Birkdale Private School

• Year of foundation: 1904
• Hotel Area: United Kingdom
• Age of students: 4–18
• Number of students: 800+
• Language of instruction: English
• Type of education: mixed school.

Birkdale School is an independent day school for boys 4–18 years old, girls 4–8 years old, as well as a co-educational school under the Sixth Form program. The educational institution is characterized as successful and friendly. Here, close attention is paid to the needs of each individual student, developing his abilities, character and self-confidence in order to lay a solid foundation for a happy and successful life.

The school is imbued with a Christian spirit: students understand what Birkdale School expects from them, developing in the spirit of school values and responsibility to themselves, others, the school.

Small classes and outstanding teaching, motivated and gifted in all respects the staff of the school is busy educating students in the spirit of independence and curiosity, the ability to work together, to show initiative. Schoolchildren demonstrate excellent results in exams and high readiness for subsequent studies.

A variety of extracurricular opportunities in various fields, from sports and academic activities, excursions to music, dramatic art and fine arts nurture talents, educating diverse young people, enriching the life of the local community. Birkdale has extensive experience winning regional and national competitions in many disciplines.

The history of the school dates back to 1904. It was founded by the first director of Asterly: success in the development of the educational institution was marked by the election of the director as a member of the Imperial Conference of School Principals in 1906. The school moved from its first building on Newbold Lane in 1915 to the Near Building on Okholm Road. At the beginning of the Second World War she was evacuated to Derbyshire, and after the war was divided into Birkdale and Broxford Hall. In 1946, the school acquired the Westerby Building, and in 1975 the Endcliffe Building (currently the Department of History, State and Political Science is located there).

Since 1978, the school has opened a 6 form program. In 1988, the preparatory school established its own separate campus Clark House, near the Botanical Garden, and to date has over 300 students.  In 1994, the school acquired the Grayson building, and in 1995, Sixth Form began to recruit not only boys, but also girls. In 1994, a new library and a large sports hall were built, and in 1999 the Johnson Building was put into operation.

The school has a reputation for excellence: almost all Sixth Form students successfully enter universities, with at least 10% in Oxford and Cambridge.

Since the middle of the XX century, the school has published the magazine Birkdalian; originally monthly, it has now evolved into a Christmas almanac. Among the authors are employees, students and graduates, the editorial board includes several teachers and high school students.

The school has established strong links with some schools in Kathmandu, Nepal. Among them, a special place is occupied by the Peace Garden School, which the Birkdale alumni community raised money for the construction of a new building, and a leper colony on the outskirts of the city. For other educational institutions, the school also helped with money and equipment. Since 2000, annual trips to Nepal for students and teachers have been held: teenagers are engaged in volunteer activities, visiting the Chitwan jungle and the Annapurna region.

Birkdale School consists of a high school and a preparatory school, divided into 2 campuses. The high school consists of six main buildings: the Johnson Building, the Grayson Building, the Endcliffe Building, the Oakholm Building, the Westbury Building, and the Science Block. The junior school (11–12 years old) is located in the Johnson building, the high school (13–15 years old) is located in the Oakholm building, and the sixth grade (16–18 years old) is located in the Grayson building.

The high school has a four-House system; all are named after the school's distinguished principals.

The school does not provide students with a residence, but may offer a list of accredited and certified host families. For the delivery of schoolchildren, a well-thought-out network of specialized bus routes has been developed, there is a convenient scheme of urban municipal routes.

A dense and rich program of physical education classes is complemented by a game program that is adapted for children with different levels of physical development and abilities to sports. This allows you to give an idea of the importance of teamwork to achieve the best results, the formation of a sense of elbow, camaraderie.

The school is convinced that each child can represent the institution in the framework of sports competitions of various levels. Birkdale teams achieve high results and take prizes at the local, regional and state level. Teams are formed based on the ability to provide a competitive spirit, age and development. Along with external competitions, a home sports cup between houses is held annually. All sports activities are conducted by experienced and enthusiastic trainers, under the supervision of qualified medical personnel.

Great importance is attached to music: the school encourages students to learn to play musical instruments and provides individual mentoring. Before starting classes, consultations are held with parents and teachers to assess the degree of suitability of the child for classes with specific tools, to make sure that he is mature enough for this.

Instrumental training is conducted at Clark House, a specially restored and adapted building consisting of five classrooms, each equipped with a piano and a stereo system. For students there is a tool rental service. At a more advanced level, students unite in ensembles and groups (instrumental and vocal), some of which are open to all comers, while others are closed student groups.

