Clayesmore School Immersion
Step inside a true British boarding house. Lessons with their teachers, sport on their pitches, supper in their hall — for a fortnight you live a Clayesmore term in miniature.
Clayesmore, Dorset
Boarding life
Two weeks inside a real British boarding school — not beside it.
Clayesmore sits in 200 acres of Dorset parkland between Salisbury and the Jurassic Coast. For a fortnight you become a Clayesmorian: in a boarding house, on the lunch rota, in the lesson groups, on the pitches.
You are taught by the school’s own faculty alongside a small cohort of students on our programmes. Mornings are lessons in three or four subjects of your choice; afternoons are sport, art, drama, music and the legendary Clayesmore outdoor programme; evenings are housemaster check-ins, prep and shared common-room life.
Why this programme matters
This isn’t a summer school running parallel to a school — it is the school. You walk away knowing not just what UK boarding looks like in the brochure, but what it sounds like at breakfast, what a Saturday match-tea feels like, and whether this kind of life would suit you for the long term. For families considering full-time UK boarding, no two weeks are more revealing.
Programme structure
- Day01
Arrival & welcome
Met at Heathrow by our staff; coach to Clayesmore in time for housemaster welcome, room set-up and a long Sunday supper in the dining hall.
- Day02–06
Week one — into the rhythm
Six taster subjects taught by Clayesmore faculty: English literature, maths, history, science, languages and design technology. Sport options each afternoon — rugby, hockey, swimming, sailing, riding, tennis.
- Day07
Weekend in Dorset
A full Saturday: Old Harry Rocks coastal walk, Corfe Castle, fish-and-chips on the beach. Sunday: chapel (optional), house brunch and an afternoon of free reading or sport.
- Day08–11
Week two — deepening
Choose two subjects to go deeper into with project-based work. Add drama, music, art or robotics in the afternoons. House inter-team competition runs all week.
- Day12
Day in Bath & Stonehenge
Roman Baths, Georgian streets, afternoon tea in the Pump Room, and an early-evening stop at Stonehenge on the way back.
- Day13
Showcase & house dinner
A final-day showcase — short performances, project posters, sport finals — followed by the we house dinner with parents joining by video link.
- Day14
Farewell & return
Goodbye breakfast, certificates, coach back to Heathrow with our chaperones.
Why students love it.
A boarding house is the only place in education where you live, learn and play with the same people for two weeks. It builds something a classroom cannot.
Live the real timetable
You follow Clayesmore’s actual daily rhythm — bells, prep, house meetings, sport — not a tourist version of it.
A boarding-house family
You join a house with its own colours, songs and traditions. You leave with a UK best friend — that’s our quiet promise.
Six taught subjects
Real lessons by real teachers, in small groups. You will absorb how British classroom discussion actually works.
Sport that surprises you
Try a sport you have never touched — sailing, fencing, polo — or sharpen one you love. Inter-house finals on the final weekend.
The Dorset edge
Two weekend excursions out to the Jurassic Coast, Bath and Stonehenge. You learn the country, not just the campus.
A real reference
A formal end-of-programme report from your form tutor — useful for senior-school applications and university essays alike.
What you take home.
Concrete, named outcomes you can put on a Common App essay, a senior-school application or a sixth-form interview.
- A two-week academic report from Clayesmore form tutors, covering effort, contribution and study skills.
- A subject-deep project in your chosen specialism, with tutor feedback you can quote in applications.
- Boarding-house life experience — the kind that answers the “is full-time UK boarding right for me?” question honestly.
- Public-speaking confidence from showcase performances and the daily habit of contributing in small classes.
- British sport exposure — with a credible go at one new sport, on UK pitches and courts.
- Cultural fluency — how a British school greets, queues, debates, jokes and apologises.
- A network of UK friends across two year groups — the start of a small but lasting circle.
- Certificate of completion — a Clayesmore & Aspirational Editech co-issued credential, posted home.
Built for the curious 13–17 year-old.
Especially powerful for families considering UK senior schools or sixth-form — and for any student who has read about boarding life and wants to test it before they commit.
- Ages 13–17, no prior UK travel required.
- Conversational English — comfortable joining a class discussion, not necessarily fluent.
