Why families choose Bootham
The core principles of Bootham School celebrate the young people we’re privileged to care for; intellectually, personally, spiritually, setting them on a road of lifelong fulfilment, to the benefit of society as well as themselves. The Quaker ethos is inclusive of all families with children, from all backgrounds and we welcome students and staff of all faiths and none.
To help our children reach for these goals and benefit from the best education possible we have a wonderfully supportive staff team, a welcoming school community and outstanding facilities and equipment.
This holistic approach helps Bootham pupils to achieve outstanding academic results, with almost a third of the 2022 GCSE cohort earning at least 9 grades 9-7, 12 students gaining at least 9 grades 9-8 and 4 students being awarded 10 or more grade 9s. Likewise at A-Level, over a third of the 2022 class achieved at least 3 A grades, and 7 out of a total 61 were awarded at least 3 A* grades.
Admissions and Flexible Boarding options
We understand that one week won’t necessarily be the same as the next for a working family. We provide catering and care options to make the combinations of learning and living as easy as possible, for our parents and our pupils.
Pupil placement options are designed to give families maximum support and exceptional value for money; from day pupils with afterschool care, to boarding from year seven. Boarding choices include occasional and flexi-boarding, to full or weekly boarding.
Our senior school students (ages 11-18) develop into young adults with the courage and confidence to build a better world. We are proud that pupils leave us as kind, intelligent, well-rounded individuals.
Not a typical private secondary school
“Bootham presents all the things that a really good private school should offer; excellent, knowledgeable and passionate teachers with the time and resources to teach their subjects; an emphasis on personalised, well-resourced pastoral care and personal development; a proven record of the vast majority of its students winning a place on a chosen university course; a huge range of sporting, cultural, outdoors and leadership/service opportunities and great exam results. But it offers more than that. Arising from our Quaker foundation, practices and heritage Bootham has a much clearer understanding of the ultimate purpose of the education that it offers. Helping students to achieve lifelong success and flourishing in a different way, not by emphasising conformity or the primacy of exam-related endeavour, but rather the development of intrinsic motivation and individuality. It’s an approach that produces students who leave the school comfortable in their own skin, confident in the unique combination of strengths and talents that they have, and aware of their responsibility to make the world they are entering a better, fairer, peaceful place. I firmly believe that all parents ultimately want their children to be good people even more than they want them to be successful people; doing both is what we specialise in!I encourage all parents to think about the lifelong purpose of your child’s education and academic success and to visit us to experience the school’s very special -and rather different- atmosphere for yourselves.”
Chris Jeffery, Headmaster
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