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Local Coordinator Close to your School
Your local coordinator visits your child, attends parents' evenings on your behalf and stays in touch throughout your guardianship programme.
British Guardianship at Sherborne Prep
Nominated Guardian for Sherborne Prep. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for Sherborne Prep? UK boarding schools generally require international students under 18 to have an accredited UK guardian in place throughout their studies. British Guardianship provides a fully accredited boarding school guardianship service for Sherborne Prep students, including a dedicated local coordinator, safe accommodation with vetted host families during half terms, exeats and holidays, attendance at parents' evenings on your behalf, and 24-hour emergency support.
Guardianship Fees
Our UK boarding school guardianship services for Sherborne Prep start from £350 per term.
Dedicated Guardianship Manager
As soon as your application is received, a dedicated member of our guardianship team becomes your main contact, managing every aspect of your nominated guardian arrangements.
Local Vetted Host Family
We work with a network of vetted host families across the UK. For exeats and half terms, we aim to place your child with a local host family matched to your preferences, so weekends away from school feel settled and safe.
Our Services
UK Boarding School Guardianship
An accredited nominated guardian for international boarders at Sherborne Prep, with a dedicated local coordinator, vetted host families for half terms, exeats and holidays, and 24-hour emergency support.
Learn More →Boarding School Placement
Our admissions team supports international families through the application to Sherborne Prep, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Learn More →Sherborne Prep Overview
Sherborne Prep is an independent, co-educational day and boarding preparatory school for children aged 3 to 13 on Acreman Street in Sherborne, Dorset, close to Sherborne Abbey and around 50 minutes by car from the coast. The school is non-selective and has its own twenty-acre forest school. It is part of the Sherborne Schools Group, alongside Sherborne Boys, Sherborne Girls, Hanford Prep and the Sherborne International short course programme.
Around 210 children attend. In Years 3 to 5 most lessons are taught by form teachers, with specialists for art, design technology, ICT, music, drama, languages and sport, and from Year 6 pupils move between subject specialists. Leavers move on to a range of senior schools, most often Sherborne Boys and Sherborne Girls.
Boarding at Sherborne Prep
Boarding is available from age 7, and families can choose full boarding, weekly boarding, flexi boarding or the occasional night, with arrangements that can be made at short notice. The boarding community is small, with fewer than 20 boarders. Most boarders stay in school at weekends, and flexi boarders often join them for the weekend programme.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Boarders live in Acreman House on the school campus, which has separate dormitories for boys and girls. The house is run by a resident Housemaster who lives on site with his family. Room allocation is confirmed by the school on entry.
Boarding Life
Weekdays follow a steady routine of lessons, evening enrichment, meals and play, and evenings end in the dorm with bedtime stories and hot chocolate. Saturday mornings are given to enrichment activities such as fencing and filmmaking, followed by matches or trips into town and an evening activity, while Sundays are slower, with lie-ins and time to prepare for the week. Weekends also bring torchlit laser tag, beach trips, film nights and socials.
Academic and Pastoral Support
Specialist teachers give individual and group lessons to children with learning needs, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autism and speech and language difficulties, and classroom assistants support pupils up to Year 6. An occupational therapy club helps children with dyspraxic tendencies, and some pupils take extra maths and English in place of Latin. Every child has a form tutor.
International boarders at Sherborne Prep are generally expected to have a UK guardian. British Guardianship provides AEGIS accredited boarding school guardianship for international students at UK boarding schools.
Facilities & Activities at Sherborne Prep
Every accredited UK boarding school offers a range of sport, arts and academic facilities for international students, together with an extended programme of activities in the evenings and at weekends. For full details of the facilities and activities available, please visit the official Sherborne Prep website.
Information for International Students and Parents
Sherborne Prep accepts boarders from age 7, in Year 3, through to Year 8, and international pupils can join for one or more full academic years. Boarders from overseas are spread fairly evenly across the year groups. The school also has a dedicated entry point at 11+. Most international students join in September; entry in other year groups is considered individually. British Guardianship supports international families through every stage of the application with our boarding school admissions service.