In addition to everyday activities, students can engage in performing arts that develop voice, facial expressions and body language. In addition to theater, dance, stand-ups and small improvisations have become very popular. Every year, the school prepares a large play or musical, the work on which is open to students of any age and gender, after a short audition. The Shakespeare Festival is held annually, open to students of all ages.

Along with an exciting curriculum and a large number of electives, the school has a system of clubs and student societies of various orientations (in 2020, more than a hundred communities were registered!). As a rule, clubs work free of charge (except in cases where their work requires the involvement of instructors or specialists from outside) and are managed by enthusiastic teachers or school wardens.

• Excellent results of state examinations, allowing students to enter universities of their choice or choose for themselves any career;
• Individually adapted curricula that encourage knowledge craving and academic curiosity, critical and independent thinking;
• A wide range of academic and extracurricular circles and classes, a variety of excursions that encourage the development of horizons and the improvement of the overall intellectual level;
• Christian values and morality underlying the educational and educational process.

The spacious and picturesque campus is divided into two zones. Along with all the necessary equipment for studying, numerous laboratories, assembly halls, a recording studio, Birkdale has its own castle playing fields, located a few kilometers from the main school grounds. In addition, the campus has a separate sports hall, an indoor gym and several gyms located in separate buildings.

The basic tuition fee includes lunches, textbooks (except A-level), stationery, equipment and equipment for games. Accident insurance is also included in the tuition fee. Coverage includes payment for permanent disability or accidental death, emergency dental care and wisdom tooth extraction. Additional insurance in case of illness, accident, infectious diseases is available on request.

To enter school at any age, parents need to register the child as an entrant - fill out a registration form and pay a fee of £ 50 (non-refundable). After verification and interview, you may be offered a place; in this case, a deposit of £250 will be required.

• Pupils of the school have achieved 100% passing score for 13 years in a row;
• 40% of all grades reach the highest level A* or A, with one in five students receiving 100% of the top level grades;
• 70% of students showed results at level A* – B;
• 80% of students received places to study at the university by first choice.

Parents with 3 or more children at school receive discounts of 25% for the 3rd child and 50% for all subsequent children. The discount applies to younger children during the period of simultaneous schooling.

The school offers various scholarships for students.

Academic and sports scholarships

Available to high school students, usually 5 to 15% of the tuition fee. One student can receive several scholarships, but the total amount of coverage cannot exceed 25% of the tuition fee.

Applicants can apply for any open scholarship. Forms must be submitted to the admissions office by December 1 of the relevant year of study. The results of the consideration of applications are sent in writing or by phone in February. Consideration of the issue of academic scholarship is carried out on request after general preliminary tests.

Applicants who demonstrate the best results of the preliminary tests receive an invitation to participate in the exam for an academic scholarship. The exam includes:

• Written work on the English language;
• Theoretical lesson in mathematics with the subsequent execution of tasks: serves the purpose of determining the degree of readiness of the student for independent work.

Music Scholarships

The music scholarship, along with a discount on tuition fees, includes free lessons on one instrument weekly.

To receive a scholarship, it is necessary to demonstrate a high Grade III standard in relation to the chosen instrument, general skill and high technical skills.

Sports scholarships

An athletic scholarship is awarded after consideration of a detailed application, including a certificate of academic performance, evidence of sports interests and achievements, a short video and a motivation letter. The decision to award a scholarship is made after a face-to-face interview.

Successful candidates must meet a number of criteria:

• The possibility of playing at the regional or national level;
• Regular representation of your club or school team in your chosen sport.

Priority for the school are rugby, cricket, football or hockey.

Means-tested scholarships

The school offers a limited number of scholarships for students who will convincingly demonstrate the undoubted benefits of studying at school, but whose financial capabilities make the full tuition fee prohibitively high.  The amount of the scholarship depends on the financial situation of the family and is determined after a financial audit.

The scholarship can be awarded separately or simultaneously with the above academic, sports and music programs. The total amount of scholarship coverage can reach 100% of the amount of tuition fees.

A means scholarship is awarded for the duration of study, provided that the criteria of need are met and tuition fees are unchanged. When considering applications for a scholarship, first of all, those applicants who applied earlier and showed the best results on preliminary tests are taken into account. If an applicant needs a scholarship with a means test, this should be noted in the application for registration.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision