Battle Abbey School

Battle Abbey School is a co-educational boarding school located in the small town of Battle, East Sussex. The attractive city of Battle got its name from the Battle of Hastings, which was fought between Harold, King of Saxony, and William the Conqueror in 1066. This battle changed the course of English history.

Battle Abbey School was founded in 1912, and moved to the abbey in 1922. Currently, the abbey is a central part of the high school, and it is from here that the school got its name, and the preparatory school and kindergarten are located in the neighbouring city of Bexhill-on-Sea.

The abbot's house was built in the 13th century, and a monastery grew around the church. A significant part of the main school building belongs to that time, more modern buildings date back to the 16th century.

The school has about 300 students.

Director (stand 2023)

David Clark, Education - University of Exeter, Bachelor of Arts in History; University of Cambridge, Master's degree in Education Management.

Famous school graduates

• Georgina Henry, journalist
• Claire Torrey, singer
• Dan Poulter, MP

Key factors

• According to the latest data presented by the government on the BBC, Battle Abbey School is considered the best high school in the counties of East Sussex, West Sussex and Kent and is famous for the successes and achievements of students on the A-level course.
• Overall, Battle Abbey School ranked first in all of Sussex and Kent in terms of performance and ranked 26th in the country out of nearly 4,500 schools.
• Academically strong school.
• The ideal size of Battle Abbey School, great care for children, impressive opportunities and a holistic approach to study, combined with a warm, friendly and very favourable working environment - all this creates a unique atmosphere.
• The school manages to combine traditional values ​​with new, innovative thinking in teaching and learning, while at the same time offering a wide range of extracurricular activities.
• For the Battle Abbey school, a close-knit family atmosphere is valuable, which is intensively developed and maintained.

Equipment

School facilities include:

• Centre for the Performing Arts
• Multipurpose field Astro-turf
• Sports Science Laboratory
• 2 football fields
• 3 tennis courts
• Multipurpose sports hall
• Dance studio
• Interactive classroom whiteboards
• Martlet House for students of the Sixth Form (opened in September 2016)
• Lounge for younger and older children
• Renovated Natural Sciences Area
• Pool
• Modern IT equipment

Program

Small classes and an adapted curriculum while preserving the best aspects of the national curriculum.

GCSE

A two-year program for obtaining a certificate of general secondary education. Required to study 6 subjects, 4 subjects are studied by choice.

A-level

A two-year university preparatory program. Students choose 4 or 5 subjects for in-depth study. Tutors monitor work and progress.

Mentors will help students with admission to the university, the selection of subjects and a number of other training tasks. There is no school uniform, but there is a requirement to dress like young professional people.

Accommodation

Pupils live in the main building of Abbey, Westnedge and Marylands.

The girls' area is located in Abbey's main house. Most live in rooms of 2-4 people. Younger boys live in rooms of 3-6 people.

Most boys in the Sixth Form live in Westnedge, a separate house on the school grounds, which has 2-bed and 1-bed rooms, as well as a kitchen and a common area.

The main house has several common areas, including a living room, a games room and two computer rooms. Students can play the piano in the library and in the Abbots room. The school has wireless Internet access, which is available to students until 23:00.

Competitions between school houses are a very important tradition, creating the spirit of home competition.

Marylands is a new boarding house (opened in 2014) for Sixth Form students (16-18 years old). Previously, it was a private house, which was renovated to very high standards, and the housing was designed to offer students a suitable home, convenient for study.

It has spacious rooms, large living rooms, fully equipped kitchens and even a winter garden. All interior items are new and correspond to the home atmosphere that the school likes to support. On the territory of almost 2 hectares there is a large garden. The house is located on the outskirts of Battle, although it is only a few minutes’ walk from the main school building. A minibus runs from Maryland to school.

The house can accommodate 7 boys and 10 girls who can chat during the day but sleep in safe, separate parts of the building.

In the wing for boys there are 3 double rooms and 1 single, kitchen / dining room, living room, 2 family-style bathrooms and 1 separate toilet.

In the wing for girls there is 1 bedroom with a single bed, 3 double and 1 (very large) triple room, a kitchen-dining room, a living room, a cosy room and 4 bathrooms.

Sport

Physical education classes aim to give students experience in various sports, such as boxing, aerobics, trampolining, table tennis, swimming, personal survival, frisbee and athletics.

