If you are researching British boarding schools for a child who will study from overseas, Mount Kelly in Tavistock, Devon, is one of the schools worth putting on the list. It is an independent day and boarding school set on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, teaching pupils from Reception all the way through to Year 13. This guide collects what international families need to know — programmes, entry requirements, fees, and the support wrapped around the application journey — from the school’s official website as of 4 August 2026.
Mount Kelly at a Glance
Mount Kelly is an all-through independent school: pupils join from Reception (age 4-5) and stay through to Year 13 (age 17-18). The school describes itself as a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), and the official FAQ confirms it offers day, boarding and flexi-boarding places rather than being a purely boarding school.
The school’s history reaches back to 1877, when it opened as Kelly College with just twelve boys, thanks to a gift from Admiral Benedictus Kelly. It became co-educational in the 1970s, merged with Newton College in 1940 and with Mount House School in 2014, when it took the name Mount Kelly. Today the school educates around 600 pupils. Its campus at Parkwood Road in Tavistock includes two indoor swimming pools — a 4-lane 25m pool and an 8-lane 50m pool — and the school highlights swimming, outdoor education on Dartmoor, and a girls’ performance football programme run in association with Chelsea Football Club as signature strengths. The college chamber choir won the Barnardo’s School Choir of the Year competition, and the school reports that its swimmers have won 37 Olympic and Commonwealth medals over the past 30 years; these are the school’s own claims about itself.
Programmes from Reception to Sixth Form
Mount Kelly is organised in four stages, and each stage has its own curriculum structure. Lower Prep covers Reception to Year 3 with small classes, specialist teaching in French, Design Technology, PE and Music, and swimming lessons in an indoor pool for every child from Reception upwards. The Prep (Years 4 to 8) builds on the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) in the younger years, moving to specialist-taught subjects such as English, Maths, Science, French, History, Geography, Religious Studies, Art and DT from Year 6, with Years 7 and 8 adding drama, outdoor learning and the Shackleton programme.
The College covers Years 9 to 11 and leads into GCSEs. In Year 9 pupils study across all subjects before choosing options during the Lent Term. The core curriculum is English (language and literature), Mathematics and the three separate sciences, plus four options from a list that includes Art and Design, Business Studies, Computer Science, Design Technology, Drama, French, Geography, History, Music, Physical Education, Spanish and EAL (English as an Additional Language). Pupils whose first language is not English may choose EAL instead of a modern foreign language.
The Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13) offers A Levels and BTEC routes. Most pupils take three A Levels over two years, many add the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), and pupils strong in Mathematics and Further Mathematics can take four. A Level subjects span Art, Design Technology, Music, Economics, Geography, Politics, History, Religious Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, English Literature, French, Spanish and PE. BTEC options include Level 3 Extended Certificate or Extended Diploma in Sport Development & Coaching, an Extended Certificate in Applied Science, and a Foundation Diploma in Performing Arts Practice; the Extended Diploma is equivalent to three A Levels and is 100% internally assessed.
Entry Requirements by Stage
Entry requirements at Mount Kelly differ by stage. For Lower Prep (Reception to Year 3), admission is informal: families are invited to visit, and the child spends a taster session with their year group; there are no written assessments. For Prep entry into Years 4 to 8, entry before Year 7 is also informal with a taster day, while Years 7 and 8 follow a more formal process including assessments and a review of school reports.
For Year 9 (13+ entry) and above, all applicants sit entrance assessments, which the school says can be taken at Mount Kelly or overseas under appropriate supervision; school reports are reviewed as part of the process. The ideal application window for Year 9 is the Michaelmas Term (autumn term) of the year before entry, though the school regularly accepts in-year applications into Years 9 and 10 subject to availability.
Sixth Form offers are based on predicted GCSE grades. The published expectations are at least five passes at Grade 5 or above, Grade 6 or above in any subject to be studied at A Level, and Grade 7 or above in Mathematics or Sciences if those are chosen for A Level. The school also weighs interests, strengths and potential. For pupils studying a British curriculum, mock GCSE or IGCSE results can be accepted in place of entrance assessments.
