Located in Cumbria, this small non-selective day and boarding school for boys and girls aged from seven to 18 years delivers an affordable private education within a very supportive atmosphere.

Located in the North of England, Lime House School is a small independent co-ed school with a large boarding community and annual fees of less than £14,000 for day students and £35,000 for boarders. With a countryside location and close proximity to the Lake District National Park, this day and boarding school has an inclusive ethos, an international student body, and a good track record of sending students to leading universities across the UK.

Founded in 1899, Lime House is a non-selective school offering a primary and senior education for children aged seven to 18 years, Years 3-13.

Size, cost and SEN support are three key strengths at this beautifully located school near Carlisle in Cumbria. There are just 160 students (around 70% are boarders) and the school consistently features in the top five independent smaller schools league tables. Annual fees are far below the average for a UK independent boarding school, making an education here much more affordable to families. Lime House is also an accredited CReSTeD school, with expertise in teaching children with dyslexia.

It performs particularly well in STEM subjects, as well as business and economics; it’s also one of the few schools in the UK to offer A Level Accounting.

Headteacher Andy Guest was appointed in September 2022.

Curriculum

Teaching follows the National Curriculum for England, and exposes students to a wide range of subjects.

The primary curriculum covers English, maths, science, history, geography, design & technology, PE, music, art & craft, computing, German, and food technology. In the primary school, specialist teachers from the senior school deliver games, music, food technology and languages lessons.

To prepare students for GCSEs and A Levels, there’s a broader curriculum in the senior school that also covers drama and Mandarin. GCSE options include home economics, music, geography, history, fine art, German, PE, 3D studies, international studies programme, statistics and computer science – so plenty of choice for students wanting to follow either an academic or creative pathway.

There’s also a wide choice of sixth form options including both academic and vocational pathways, including A Levels in accounting, biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, English literature, fine art, food science and nutrition, French, further mathematics, geography, history, mathematics, physics, and psychology as well as a business studies (CTEC), ICT (CTEC), music performing (BTEC), and sport (Cambridge Level 3 introductory diploma). All students can develop the independent learning and research skills demanded by universities by doing an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).

The school offers students a very encouraging and supportive learning environment, and all students from Year 10 upwards have a weekly exam practice session on Saturday mornings to help prepare them for GCSEs and A Levels.

Lime House has an excellent SEN department with dedicated programmes for students who require significant learning support in mathematics, English, ASDAN, entry level science, citizenship, games and ICT. There is also a dyslexia programme which supports children through all stages of their education; for example, the school has books in a dyslexia friendly font and layout, it requests special consideration in exams for most dyslexic children to ensure that they are not at a disadvantage. 

Beyond the classroom

While the size of a school like Lime House can limit its offering of extra-curricular activities, students are still offered a wide programme of activities during and after the school day. The message from the school is that, if there is the demand for an activity or club then it will do its very best to accommodate this.

As well as encouraging students to complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Lime House fosters participation in sport and the arts. Facilities include a large sports hall and sports fields with rugby, soccer, cricket and hockey pitches; students play in both house and school teams in sports including soccer, netball, cricket, hockey, dance, table tennis, basketball and athletics.

In music, there are opportunities to learn an instrument, and opportunities to perform in events such as the annual Music and Drama Festival, Mid-Summer Medley and Christmas Carol Concert.

Academic results

In 2022, just under 35% of GCSE grades were 9-7; 40% of A Level grades were A*-A. The school is mixed ability so this above-average success in academic exams is testament to its teaching.

The school sends students off to leading UK universities including Oxford, Warwick, Imperial College, Bath and Loughborough; in 2022 there were three students with Oxbridge offers.

Boarding

Lime House offers full, weekly and flexible boarding options for students aged nine to 18 (Years 5-13), with most students opting for full boarding. A large number of boarders come from mainland China and Hong Kong.

There are seven boarding ‘areas’, five for boys in the main school building – Rothley, Hawksdale, Lonsdale, Salkeld and Seathwaite – and two for girls in an adjacent building – The Cottage and Borrowdale. House Mothers are assigned to each ‘house’ which have dorms with a choice of two to four bedded rooms.

The school’s boarding programme has structured evenings with scheduled activities and supervised prep for all age groups, and weekends are always busy with planned activities and sport.

Admission and fees

Lime House is a non-selective school, and admission is based on a student’s school report and, in some cases, an interview.

Annual fees are £10,800-13,800 for day students, and £31,500-34,500 for boarders. Scholarships, means-tested bursaries and sibling discounts are available.

Our view

Good for: Lime House is popular with both British and international students for delivering a broad education, for giving students the freedom to follow a variety of pathways and remaining small enough to support children’s individual interests. Its lower fees will certainly appeal to families who may be deterred by the cost of a UK private education. It’s also an excellent choice of students with dyslexia.

Not for: For some students, Lime House may just be too small – and it will be unable to offer the broad offering of extra-curricular activities and sports clubs that a larger school can. Students can only join from Year 3, so you will need to find a place in Pre-Prep (Years 1- 2) elsewhere; its location in the North may be too far from London for some; and as a non-selective school it is not as academically rigorous as some other grammar and independent schools in the area.

Are you looking for a place for your child, and want help from our school consultants? If so, click on the link below, and we will forward your request for information to the school or schools of the same type that we are confident have availability. This is a free service for our readers. Request Information