Everything You Need For Boarding School: Let’s Get Ready!

What To Bring

If you’ve been accepted into boarding school, now’s your time to start preparing! Some students may find the thought of joining boarding school a bit daunting. However, preparing for boarding school and buying your child all the bits and bobs they need before setting off, can help build up the excitement before their next adventure. So here is a list of some items to bring to boarding school.

 

Room Items 

Decorations

A great way to make boarding school feel like a home away from home is to bring a few items to decorate your room. This could include items that are already in your room, like photos, posters, and ornaments. Or you could go and buy a few new things too, such as a pin board or white board with some whiteboard pen, a desk lamp, stationary holder, a small battery pack of fairy lights, anything that will help you feel at home.

Bedding

The way your bed looks can make a huge impact on your living space. You may decide either to bring your own bedding set or splurge out and buy a new one. It can also be fun to buy a few new pillows and throws… which are also great to keep warm during cold UK seasons. 

Also, remember to pack your teddy if you have one! 

Clothing Care

It’s very useful to bring a few clothing care items. These are things such as:

• Clothing hangers
• Draw dividers
• Shoe rack
• Laundry basket

These are all handy to keep clothing and shoes organised whilst at boarding school. You may also find it handy to pack some additional items too, such as shoe polish, scent packs for draws, a lint roller… it all depends on what you decide to bring to boarding school.

Bathroom

You may either have your own bathroom or find that you're sharing with a few other people. So, here are a few things that can be helpful:

• A shower caddy or bag- this is a great way to carry everything you need to the bathroom at once! It also prevents your showers items being used accidentally by someone else. 
• A bathrobe- the UK gets quite chilly at times, so things like a bathrobe are great at keeping you toasty warm after a shower.
• Flip flops or slippers- You can wear these to and from the shower room to keep your feet nice and clean (and warm too if you choose slippers!).
• Bathroom essentials- these are all the obvious things you will need like shampoo, conditioner, soap… all the bits you usually use.

 

School Items

External Hard Drive

It can be quite handy to keep your school work, and other items like photos, on an external hard drive. That way you can always have access to your work, whether you own your own laptop or on a computer in the boarding school library. This is especially handy if you lose Wi-Fi, or it is very weak, you can still have access to your work compared to having it uploaded on the cloud.

School Bag

While at boarding school, you’ll be expected to carry around the necessary books and supplies you need for each lesson. So buying a school bag is essential. This will make it easy for you to carry everything you need for the school day from classroom to classroom.

In your school bag, you may also find it useful to buy a pencil case and get some stationary. Stationary shopping can be a very fun activity! Just remember to get all the essentials, including:

• Pens
• Pencils
• Rubber
• Ruler
• Highlighters
• And potentially a maths set if needed

As well as a school bag, also remember to pack a sports bag to hold all of your sports gear!

Water Bottle

To keep yourself hydrated during and between lessons at boarding school, remember to buy a water bottle. You can get any type of water bottle you want, whether it’s one that holds fruit inside or a charcoal stick, or just a typical water bottle.  This will be with you throughout the school year, so choose wisely! 

Entertainment Items

Headphones

There will be times where you just want to listen to some music or a movie in peace. The best way to do this is by wearing headphones. This helps to block out any other noise and is respectful to those around you. 

Smart or Formal Clothing

Most boarding schools will have some events take place while you are there. Check their website to find out what type of events may take place during your school year, and pack a few bits of formal or smart wear that you think will be most appropriate. 

Reading Material

Books are a great way to keep yourself entertained in your spare time. So remember to pack a few books to read or download them on your phone (however, nothing ever compares to a physical book!). 

Overnight Bag

Whilst at boarding school you may be spending a weekend or two away from school. This could be a school trip or staying over at a friend’s. So, remember to pack an overnight bag with a sleeping blanket and other essentials you might need.

 

 

Additional Items

Mug 

There are most likely going to be a couple of tea/coffee mornings or hot chocolate evenings where students are invited to come together for a bit of fun and a warm drink. This can be a totally fun way to spend a part of your day and meet some new people. So remember to either bring a mug from home or go and buy yourself a new one! You could bring a totally funny one or something more cute.

Boarding School Trip Equipment 

Some boarding schools will do trips throughout the school year. They will usually provide some items, but double check to make sure you have everything you need for these adventures!

And that’s it! That’s everything you need to get sorted before boarding school. If you have any other suggestions let us know below in the comments. We hope this helps and fuels the excitement for going to boarding school, good luck students!