Boarding schools rankings

Why League Tables Could Be a Good Measure of a Boarding School’s worth in the UK

League table rankings are some of the tools that parents can use when scouting for the best boarding schools for their children in UK. But how accurate and useful are they when it comes to establishing a boarding school’s worth?

Generally, league tables provide an easy way of doing comparisons of schools using a few indicators. This is because it is always easy to decipher the measures that are used in the tables. For overseas parents who may not have local knowledge of the UK boarding schools or who may not travel to verify a few boarding schools, league tables provide a great way of making decisions on the best schools for their children.

How they work

League tables are based on the annual GCSE results or equivalent exams taken at the age of 16 as well as A-levels, Key Stage 5 exams, or other equivalent exams taken at the age of 18. Most of these exams are taken in June every year, and the official figures corresponding to each are published several months later-usually January of the following year. However, it is important to note that league tables are available only in England as Northern Ireland and Wales abolished them in 2001. Scotland also banned in 2003.

Nonetheless, if you are planning to take your child to a boarding school in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Island, and you are concerned that you will have to wade through volumes of raw data, you don’t need to worry as there are a few publishers that often compile these data in a series of easily available boarding schools rankings. Most of the data are also searchable and shows how each boarding school compare with every other school-both at independent and state schools.