Sending your child to a boarding school in Europe: who it's for, what it costs, and how to do it

The topic comes up cyclically among the expat families we work with: « We’re considering a boarding school for our teenager. » Sometimes it’s a long-planned project (the child wants a structured international experience), sometimes it’s an emergency (geopolitical instability, expatriation to a country without a good school, family separation). In both cases, the same questions come back:

1. Is this the right option for my child?
2. How much does it really cost?
3. How do we go about it, especially in an emergency, mid-year?

This article answers all three.

Boarding school vs French internat: two different worlds

First, a vocabulary clarification that many francophone families confuse.

Boarding school (UK, Switzerland, international)

A British boarding school is a private residential educational institution where the child lives on-site 24/7 during term time. It’s not a standard « dormitory school » but a complete universe: classes, sports and cultural activities, individual tutoring, life in a house system, pastoral care (housemaster/housemistress), meals, structured weekends.

British boarding schools are the global standard for residential education. Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby (the most famous names), but also hundreds of less well-known and equally good schools (Oundle, Cheltenham Ladies, Malvern, Sevenoaks, etc.).

Features:

• Curriculum: GCSE + A-levels, or IB Diploma (many schools offer both)
• Size: 300 to 1,200 students
• Supervision: very favourable student-to-adult ratio (~1 adult for 5-8 students, counting housemasters, tutors, matrons)
• Cost: £40,000-65,000/year including VAT (20% VAT has applied to school fees since January 2025; average full boarding £51,714/year, ISC Census 2025)

French internat

The French internat is a boarding arrangement within a lycée (public or private), not a total way of life. The child sleeps and eats at the lycée during the week and goes home at weekends. Supervision is less enveloping than a boarding school: it’s a dormitory + a canteen, not a « house ».

Features:

• Curriculum: French Bac only (except international lycées with international sections)
• Size: variable (the lycée may have 2,000 students of whom 100 are boarders)
• Supervision: one supervisor for 20-40 boarders (less favourable than the UK)
• Cost: €2,000-5,000/year public, €8,000-25,000/year private

In-between options

A few French institutions approach the boarding school model:

• École des Roches (Normandy): the oldest « French-style boarding school ». Bilingual, 200 students, highly personalised supervision. ~€43,000/year tuition + boarding (2025-2026 lycée rates).
• Lycée Ermitage (Maisons-Laffitte): international sections, IB available, structured boarding. ~€15,000-20,000/year.
• Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye: 14 international sections and benchmark public-sector excellence, but be aware: the school does not offer boarding (source: ONISEP). An option only if the family can house the child nearby.

In Switzerland: Le Rosey, Institut auf dem Rosenberg, Aiglon College, Brillantmont: maximum international prestige, fees of CHF 70,000-150,000/year, out of reach for 95% of families (Institut auf dem Rosenberg, the most expensive school in the world, exceeds CHF 140,000).

The decision tree: is this the right option?

Criterion 1: Is the child ready to live away from family?

This is the decisive criterion, before budget, before curriculum, before everything. A 14-15 year old who has never slept away from home, who has a strong attachment to a parent, who hasn’t asked to leave: that child is not a good candidate for a boarding school, even the best in the world.

Conversely, a 15-16 year old who is autonomous, sociable, curious, and who wants this experience: that’s an excellent candidate. The child’s desire is the best predictor of boarding school success.

Test question: « If I offered you a year in a boarding school in the UK, far from us, how would you feel? » If the answer is « cool, I’m interested » → positive signal. If it’s « no, that scares me » → stop signal.

Criterion 2: Is the budget sustainable over time?

A UK boarding school at £45,000/year over 4 years (GCSE 2 years + A-levels or IB 2 years), that’s ~£180,000 (~€210,000). This isn’t a one-off investment. It’s a long-term financial commitment, comparable to buying property.

And hidden fees add up: return flights (€3,000/year), uniforms (£500-1,000 in the first year), optional activities (music, sports, outings), pocket money.

Rule: if the boarding school budget puts the family under financial strain, don’t do it. A French internat at €3,000/year offers a structured framework at a fraction of the cost. And a French AEFE lycée abroad is often the best option for expat families.

Criterion 3: Which curriculum is priority?

• If the child needs to continue in IB: choose an IB boarding school (numerous in the UK, a few in France and Switzerland)
• If the child needs to take the French Bac: French internat (public or private lycée)
• If the child is in A-levels / IGCSE: UK boarding school, smoothest transition
• If the child wants to change curriculum: evaluate the cost of the switch (lost time, catch-up, adjustment) vs the benefit

Criterion 4: Is this an emergency or a planned project?

• Planned project (enrolment for the next September): you have 6-12 months. Visit schools, sit admission tests, prepare the child.
• Emergency (mid-year, geopolitical crisis, family situation): some boarding schools accept mid-year enrolments if places are available. In the UK, specialist agencies (Anderson Education, Gabbitas, Lumos Education) can accelerate the process and find a place in 2-4 weeks.

The standard UK enrolment procedure

Step	Timeline
School research + shortlist (5-10 schools)	2-3 months before the deadline
Formal registration + fee (~£100-300)	12-18 months before entry for the best schools, 6 months for the others
Admission tests (UKiset, CAT4, or the school’s own tests)	Variable
Interview (in person or by video)	After the tests
Offer + acceptance + deposit (often one term in advance, ~£10,000-15,000)	3-6 months before entry
Start of school	September (or January for mid-year entries)

For an emergency (mid-year) enrolment: the process can be compressed to 2-6 weeks if the school has places and the file is complete. Specialist agencies are very useful in this case: they know in real time which schools have places.

Real costs, compared

Option	Annual cost	Total cost 3 years
French public internat	€2,000-5,000	€6,000-15,000
French private internat	€8,000-25,000	€24,000-75,000
UK boarding school (typical range)	£40,000-65,000 incl. VAT (≈ €47,000-76,000)	≈ €140,000-230,000
UK boarding school (top of the market: Eton, Harrow)	£63,000-65,000 incl. VAT/year (€74,000-76,000)	≈ €220,000-230,000
Swiss boarding school	CHF 70,000-150,000 (≈ €74,000-159,000)	CHF 210,000-450,000 (≈ €225,000-480,000)

Worth noting: Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, often mentioned in this type of project for its public-sector excellence (14 international sections, excellent level), does not offer boarding (source: ONISEP). It therefore requires family housing nearby.

Key takeaways

• A UK boarding school is a complete residential universe, not just a school with beds. It’s an immersive, structured, and highly supervised experience.
• Criterion #1 is the child’s maturity and desire, not the budget or prestige.
• Costs range from €2,000/year (French public internat) to over CHF 140,000/year (Swiss boarding school). The gap is roughly 1 to 70.
• In emergencies (geopolitical crisis), mid-year enrolments are possible in the UK: specialist agencies accelerate the process.
• The French public internat is a serious and underestimated alternative at a fraction of the cost of a British boarding school.
• Don’t put the family under financial strain for a boarding school. A French lycée with internat at €3,000/year is often the best option.

Going further

• Geopolitical crisis and schooling: what to do when school goes online?
• Binational families: how to navigate between two systems
• United Kingdom country guide
• Anderson Education, boarding school consultants
• Good Schools Guide (UK)

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Article written by Constantin Mardoukhaev, co-founder of Axiom Academic. Constantin supports francophone expat families with their schooling and orientation choices, including emergency boarding school projects.