Our judges are keen to hear your story: what made your school tick during 2025-26, why house staff love working there, and why your boarders enjoy a boarding experience like no other. Bring it to life with anecdotes, examples, and any data that backs up your points—but keep it flowing, not just a list of stats. Most importantly, give us a real feel for boarding life as if the judges were strolling through your boarding houses themselves.

Our judges will want the winning school to show a full commitment to boarding which runs through the community’s DNA.

Resilience is very much the watchword of the moment in our sector, prompting a clear-eyed focus on the future amongst leadership teams up and down the country. So please weave an explanation of how your school is taking sensible, forward-thinking steps to shore up its long-term stability into your answers.

 Here are the questions to guide your entry—remember, we’re looking for the boarding story, not the academic one: 

• What makes boarding at your school special?
  Tell us what sets your boarding school apart. Why should it be seen as ‘best in class’? Share your standout successes, achievements, or moments of pride from boarding life that show why your students thrive. Think of it as giving us a glimpse through the eyes of your boarders—what would make them, and you, feel this is a place unlike any other? (Around 200 words)

• How has your boarding provision met the needs of students in 2025-26?
  Highlight the ways your school ensured students had a positive live-in experience this year. Are there any new initiatives, projects, or changes that made a real difference? Celebrate the things you’re most proud of in your boarding provision and show how your school goes above and beyond for its boarders. (Around 150 words)

• What are the values of your boarding community, and how do they shape your students?
  Describe the core principles that guide life in your boarding houses and the impact they have on your students. How does boarding at your school prepare them for adulthood and equip them to thrive in today’s world? Give us a sense of the character, confidence, and resilience fostered in your boarding community. (Around 150 words)