Aysgarth School

About Aysgarth School

Set in the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, Aysgarth is one of the leading independent Prep Schools for boys aged 3-13 and girls from 3-8, where students are encouraged to make the most out of their potential both in and out of the classroom. Aysgarth boys and brought up to be happy, confident, courteous, independent and ambitious.

Aysgarth is the only all-boys boarding Prep School in the north of Britain and sends more boys to selective schools such as Eton and Harrow than any other school in the north. Aysgarth aims to provide a broad and balanced education for every pupil, and whilst academics are paramount, the School takes great care to ensure that the children have the opportunity to thrive in the fields of sport, music, drama and art.

Although day boys are equally as welcome, Aysgarth is very much a boarding school and boys travel from throughout the country and across the world to join the Aysgarth community. The School is very much a home with all boarders living in the main building and strong pastoral care is at the heart of a healthy and happy community.

 

Boarding at Aysgarth School

The majority of boys are at Aysgarth are full boarders, which really helps create a sense of homeliness and community. We aim to ensure that they can gain the maximum benefit and enjoyment from boarding.  Evening and weekend programmes provide plentiful opportunities to pursue an enormous variety of activities, to relax and enjoy time with friends, and to catch up on work.

Activities vary according to the time of year, but weekends are jam packed with events such as team building, high ropes courses, tenpin bowling, laser quest, trampolines, climbing, shooting, sports activities, surfing, archery, fishing, BBQing, art, drama and ‘The Waterslide’.

We arrange social events for the older boys with nearby girls’ schools nearby, so that all students have the opportunity to mix.

We realise the importance of including students’ families and invite them to join us for Sunday events such as the Aysgarth run, parent and child tennis tournaments and the clay day. Also arranged are whole-school trips such as visits to theme parks.

Contact

Type of School Co-ed until age 8, Boys only 8-13
Number of Pupils 130
Number of Boarders 104
International Boarders 8
Age Range 3-13
Religious Tradition Church of England
Distance from Airports

35 min drive to Teesside International Airport, 60 min drive to Leeds Bradford, 75 min drive to Newcastle Airport, 120 min drive to Manchester – School offers escorted transport to and from all northern airports.
Distance from London

Less than 2.5 hours by train – school offers an escorted train service to London at half terms and exeats.
Contact
Educational Programmes

Common Entrance (13+)

EAL & Class Size
Our small classes (maximum 16) and restricting the number of non-native English speakers per class ensures that the subject teacher has the ability to provide additional language support if required; this coupled with wonderful individual and bespoke timetabled EAL we see fantastic and quick progression in language and most importantly socially. 
Admissions Process
Non Selective but supporting documentation and interview required.
Co-Curricular Programmes

There are over 50 clubs and sports offered at Aysgarth.

At Aysgarth, every child is given the opportunity to experience a wide range of sporting activities and to represent the School in all major sports. Our PE curriculum and Games programme work hand in hand to ensure that each child finds a passion for sport and reaches their true potential.

For boys who do not particularly enjoy the competitive sporting environment and maybe would like less rugby, football and cricket off their weekly schedule, we offer a sports development programme which hosts a wide range of sports: archery, shooting, golf, badminton, swimming, scuba diving, climbing, and sailing to name a few.

The priority at Aysgarth is to instil a love for physical exercise into all students.

The music at Aysgarth is outstanding. Facilities on offer include 8 practice rooms, 2 rehearsal rooms, a performing arts hall, a purpose-built music classroom and chapel. A very high proportion of the boys at school play a musical instrument and are successful in external examinations.

In terms of Drama, we aim to offer every boy the opportunity to be involved in a variety of productions, from musicals and dramatic productions to competing in drama festivals, as well as the opportunity to develop their skills in scripted and improvised drama.

29 boys recently sat the LAMDA qualification from Grade 3 to Grade 5: 21 were awarded a distinction.

But we know not all students like to be on stage, so as well as this we also offer the chance to be involved in all aspects of theatre; set design and lighting, costume, back stage and front of house.