A Home Away from Home
At Clayesmore, boarding isn’t just about where you sleep—it’s about belonging. We provide a warm, family-style environment where pupils feel supported, safe and empowered to grow. Our boarding culture is built around friendship, independence, and personal development. Pupils are surrounded by trusted adults who care deeply about their welfare and success, and who create a true home away from home.
Types of Boarding
At Clayesmore, we understand that every family’s circumstances are different, which is why we offer a flexible range of boarding options to suit individual needs and lifestyles.
Full Boarding
For pupils staying seven days a week throughout term time, full boarding offers the most immersive Clayesmore experience. Pupils become deeply involved in every aspect of school life—academic, pastoral, co-curricular and social. With structured weekends filled with enriching activities, trips, and time to unwind with friends, full boarders develop strong friendships and a powerful sense of belonging. It’s a wonderful environment for pupils to grow in independence, build resilience, and gain confidence in a secure, supportive setting.
Weekly Boarding
Weekly boarders stay from Monday to Friday and return home for the weekends. This option is ideal for families living within a few hours’ drive of the school who want their children to enjoy the structure, community and enrichment of the boarding environment during the school week, while still spending weekends at home. Weekly boarding offers the best of both worlds—academic focus and weekday independence, with regular family time.
Flexi Boarding
Flexi boarding offers the ultimate flexibility for modern family life. Pupils can board on specific nights when needed—whether due to long commutes, parental work commitments, school events, or as an introduction to boarding life. This option is perfect for pupils who want to take part in early or late activities, gain a little extra independence, or gradually ease into full-time boarding. Flexi boarders are fully integrated into house life during their stay and benefit from the same warm, supportive environment.
Our Boarding Houses
Clayesmore has five boarding houses—three for boys and two for girls—each with its own personality and strong sense of community.
Each house is led by experienced Houseparents, supported by pastoral and academic staff who know every pupil personally.
Benefits of Boarding
Boarding at Clayesmore helps pupils:
- Forge lifelong friendships within and across year groups.
- Gain independence and resilience in a nurturing setting.
- Receive consistent academic support from teachers who understand their learning journey.
- Enjoy a wide range of activities that support physical and emotional well-being.
- Grow into confident, kind and self-reliant young adults.
A Day in the Life
Morning: Wake up in cosy dorms, enjoy a hearty breakfast, and attend morning lessons.
Afternoon: Lunch and afternoon lessons or co-curriculars.
Evening: Return to House, dinner with peers, prep (supervised study), and relaxing time in common rooms.
Weekend:
Saturday: LEX (Learning Enrichment and Extension) and sports fixtures.
Sunday: Trips, social events, and downtime to rest and prepare.
Exeats: For international pupils, these may include organised trips to destinations like London, Edinburgh or Paris.
Support Every Step of the Way
Our dedicated boarding staff, Houseparents and medical team work in unison to provide exceptional pastoral care. Whether pupils need help navigating teenage years, academic guidance, or health support, someone is always on hand. Boarders are never alone on their journey and are actively supported to flourish, both personally and academically.
Devine House - Boys

Devine House is located in the heart of the picturesque village of Iwerne Minster, an easy walk to the main school where there is a large day room allocated for Devine students. All boys are based in the Main House during the day and return to Devine in the evenings. Boarders have access to two large common rooms in the House.
The boarding house is the former village rectory where there is a wonderful garden with a small football pitch surrounded by trees. There are also two ponds over the spring that leads to the river Iwerne. Boys have a wonderful fire pit, created especially for them, and often spend evenings outside enjoying barbecues and outdoor activities in fine weather.
Mr Cédric Didier is the Housemaster who is ably supported by an assistant, a day and boarding matron and tutors.
Gate House - Boys