- Considering full-time UK boarding for ages 14, 16 or 18 entry.
- Curious, sociable and ready to try things — sport, drama, debate, choir.
- Open to a phone-light fortnight — we ask for daily downtime from screens, in line with house rules.
Life on the programme
A look inside the campus, the classrooms and the moments in between.
Transparent, all-in pricing.
One fee covers every meaningful element of the trip. The list below tells you exactly what’s in, and what isn’t.
Programme fee
Covers every element of the programme — from arrival at Heathrow to your final farewell.
- Two weeks’ full board in a Clayesmore boarding house
- All academic tuition by Clayesmore faculty
- Daily afternoon activity programme (sport, art, drama, music)
- Two full-day UK excursions (Dorset coast; Bath & Stonehenge)
- All meals on campus and out
- UK Standard Visitor visa support and submission
- Comprehensive student travel insurance
- our chaperones from Heathrow arrival to Heathrow departure
- 24/7 in-country support line for parents
- End-of-programme report, certificate, and parents’ video showcase
Optional extras
Items we don’t bundle in — either because they vary or because families prefer to choose.
- International flights (add-on from BLR, BOM or DEL)
- Personal pocket money (we recommend £150–£200)
- Optional pre/post-trip extension (London weekend, +£950)
- Items lost or damaged outside reasonable wear
Easy payments
Three-instalment plan at no extra cost. Pay in INR or GBP.
Sibling discount
5% off the second sibling on the same trip. School group rates available.
Refundable deposit
A £500 deposit secures your seat; balance due eight weeks before departure.
What sets this programme apart.
Three things you will not find on a typical summer school.
Buddy system from day one
Each we student is paired with a Clayesmore Lower Sixth “buddy” for the whole fortnight — a real-time guide to school life.
Form-tutor written report
A two-page narrative report at the end — not a generic certificate — suitable for senior-school applications.
Pastoral care, properly
A dedicated our house parent on site at all times, plus the school’s own housemaster team. No student is ever more than a corridor from a trusted adult.
Your journey, step by step.
From the first enquiry to the warm hug back at the airport — we walk every metre with you.
Enquire & speak
A 20-minute call with our team. We talk dates, fit, paperwork and any worries you carry.
Apply & pay deposit
Short online form plus a £500 refundable deposit secures your place. We then begin the visa file.
Onboarding pack
Six weeks out: kit list, house allocation, named contacts, weekly parent calls, and a private chat group with the other families.
Programme & report
Two weeks in Dorset. Daily parent updates, end-of-trip showcase, written report and certificate posted home.
Looked after, every step of the way.
Academic guidance, pastoral care and emotional wellbeing aren’t separate departments — they’re woven through every day of the programme.
Academic
A Clayesmore form tutor supervises your academic progress, with private feedback at the mid-week and end-of-week check-ins.
Pastoral
An our house parent lives in the boarding house. Nightly “how was your day?” check-ins, on top of school staff supervision.
Emotional
Confidential one-to-ones available with our trained student counsellor. Home-sickness, friendships, food — nothing is too small.
Where this opens doors.
A short immersion that feeds long, slow pathways — from senior-school applications to a richer university essay three years later.
UK senior-school entry
Direct, current insight for 13+ and 16+ applications to UK boarding schools.
University essays
Concrete, named experience to draw on in Common App and UCAS personal statements.
Global pathways
A reference letter and credential recognised by admissions teams in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Lifelong network
A UK friend group you keep in touch with — and bump into again at university.
What students and parents tell us.
By day three Aanya was on the second-team hockey roster and had three British friends. By day fourteen she was crying at the gate — not to leave. Worth every rupee.
I’d been on summer schools before. This was different — we were inside the school, not next to it. I had a housemaster, a house, a school song. I’m applying to Clayesmore for 16+.
The daily parent updates were the difference. We always knew where she was, who she was with and that she had eaten. That kind of communication is rare.
Questions, answered.
A fortnight inside Clayesmore. Twelve places left for July 2026.
Places are limited and tend to fill 6–8 weeks before departure. Speak to our team to walk through dates, paperwork and everything we handle on your behalf.