The game curriculum follows a more traditional path and is primarily a sport in which the school plays against other schools. Main sports: football for boys and hockey for girls in the fall semester, hockey for boys and netball for girls in the spring semester, cricket for boys and girls in the summer. The school also competes in small sports such as swimming and athletics, however, the training time is mainly determined by the program of extracurricular activities.

In recent years, the school has successfully participated in a number of local and district netball tournaments.

Sports scholarships are mainly awarded to candidates who excel in the main school, soccer, hockey, netball, cricket and ball games, and swimming.

Additional classes

Not a day goes by when the school does not host clubs, trips, events or social gatherings (from school choirs and knitting clubs to discussion and sports teams). High school events such as Christmas Dinner and Summer Ball are the highlight of the year.

In the magnificent historic setting of the abbey, children enjoy a wide and varied selection of activities that go far beyond the standard national curriculum.

Thanks to the excellent equipment, the school can introduce each child to a wider range of intellectual and physical activities, so that they can identify those that they like best and those in which they are most successful.

Weekend tours can include trips to London or Brighton, movie theatres, bowling and mountain biking.

The Performing Arts Department conducts a large show every semester with children who perform or provide technical support, there is a wonderful choir, orchestra, many students play musical instruments at a high level or just for fun. There is a dance club, science club, art club and a lot of sporting events. Students also have the opportunity to relax with friends in a beautiful historic building and its surroundings.

COST, 2023-2024

£9,894 - £11,857 per semester (depending on age).
There are 3 semesters in the school year.

Included in cost

• Teaching
• Accommodation and meals

Extra paid

• Registration fee - £150
• Deposit - £12,000
• Language Support (EAL) - £500 per semester
• Flights
• Transfers to / from the airport
• Visa
• Services of the company "Paradise"
• Guardianship (as required by British law)

SERVICES OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMPANY INCLUDE

• Selection of 5-6 schools that best meet the individual characteristics of the child, further goals, talents, with the desired environment. Help in the correct interpretation of school ratings, an explanation of why the school occupies one place or another. Help in obtaining reliable information about schools that are not included in the ratings, with an explanation of the reasons for non-participation in it.
• Admission to 1-3 schools, selected from the proposed. Which includes the preparation of the necessary documents, school reports, characteristics, recommendations. Selection and submission of tests to prepare the student for exam testing, assistance in preparing essays. Preparation for an interview with the teacher / principal, registration for the exam. The necessary list of recommendations when attending school for passing entrance examinations. Correspondence with the school (far from all schools enter into correspondence with foreign parents, they are cautious, trust only a trusted agent).
• Assistance in paying registration fees, deposits, bills. Clarification of school rules, including disciplinary and legal aspects.
• Filling out the required medical forms.
• Selection of guardians required by UK law.

Student supervision during the first month of training is provided as a gift: assistance in resolving issues related to resettlement, billing, informing parents about the child’s health status, assistance with understanding of academic programs, organization of ext. classes for the child in a particular subject, help in choosing the program most suitable for the child, transfer to another class, etc. etc.

Impressions from a school visit

Natasha Strein
Founder of ‘’Paradise’’

Battle Abbey School is located right inside the fabulous abbey of the early Middle Ages! Fireplaces are taller than an average human being, stone walls, and on them are huge canvases. It seems that I am on the set of the film, and about the warriors in chain mail will fly around the bay on the bay horses and chop me down with wooden swords.

Children are sitting in medieval rooms with triangular windows to the floor and reading, and squirrels rushing outside the windows on emerald grass, like a thousand years ago ...

The business department is just like another Harry Potter set! The building (from 1407) is much older than the abbey, you can say a new building! There, as if in a maze, we climb the narrow stairs under the low white ceilings with black beams.

The entrances to the offices are decorated like magic shops from the movie about Harry! I light up like a child! Wow! Are there such schools, I think for the hundredth time? This is not a panel with an evil guard and a metal detector at the entrance. This is a fairy-tale!

There are 320 students in the tale. “A school where your child will become a big fish in a small pond,” says the principal.

Battle Abbey - magic wand for 16-year olds with mediocre knowledge of English. Usually one cannot get into traditional schools with such. And here they found a way to quickly train, and even send them to cool universities.

Battle Abbey sometimes takes pupils for a period of 3 weeks, subject to availability in the hostel (sometimes 2-3). Why not send your child in June? Holidays used wisely!