Group Visit Opportunities

Many boarding schools welcome visiting groups of students from other schools or other countries during holiday periods, but at Bournemouth Collegiate School we also have a special boarding area reserved for term-time visits. The visiting groups are housed in their own self-contained section of the school, but eat with our own day and boarding students in an attractive dining room which offers a very varied menu. Coupled with our large Sports Hall and outdoor sports facilities, this makes BCS an ideal base for group visits of a few days or weeks. We have excellent road and rail links with the rest of the country (under 2 hours by train to London), with good connections to Heathrow (2 hours) and Southampton (45 minutes) International Airports (Southampton has more than 40 European destinations). Bournemouth Airport is 10 minutes from the school.

Our group boarding facility can cater for school groups of up to 40 pupils and 6 staff. We can accommodate students aged from 11 to 16 years, and by negotiation 17-18 year olds. Pupils occupy rooms with between 2 and 6 beds and there are separate bathroom areas for boys and girls. They are housed in part of Wentworth Lodge, originally the beautiful private house of Lord Portman, built in 1824. Bournemouth Collegiate School operates partly within Wentworth Lodge itself, but mainly in modern custom-built teaching facilities attached to the historic building.

Visiting groups take all meals (breakfast, lunch and supper) with BCS pupils, and can even participate in lessons with BCS if this is arranged in advance. The school operates a very extensive programme of after-school sporting and other activities, which are also available to visitors. The impressive sports hall is large enough for 4 badminton courts, and is equipped with two trampolines and facilities for indoor tennis, netball, basketball, football and hockey, together with a separate fitness studio. The 25 metre indoor swimming pool is heated and the sports field is used for hockey, football, rugby, rounders and track and field events.

BCS is an ideal choice for group visits, both for its physical location close to the cliff top at Bournemouth and because of its very varied and attractive surroundings. To the West lies the amazing World Heritage Site of the Dorset coast, while to the East we have the Isle of Wight and the New Forest - which was “new” 1000 years ago when it was established as a Royal Hunting Forest! If your visit is academic, we can help you to arrange visiting speakers to introduce the area and plan your local field work. The beach and the huge sheltered harbours to East and West are unique resources for BCS visitors. Boscombe’s new surf reef  (a first for England!) is just 20 minutes walk from school. We also have a special link with Rockley Water Sports, that means that we are able to arrange a full programme of water-based  activities such as surfing, sailing, kayaking and body-boarding from May to October.

JUST ONE EXAMPLE . . .

Year 12 Geography AS students and staff from The Cottesloe School, Buckinghamshire, stayed at BCS whilst undertaking coastal fieldwork studies at Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door, Hengistbury Head and Studland Bay. On the Saturday, the group learnt about the geology and erosion along this well known stretch of the Jurassic Coastline. They also considered the impact of Tourism on this ‘honey pot’ site. Sunday saw the group head off to Studland where they carried out beach transects and studied the succession of vegetation. Due to the position of BCS so near to the sea, it serves as an ideal base for other inland schools looking to organise residential fieldwork trips to the coast. The students also made use of the classroom facilities and were very impressed with the newly opened Sixth Form common room on the first floor! These eleven AS students had a very successful and productive visit and commented that BCS students are very lucky to have the coast literally on their doorstep and all that this offers.

The possibilities for group visits are by no means limited to UK groups. For example, BCS was delighted to welcome 30 pupils from Bangkok Assumption College in Thailand for a two week visit. During their stay the pupils, who boarded at the school, enjoyed sharing lessons with their English counterparts, evening activities with the school’s full time boarders and going on excursions further afield including London, New Forest, the Purbecks and the home of Chelsea FC, Stamford Bridge. Stephen Duckitt, Principal of BCS said “this is exactly the kind of international collaboration we welcome at BCS. It enables our pupils to gain a valuable insight into other cultures and ways of thinking and is part of our commitment to prepare our pupils for the multi cultural world they will face”.

 

Please use the general email enquiry form on the Contact Us page to let us know about your interests or to seek further information.