English Support and International Student Requirements
The EAL (English as an Additional Language) department at Mount Kelly supports pupils whose first language is not English with one-to-one or very small group lessons, individually assessed on entry. In Years 7 to 9, EAL usually replaces a modern foreign language, with between one and four lessons per week; in Years 10 to 11 it sits among the option subjects at typically three lessons per week; in the Sixth Form, Lower Sixth pupils have two compulsory EAL lessons a week, reducing to one in Upper Sixth. The programme prepares pupils for Cambridge English qualifications (FCE, CAE, CPE) and IELTS, and all timetabled EAL lessons are included in the fees.
Two practical rules matter for international families. First, guardianship: Mount Kelly requires every pupil whose family lives outside the UK to have an appointed guardian, regardless of age. A guardian can be a relative or family friend living in the UK, preferably near the school, aged over 25, and — for immigration reasons — must be a British citizen or hold permanent right to remain. Second, visa sponsorship: the school is a UKVI sponsor, and the official page explains that the visa application can begin up to six months before the start of the term in which the child will join, initiated once the signed contract and deposit are received. Airport transfers to London Heathrow, Bristol and Exeter are organised by the school and included in the fees when travel is booked to coincide with the published term dates.
Published Costs for 2026-27
Mount Kelly publishes a 2026-2027 fee table on its website, quoted per term in pounds sterling with columns excluding and including VAT. Day fees are: Reception £3,090; Years 1-2 £3,560; Years 3-4 £4,230; Years 5-6 £4,910; Years 7-8 £6,120; and Years 9-13 £7,570 per term.
Boarding is offered as weekly or full boarding, with flexi-boarding available at £50 per night. Weekly boarding costs £8,840 per term for Years 3-8 and £12,660 for Years 9-13; full boarding costs £9,350 per term for Years 3-8 and £13,540 for Years 9-13. The table also lists an international boarding rate: £10,290 per term for Years 5-8 and £14,400 per term for Years 9-13. Fees are due on the first day of each term, and fees for the next academic year are published at the end of the Lent Term. As always, the figures above are the school’s published 2026-27 rates; the current position should be checked against the latest version of the official fees page before budgeting.
The Application Process and Support Along the Way
The admissions journey at Mount Kelly, as described on the official process page, runs: get in touch with the admissions team to discuss requirements; receive a registration form and prospectus; book a visit or taster day and meet the Head Master and/or Head of Prep; register and submit school reports and passport; sit entrance assessments from Year 7 upwards; have a reference requested from the current school; receive an offer; accept by returning the signed contract and paying the deposit. For families that cannot travel, the school arranges an online interview via Microsoft Teams or Zoom and can give a virtual tour.
Boarding starts from Year 3 at the Prep, where Tavy House is the boarding house, and the school says there are no exeat weekends — pupils go home or to guardians during half term instead. At the College there are over 350 pupils, around 200 of them boarders, split roughly 110 in Years 9-11 and 90 in the Sixth Form, across six houses: Courtenay, Marwood, Newton and School House for boarders, Conway and Russell for day pupils. Meals are served centrally with a termly menu cycle, and dietary requirements are coordinated through the school nurse. Scholarships and awards are available across academic, sport, music, art, drama, design technology, swimming and other areas, with assessments typically held in early February; the Westall Sixth Form Academic Scholarship is open to applicants living within 30 miles of the school and can cover up to the full day fee subject to a means test.
Term Dates and Planning Notes
The published calendar for 2026-2027 gives a practical planning frame. The Michaelmas Term 2026 starts on Tuesday 8 September 2026, with half term from 16 October to 2 November and the term ending Thursday 10 December (travel day 11 December). The Lent Term 2027 runs from Monday 4 January, with half term 12-22 February and term ending Wednesday 24 March. The Summer Term 2027 starts Monday 19 April, half term runs 28 May to 7 June, and the term ends Friday 2 July. Term dates are subject to change, so confirm against the latest official calendar when booking travel.
A realistic sequence for a 2027-28 start would be: visit or arrange an online interview a year or more ahead, apply during the autumn of 2026-27 for Year 9 or by spring for other entry points, sit assessments, accept the offer and pay the deposit early enough to start the visa process up to six months before term begins, and book airport transfers to align with the published dates. All facts in this guide come from the school’s official website as of 4 August 2026; fee levels and dates change, so check the latest official pages before committing. If you would like help mapping your child’s year group, English level and boarding preferences against Mount Kelly’s requirements, our advisers can talk through the options with you.