How to choose a boarding school in Zimbabwe

1. Start with what your child needs

Think about distance and travel home, single-sex or co-ed, the church or mission ethos that suits your family, subjects and sport, and what you can afford per term once everything is added. Weekly boarding, where children come home at weekends, can be a gentler start if a good school is close enough.

2. Ask every school the same questions

• Who looks after the boarders at night and at weekends, and how many children does each person look after?
• How is bullying, including by older pupils, prevented and dealt with?
• How often can we visit, and when can children come home (exeats and half-term)?
• How and when can my child phone home? What is the rule on phones?
• Is there a nurse or sick bay, and what happens if my child needs a doctor?
• What does a typical day and weekend look like, including prep (homework) time?
• What's on the menu, and how are special diets handled?
• What does a full term cost, and what's on the trunk list?

3. Visit, and see the dorms

On a visit, ask to see where your child would sleep, wash and eat, not just the classrooms. Look at how tidy and safe the dormitories are, whether the toilets work, and how the boarders and staff talk to each other. Ask to speak to a parent of a current boarder, and read reviews here: parents rate safety and boarding facilities separately.

4. Apply early, and to more than one school

Boarding places are competitive. Apply through EMAP for Form 1, check each school's own entrance tests and deadlines, and keep a day-school option ready. The Grade 7 results guide covers what to do on results day.

Application windows and rules change each year. Check the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for the current EMAP dates, and confirm fees and requirements with each school.