With affordability of boarding school at the forefront of many parents’ minds, there is every reason to consider The Duke of York’s Royal Military School, says Principal Alex Foreman
The Duke of York’s Royal Military School (DOYRMS) has a very simple but ambitious vision of providing an all-round education with an academic focus. The facilities on offer and the breadth of opportunities students can access are exceptional.
Something else sets our school apart. As the country’s only state full-boarding school, DOYRMS is open to all students aged 11-18 and offers an affordable option for parents seeking a full-boarding environment. The school is based on an independent-style model, with Saturday morning lessons and co-curricular activities throughout the week and on Saturday afternoons.
Its unique status means parents are only required to pay for boarding, with the government paying the education element. Boarding fees are currently £4,999 per term (£14,997 per year). The inclusive school fees cover full-boarding, catering, laundry and over 70 clubs and activities per week.
Students benefit from superb facilities and fantastic teachers, which combine to encourage high academic achievement. Official progress figures for GCSE place DOYRMS in the top 2% of schools nationally. Indeed, in recognition of our exceptional academic standards, the school has achieved the SSAT Educational Outcomes Award 2020.
Set within 150 acres of Kent countryside near Dover, our students enjoy a unique blend of academic achievement and an active lifestyle focused round sport, music, drama, and a vast activities programme – this includes Combined Cadet Force and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.
A £24.9 million refurbishment project at the school in 2014 delivered a new sports centre, high-quality accommodation, teaching blocks and a performing arts centre. All classrooms are large, bright and well resourced, each with a large teaching screen, and all students are issued with a personal laptop. Our sports facilities include an Olympic standard floodlit athletics track, a floodlit all-weather hockey pitch, state-of-the-art strength and conditioning gym suite, dance studio with harlequin floor, a six-lane indoor heated swimming pool and two climbing walls.
The school is fortunate to have a well-resourced medical centre on-site and students benefit from a hugely experienced pastoral team of Houseparents, academic tutors and matrons. There is Wi-Fi throughout and regular exeat weekends (although the school always remains open for our students to stay), so that our students can keep in close touch with their parents and family networks.
At DOYRMS affordability continues at Sixth Form level. Indeed, students can access 80% scholarships if they have at least 8 GCSE passes including English and Mathematics, with grade 8 or above in at least two GCSEs and grade 7 or above in a further three GCSEs.
Take a virtual tour of DOYRMS at doyrms.com
Further reading: How to choose the right boarding school for your child
You may also like...
