Casterton has been a boarding school for nearly two centuries, although many day girls now also enjoy what the school and its ethos have to offer.

Why board?

Many parents who have not themselves boarded may have doubts about the value of a boarding education for their daughter. They may worry about the old stereotypes of cold showers and never seeing their daughters from one term to the next. Happily, modern boarding is very different from its literary heritage!

So, what is the situation today?

Boarding in the twenty-first century: a home from home

Casterton aims to produce girls who have intellectual character, are creative, courageous and have strength. The school wishes to imbue the girls with a set of values ensuring that they become decent and independent adults who are best equipped to deal with and benefit from the adult world. For many,learning to live with others in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect provides them with the very best means of personal development. This shows in areas such as Music, Drama and Sport and all forms of self-expression less easily available in a “nine-to-four”‚ school. Weekends are full. A wide range of activities suitable for all age groups is on offer every weekend, including social contacts with boys. Some staff live on site, so it is their home too.

The vast majority of girls enjoy their time at school. Many of the girls who leave Casterton do so with friendships that will last the rest of their adult lives. The Old Girls’ Association is living proof of that.  Casterton’s idyllic rural location provides a safe and secure start to girls' lives that enables them to enjoy the countryside, while developing their own independence.

Day girls: can they board sometimes?

Casterton welcomes day girls who understand that they benefit enormously if they participate as fully as possible in the life of the school.

Day girls are required to attend all the sports fixtures, rehearsals and other school events for which they sign up.

Casterton is committed to full boarding for boarders from Year 8 upwards. However, if your daughter is a day girl she is most welcome to board on nights when she is involved in school events, providing you have contacted the Housemistress and there is a bed available. She benefit from the twenty-four hour community which enhances the school’s friendly atmosphere and is often what makes the school so attractive to her in the first instance. The fact that Casterton is a home for so many girls and staff is one of the key educational advantages for  day pupils in a boarding school. The opportunity to board is particularly helpful when there are sports fixtures, rehearsals or lectures which your daughter needs or wants to attend; travelling time is consequently cut out. Sometimes your daughter may decide to stay over when there is a social with a boys’ school. Parents are delighted by the fact that they need not make journeys late in the evening. They are secure in the knowledge that their daughter is in the safe atmosphere of her boarding house with her friends. This becomes increasingly attractive as your daughter becomes a teenager!