FAQ's

What are the boarding options?

* Full Boarding - From Year 6 to Year 13, students can stay at school for seven nights a week during term time.

* Weekly Boarding - In Years 6 - 8 only, they can stay at school for four or five nights a week and go home for weekends during term time.

* Occasional Boarding - From Year 6 to Year 13, they can stay at school for one night or more per week, being charged for each night separately.

How flexible are the arrangements?

Very flexible! We do not have fixed leave arrangements. Whichever boarding package students are on, they can go home at weekends, once all school commitments have been fulfilled, if parents wish.

Do students only have leave to go home?

Absolutely not! They can go to their guardian, to other relatives or to a friend's house if they are invited (and provided that we know all the arrangements well in advance).

What happens at weekends?

There are no timetabled lessons on Saturday, but there are inter-school sports fixtures dfor the teams each week. Students can go to local towns or retail parks on a Saturday afternoon - we take them in the school minibuses. Older students can visit Leicester with their friends. Combined Cadet Force activities, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and music or drama rehearsals also often take place at weekends, and boarding staff organise a programme of activities within school.

On Sunday all students attend Church for Mass in the morning. There is a roast lunch afterwards, followed every week by an organised trip supervised by members of the boarding staff - for example, to the cinema, ice skating, go karting, Christmas shopping, places of local cultural interest, etc.

How do we know that boarding at Ratcliffe is good?

It isn't! It's outstanding! In February 2008, Ofsted inspectors visited Ratcliffe and concluded that our boarding provision is 'Outstanding' - the best rating you can get.