With approximately 75% of our students boarding, The Purcell School truly feels like a home away from home. Our boarders lead exceptionally full and enriching lives, benefiting from reduced travel time that allows for more practice, academic excellence, participation in a wide range of musical and co-curricular activities, and the building of lifelong friendships. Boarding at Purcell also plays an important role in preparing students for the independence they will experience in further and higher education.
The Purcell School is proud to have been awarded the Boarding School Mental Health Award at Gold level (2025–28), recognising excellence in pastoral care and wellbeing within our boarding community. This award reflects our whole-school commitment to creating a safe, supportive and nurturing environment in which young musicians can flourish both personally and professionally.
The school has three welcoming and well-appointed boarding houses — Avison, Sunley and Ellington — each run by a dedicated team of warm, experienced and highly trained boarding and pastoral staff. These professionals are deeply committed to student welfare and wellbeing, ensuring that every boarder feels safe, supported and valued. Great care is taken to make each student’s boarding experience not only productive, but genuinely enjoyable.
Boarders share meals together in the main dining hall, fostering a strong sense of community and belonging. Within the boarding houses, each corridor features common rooms and small kitchens, providing relaxed and sociable spaces where students can unwind together. Our vibrant boarding life is further enriched by regular weekend activities, evening events and social gatherings. Students also have opportunities to travel into London to attend the junior departments of the capital’s leading music colleges and conservatoires, or to enjoy concerts and cultural events.
Boarders enjoy extensive access to school facilities during evenings and weekends, including practice rooms, a recording studio and the gym, allowing them to pursue their musical and academic goals with flexibility and balance. One exeat weekend each half term helps maintain a healthy rhythm to boarding life.
With the support of our attentive boarding staff, students quickly and confidently adapt to life at Purcell. From knowing where to leave their washing, to managing early-morning practice schedules, or discovering which day brownies are served at break, our boarders settle in seamlessly — and thrive in an environment designed to support both wellbeing and excellence.
