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Hereford Cathedral School is one of the oldest schools in the UK, dating back to 676. For many years it offered boy’s boarding, but gradually the number of boarders declined, until around 2000-2001, when only one remained! Unsurprisingly, the boarding house subsequently closed.

In 2015, the school decided to offer places to a small group of Chinese pupils on a trial basis. As boarding had been repurposed into classrooms and offices, the international pupils were housed with local host families. The trial worked well, with many of the pupils achieving excellent academic results and assimilating fully into school life.

The then Headmaster decided he would like to expand the international pupil provision and approached me to ask if I would be interested in setting up the international department. I had recently semi-retired, after twenty years as head of an international school in Worcestershire and was delighted to accept a new challenge. I knew the school well as a parent, as both my children had been educated here.

Our priority was to find a boarding house. The school had been looking to re-establish boarding for several years, but as the school is right in the city centre it had proved very challenging to find suitable premises.

Shortly after I joined, a beautiful, but run-down, hotel just outside Hereford came on the market. We put in an offer and How Caple Grange Hotel became the school’s new boarding house. I had already started an extensive overseas marketing campaign and had recruited 15 students for the start of the new academic year. This is when the fun started!

Unfortunately, unexpectedly discovering bats in the attic delayed the opening by a couple of terms (the pupils already recruited were offered the option of host family accommodation, which almost all were happy to accept). However, when the refurbishment was complete, we were overjoyed with the result. What had been a run-down, cold and uninviting old hotel had been transformed into a welcoming, vibrant home-from-home for 29 pupils.

The House was renamed Wilmot House, after an Old Herefordian who lived a stone’s throw from the parish, and who had been killed in the First World War. All the large, airy bedrooms are en-suite. Boarders enjoy meals together in the stunning oak-panelled dining room and relax in the large lounge and games room. Many visitors tell us that it is the nicest boarding house they have ever seen!

Wilmot House was always intended primarily for international boarders, and despite the setbacks of the COVID years, has been virtually full since it opened. The substantial increase in international pupils has proved to be a great success. Although international pupils make up only about 5% of the total student roll at the School, most have assimilated really well, playing in various sports teams and orchestras, as well as achieving excellent academic results. This is testament to the warm welcome they have received from teachers and fellow pupils and the support they have had from boarding staff.

Boarding has been designed to appeal to an international clientele. We have no exeat weekends, for example, and the boarding house stays open – with a full range of extra-curricular activities – over half-terms. We include free airport transfer services at the beginning and end of terms and include IELTS and ESL GCSE classes in the fees, as well as Emergency Guardianship provision.

The Wilmot House staff have worked hard to create an atmosphere in which boarders feel at home, happy and comfortable. The boarders tell us that they are very happy with the provision!

Stuart Higgins
Head of International Students, Hereford Cathedral School and BAISIS ExCo