Bradfield College, Berkshire, has introduced a new Day option from the start of this academic year. It will see pupils entering Year 9 and the Lower Sixth have the choice of three offerings – Day, Day/Boarding and Boarding. Bradfield’s Group Director of Marketing and Communications, Ruth Thorogate, outlines what the new model looks like and the thinking behind it.
For a school with more than 175 years of boarding tradition, introducing a Day option was not an insignificant decision. But against a growing understanding of changing family patterns and local market demands and drivers, it was one we found ourselves seriously considering just 12 months ago.
Why change?
Bradfield is fortunate geographically. We have a 285-acre rural campus in the Pang Valley and the environment and infrastructure of a boarding school, but we also sit within reach of significant populations in Reading, Newbury and the wider Thames Valley….