital, Musgrove Park, is just 5 minutes away.

What does life as a boarding student look like?

Life as a boarder at Taunton School is engaging and exciting! With regular activities, inter-house competitions, trips and socials, we pride ourselves on providing an unforgettable boarding experience where memories are made. Our staff understand that this is, for many, their first experience of life away from home, and work hard to ensure a family atmosphere in the boarding houses. Our in-house catering team prepare three delicious hot meals a day for our boarding community, starting with a hot breakfast buffet before the school day begins. After a day full of lessons, students can enjoy a broad range of after school activities, study sessions and free time that often consists of movie nights, time to Facetime family or playing games.

Watch our video: A Day in the life of a boarding student >

What types of boarding do you offer?

We offer the choice between fulltime and flexible boarding.

Full time boarding caters for students 7 days per week throughout the term. With exciting enrichment activities and co-curriculars in the evenings and weekends.

Flexi-boarding allow students to stay at Taunton School for at least 3 days a week and then return home for weekends. This is a great solution for parents who work away regularly and want to ensure a stable and nurturing environment for their child in their absence. Our flexi-boarders share the same excellent facilities and co-curricular activities as our full time boarders.

Speak to a member of our admissions team and find out what option would be best for you >

Junior Boarding

Junior Boarding

Providing a safe, secure and fun environment is our main priority in Thone, our prep boarding house.

Our first class boarding house in the Prep School is home to between 45 and 55 full-time boarders, plus a number of weekly and flexi-boarders. Boys and girls from 7 to 13 years old live happily together in one of our main school buildings in the heart of the school.

Cultural diversity is important to us. Whilst the majority of our boarders are British, many students come from over the world. Approximately two thirds of the boarders are aged between 11-13 and one third between 7-10 years. There is a fairly even split between boys and girls.

The large majority of our full time boarders stay in school during weekends. On Saturday mornings, all pupils in Years 7 and 8 (including day pupils) have compulsory Saturday morning lessons, whilst over half of our day pupils in Years 3 to 6 choose to come into school for exciting enrichment activities. For the rest of the weekend, boarders enjoy matches against other schools, down time, trips into town, a varied range of organised activities, and, on Sundays, there is always a fun trip out of school to a local attraction.

Find out more about prep boarding >

Senior Boarding

Senior Boarding

Our five senior boarding houses provide a safe and secure homely environment for pupils aged 13 to 18 years old.

Boarding at Taunton Senior School is truly a ‘home away from home’ experience. The friendships formed in the boarding community last a lifetime, offering students a real sense of belonging throughout their educational journey. Each house has a mix of students from Year 9 to Year 13 with its own house parents, fostering a real ‘family feel’ and an environment where the students can support each other.

But above all, boarding at Taunton School is fun. With regular activities, inter-house competitions, trips and socials, we pride ourselves on creating an unforgettable boarding experience, where memories are made.

Boarders are able to join for either full-time, weekly or flexible boarding at Taunton School. The Fairwater, Wills East and Wills West boarding houses accommodate the boys, and Weirfield and Woodyer accommodate the girls.

Learn more about our senior school >

International Senior Boarding

For international students, Taunton School International offers a warm, welcoming home environment they can truly thrive in.

Our international senior students come from many different backgrounds, and we celebrate the diverse range of nationalities, cultures and faiths within the boarding community – continually offering opportunities for students to embrace the world around us.

Situated on the main 56-acre site, the boarding house will be the focal point of your child’s life at school. A range of activities, sporting programmes, trips, excursions and cultural events help our students to integrate and broaden their horizons whilst also ensuring there is never a dull day.

Boarding plays a key role in our students’ exciting educational journey, helping them to cement lifelong friendships, build confidence and develop independence and self-resilience.

International Middle School Boarding

Taunton School International Middle School is home to a flourishing community of international students aged 8-14.

When you join Taunton School International, you instantly become part of a very warm, caring and supportive community with students from all over the world, ready to help you reach your full potential.

You will also integrate with the British students at the Senior and Prep Schools in a variety of ways, for example, in sport, music, art, drama, lectures, social events, after-school clubs, weekend trips and inter-house competitions.

Find out more about the international school >

Military Boarding

Military families have been part of Taunton School for many years and contribute greatly to our broad and diverse community.

For military families, boarding at Taunton School offers children invaluable stability, and the ability to forge lifelong connections. We know military life can involve regular upheaval, which is why we strive to create a nurturing, supportive, and flexible home environment.

By buddying up with our mentors, students learn the ropes, adapt easily to our house system and settle in very quickly. And with pastoral care high on our agenda, your child also receives a high level of care and guidance from our Housemasters, Housemistresses, House Tutors and staff who are always on hand to ensure they are happy and fulfilling their academic potential.

We also offer significant support for military families in receipt of CEA. To find out more about life at Taunton School, book an open morning and experience it for yourself.

Learn more about our military boarding offer >

Pastoral Care for Boarders

Pastoral Care for Boarders

We take the pastoral care of our boarders extremely seriously. With all of our students away from home, family and friends, we know creating a ‘home away from home’ environment is key to their contentment.

Our highly experienced and caring house staff are always on hand to provide whatever support is needed, complemented by our Health Centre staff, comprising doctors, nurses, counsellors and physiotherapist.

When your child joins our boarding community, they make friends for life, discover their true potential, and have plenty of fun – nurtured by a dedicated team of pastoral staff.

Directions