English Language Requirements
Sherborne Prep does not publish minimum English levels for international applicants. English is assessed as part of the application, and British Guardianship confirms the level required for each year of entry during placement.
Child Student Visa
Students coming to the UK from overseas will usually need a Child Student visa. Sherborne Prep is a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register, listed as Sherborne Preparatory School, while the visa application itself is submitted by parents. Our Child Student visa guide explains the requirements and process, and families holding a British National (Overseas) visa can contact us for guidance on the BN(O) route.
UK Guardian Requirement
UK boarding schools generally require international boarders under 18 to have a UK guardian, and British Guardianship confirms each school's specific requirements as part of placement. At exeat weekends, Sherborne Prep boarders either go home or stay with accredited guardians, so families living overseas need a reliable UK guardian in place before the first term begins.
British Guardianship is AEGIS accredited and a BSA Certified Guardian, and can act as the nominated UK guardian for Sherborne Prep boarders. Our boarding school guardianship service covers regular contact with the school, travel coordination and safe accommodation with vetted host families during half terms, exeats and holidays, giving parents a single, reliable educational guardian in the UK.
To discuss UK guardianship for Sherborne Prep, book a free online consultation or apply for a nominated guardian.
Frequently Asked Questions
UK boarding schools generally require international students under 18 to have a UK-based guardian, and British Guardianship confirms Sherborne Prep's specific requirements as part of your application. The guardian acts on behalf of parents in the UK, is the school's point of contact in an emergency and looks after the student whenever they cannot be at school. We provide this as an AEGIS accredited boarding school guardianship service.
Whenever your child cannot stay at Sherborne Prep, for example during half terms, exeats or holidays when boarding houses close, they stay with one of our vetted host families. Every host family is visited in their home, provides professional and personal references and holds an Enhanced DBS check for all household members aged 16 and over. British Guardianship remains your child's educational guardian throughout every stay.
We have guardians available and ready to be assigned. The overall timeframe depends on how quickly the required paperwork is completed and communication with Sherborne Prep is finalised. As every case is different, timelines can vary, but we aim to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible.
Boarding school guardianship is charged per term and starts from £350, with host family stays, travel arrangements and other services added as your child needs them. Full details are on our guardianship fees page.
A UK student guardian must be a responsible adult, usually aged 25 or over, who lives permanently in the UK, speaks fluent English and is close enough to the school to respond quickly in an emergency; many boarding schools set a maximum travel time. The guardian must be contactable 24 hours a day and hold an Enhanced DBS check where they or their household host the student. Sherborne Prep may also ask for the guardian's details before the start of term and set additional requirements of its own. As an AEGIS accredited guardianship provider, British Guardianship meets these requirements on your behalf, with vetted guardians, Enhanced DBS checked host families and 24-hour emergency support.
Yes. Our boarding school admissions service supports international families through the application to Sherborne Prep, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Disclaimer: Logo, images and videos are shown courtesy of Sherborne Prep and remain the property of their respective owners. British Guardianship is an independent AEGIS-accredited guardianship provider, and this page is not published or endorsed by Sherborne Prep. School information is provided as a general guide and may change.
SEN Support Explained: SpLD: specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, affect particular areas of learning such as reading, spelling, coordination or working with numbers, without affecting overall ability. ASD: autism spectrum disorder affects how a student communicates, interacts with others and experiences the world around them. SEMH: social, emotional and mental health needs include anxiety, low mood and difficulty managing emotions or behaviour. MLD: moderate learning difficulties mean a student finds most areas of learning harder than their peers and benefits from adapted teaching and additional support. ADHD: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects concentration, attention, impulse control and activity levels. SLCN: speech, language and communication needs affect how a student understands language, expresses themselves or communicates with others.