Gate House is conveniently located in the heart of the school campus, within easy reach of the teaching rooms, sports pitches and the sports centres. It is a super house with wide corridors, large common rooms and a fabulous courtyard which the boys can use. Mr Pender, is the Housemaster and lives in the building with his family.
There are beds for 48 boarders and there are a similar number of day pupils attached to the House.
Boarders have access to two large common rooms and have use of the table tennis tables, pizza oven and outside tables in the courtyard.
Mr Ben Pender, Gate Housemaster
From the Head of House
I’m honored to represent Gate as Head of House, as I believe that it is the best and most friendly house in the school! Gate is the best because we have the most academic, sporty, and musical boys in the school: winning the house cup, house music, and virtually every house sports competition we have played in so far. These are only a few of the achievements which come to mind when I think about Gate.
Gate house is a unique, exciting house which is great to be a part of! A day in the life of a gate boarder consists of waking us up at 7:15am… and, for the lazy among us… again at 7:30am! Once we are showered and looking our best, we drift over to breakfast and then school generally starts by 8:30am. The morning is not always easy, particularly during the dark, cold winter months and we often need a ‘pick me up’ by mid morning. If we are lucky enough, the house staff fry up tons of bacon in our courtyard at break time - usually enough to feed the whole house twice! This lifts the atmosphere significantly within the house, which helps us get to the end of the week! Perhaps the biggest highlight of the year is our December Hog Roast. Last year, we took down a whole pig in one sitting and we don’t intend on anything less this year!
What I also love about it is the friendly atmosphere which comes with being part of the Gate community. Since the first day of Year 9, everyone, especially all the House staff, have been so easy to talk to, making me feel at home from day one.
This is why I love Gate and why I’m so proud to be Head of House.
Josh P.
Manor House - Boys

Manor House is conveniently located at the heart of the school campus within easy reach of the teaching rooms, the sports centre and the games pitches.
There are beds for 50 boarders and there are a similar number of day pupils attached to the House. Boarding pupils have access to two large common room areas and to a games courtyard. Dorms are situated in a pupose built boarding house and range in size, with the youngest pupils having larger rooms with more beds.
Manor is a happy and busy House run by Mr Chris Burton who is ably supported by an assistant, a matron and tutors.
Mr Chris Burton, House Parent, Manor House
King's House - Girls

King's is located at the edge of the campus near the lake, woods, theatre and playing pitches, making it a lovely quiet House that feels like a home to all the girls. As a purpose-built boarding House, it offers everything both boarding and day girls require.
There are beds for 44 boarders and there are a similar number of day girls attached to the House.
All boarding pupils have access to the common room area and Sixth Form have their own additional kitchenette and sitting room area.
Mrs Pip Tandoh is the Housemistress and she is ably supported by an assistant houseparent, matron and Tutors.
From the Head of House
"Due to its size and location, King’s feels like a real home. It is smaller than the other houses, so it is easier to adjust to senior school as well as connect with other year groups. We also have 'families', something unique to King’s, where one girl from each year group is put together to form a 'family' which especially helps the new students feel more confident around older students.
Something I personally love about King’s is that it feels like a proper home from home. It is tucked away from the rest of the school and all of the King’s girls are welcoming to everyone and always look out for each other. Whether it’s through our ‘Crumpet Frumpet Friday’, or the ability to create a cosy atmosphere, everyone in King’s is always there to help you out and make your day."
Georgia L.
Wolverton House - Girls

Wolverton House is situated on the top floors of Main House, a Victorian manor house built in the 1860s.
The larger part of the House is spread over the three upper floors, providing accommodation for girls in many different dorm types, from single rooms to one six bed dorm, commonly used for the youngest pupils. The dorms are all very different in character, ranging from high ceiling country-house style to cosy attic conversions and the girls welcome the individuality this allows. There are beds for about 50 boarders and there are a similar number of day pupils in the House.
Boarding pupils have access to a selection of lovely communal areas including the kitchen, breakfast room, common room and workroom, as well as the snug and post room.
Mrs Emma Dorey is the Housemistress in Wolverton House who is ably supported by an assistant, a matron and a resident tutor.