This guide is for international families researching Rossall School（罗萨尔学校）, an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. Founded in 1844 and described by the school as one of the earliest boarding schools in Britain, Rossall School sits on a 160-acre campus beside the Irish Sea. Everything in this guide was read from the official website rossall.org.uk on August 5, 2026; where the school does not publish a figure, this guide says so rather than guessing.
About Rossall School
Rossall Schooldescribes itself as a seamless educational community for children from 0 to 19, with a nursery taking babies from three months old, Pre-Prep and Prep Schools for ages 4 to 11, and a Senior School covering Years 7 to 13. The school reports that around 70% of pupils are British, with international students making up roughly 30% of the community drawn from more than 50 countries, and it operates nine boarding houses each with housemasters and housemistresses. A 360-degree virtual tour is available for families who cannot visit, and the admissions team offers application support in Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin — useful for families from Greater China.
Programmes and Curriculum
The curriculum at Rossall Schoolbuilds across the age range. In the Prep School, Reception follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and from age five pupils join the Rossall Prep curriculum with English, mathematics and science at its core, alongside history, geography, religious education, design and technology, art, computing, music and sport, plus experiences such as cookery, golf, beach school, forest school, farming and astronomy. In the Senior School, Years 7 to 9 follow a weekly timetable of 25 one-hour lessons, including four hours of English, four of mathematics and three of science; Year 7 pupils rotate through French, German, Spanish and Chinese, with two languages continuing into Years 8 and 9. In Years 10 and 11, pupils take GCSE and IGCSE subjects with mathematics, English (language and literature counting as two IGCSEs), science and a modern foreign language as the core, and the school offers Cambridge First Language Chinese IGCSE, which it says few schools in the UK provide. In the Sixth Form, Rossall School offers A Levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.
Entry Requirements for International Students
Rossall Schoolruns a six-step admissions process for international applicants: enquiry, registration form, a visit, a video call with the Headmaster, assessments, and the offer. Registration requires a copy of the child’s passport and reports from the last two schools, plus a non-refundable registration fee of £250 for international pupils. International students normally sit an English entry test and may be invited to an interview, which can be arranged by video call. On accepting an offer, international students pay a deposit of £6,000. Pupils with a very good level of English can be accepted for direct entry onto the full British curriculum in the Senior School, including GCSEs, A Levels and the IB Diploma. The school does not publish a single minimum IELTS or TOEFL score; language requirements are assessed on each applicant’s actual level, and the official website remains the authoritative source. For pupils not yet ready for the full curriculum, the school publishes dedicated programmes: ages 5-11 follow the Prep curriculum with English support; ages 11-14 follow a Key Stage 3 integrated programme with English support; ages 14-15 follow a GCSE integrated programme; and ages 15-19 can choose a three-year Pre-A Level Advanced course, a three-year Pre-A Level Foundation course, or a one-to-three year Pre-IB course. Entry for these international programmes is available in September, January or April.
English Language Support
The English as an Additional Language (EAL) department is central to the international offer at Rossall School. Pupils in Years 7 to 12 typically receive four hours of EAL per week, and Year 13 pupils three hours per week. The department prepares students for Cambridge KET, PET, FCE, CAE, IGCSE English as a Second Language, IGCSE First Language English and IELTS, and lessons develop the grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills needed to live and study in the UK. The number of EAL lessons varies with each pupil’s English level, so the support scales to the child rather than forcing a fixed pathway.
Costs and Published Fees
Rossall Schoolpublishes its 2026/27 fees on the official fees page, effective from September 2026, with three terms per school year. Per term: Pre-Preparatory School £4,872; Preparatory School (Years 3-6) day £4,872, weekly boarding £8,604, full boarding £12,789; Lower School (Years 7-8) day £6,435, weekly boarding £10,770, full boarding £15,318; Senior School (Year 9 and above) day £6,984, weekly boarding £12,828, full boarding £19,128; and the International Baccalaureate day £7,830, weekly boarding £13,686, full boarding £19,980. Day fees cover tuition of the standard curriculum including sports, arts and activities; boarding fees add accommodation, supervised prep, breakfast, lunch, tea and laundry. Textbooks, materials, examinations, the school bus and optional trips are charged separately, and the school’s football, golf, piano and performing arts academies carry separate fees. Administration fees include the £250 international registration fee (including VAT), a £425 visa administration fee and the £6,000 overseas deposit. Fees may be revised annually, so the official page remains the reference.
Term Dates and Application Timeline
The 2026/27 year at Rossall Schoolhas three terms. Michaelmas Term begins Thursday 3 September 2026, with half term from 16 October to 1 November and term ending Friday 11 December 2026; Lent Term begins Wednesday 6 January 2027, with half term 12-21 February, ending Wednesday 24 March 2027; Summer Term begins Tuesday 13 April 2027, with half term 28 May to 6 June, ending Tuesday 6 July 2027. Boarders can only travel on the last day of term. International programme entry points are September, January and April, and families should start the process at least half a year before the target entry to allow time for registration, assessment, deposit and visa arrangements.
Practical Support for Overseas Families
Rossall Schoolprovides practical help that international families typically need. The school address is Broadway, Fleetwood, Lancashire FY7 8JW; Manchester and Liverpool airports are around an hour away by car with airport transfers offered as a charged service, and the Blackpool and Fleetwood tramway has a Rossall School stop opposite the main gate. Travel and holiday arrangements must be submitted through the school’s online form at least three weeks before the end of each term and half term, airport transfer requests need 48 hours’ notice, and departures leave campus at least 4.5 hours before flight time — most pupils fly from Manchester Airport, where staff meet them in the arrivals hall of Terminal 2. On scholarships, the school states clearly that it does not offer international students full scholarships or means-tested bursaries; overseas scholarship applications are considered on a case-by-case basis and are described as extremely rare, with the scholarship deadline around the end of the Michaelmas Term in the year before entry.
Summary
Rossall Schoolsuits international families who want a coastal boarding environment where a child can move from the early years through GCSE, A Level or IB without changing school, and who may need EAL support or a preparatory programme while English develops. The official website is unusually complete on fees, term dates and application steps; what it does not publish — such as a single minimum language score or visa eligibility — should be checked against the latest official version. As with every figure in this guide, all facts were read from rossall.org.uk on August 5, 2026 and will be superseded by newer versions. If you would like to assess how Rossall Schoolfits your child’s age, English level and target entry year, our advisers on this site can talk through the details with you.