Forces families enrolled at Queen’s College benefit from our Service Family Package. This package ensures that you pay a maximum termly fee* of £965.78 for Senior School and £777.56 for Prep School, in line with the CEA discount. These fees are inclusive of all meals, laundry, tuition, providing you with exceptional value. 

To assist with expenses, we provide an exclusive uniform allowance of £250, helping to ease the financial burden of preparing your child for school. 

* Please note: Fees change in line with CEA funding.

We are very familiar with the process of CEA funding and should you require more information, we are more than happy to discuss this with you.

Our co-educational, non-selective independent school is nestled in 36 acres of picturesque grounds in the heart of Somerset. This serene setting serves as the perfect home-away-from-home for your child, offering tranquillity and a safe, comfortable atmosphere. Most of our boarders, both domestic and international, are full-time boarders. This provides a sense of community for your child, and the opportunity to make life-long friendships.

One of the greatest advantages of boarding at Queen’s College for military families is the opportunity for your child to form lasting bonds with their housemates and house parents. This sense of belonging and connection provides invaluable stability, especially during times of transition.

We understand that military families often face the challenge of relocating every 2-3 years. Such frequent moves can be disruptive to a child’s education. Boarding at Queen’s College ensures educational continuity, allowing your child to thrive academically despite changing locations.

Military life is marked by unpredictability, including periods of leave such as POTL and R&R. At Queen’s College, we offer flexibility to accommodate these uncertainties while ensuring that your child receives the quality education they deserve.

Heathrow Coach Schedule

Our top priority is the well-being and success of your child. Queen’s College fosters a caring and supportive family boarding environment where every child is encouraged to reach their highest potential. Our dedicated staff understands the unique challenges military families face and are committed to providing consistent support, with a strong tutor network providing reassuring communication between home and school.

At Queen’s, there are endless opportunities for students. Click on the link below to learn more about weekend and evening activities for boarding students: 

Boarding Activities

Co-Curricular 

Neil Whitehead is a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army. With his wife Clare, three of their children boarded at the college between years 7-13…

“As a military family, sending our children to Queen’s College Boarding School has been an incredibly rewarding and reassuring choice. The stability and opportunities it has offered our children are truly unparalleled.

One of the most remarkable aspects is the close-knit community of regular boarders, allowing our children to connect and create lifelong friendships, even in the face of frequent relocations due to our military life. This sense of belonging was something they couldn’t experience before attending Queen’s.

The wide array of trips, activities, and co-curricular experiences, such as visits to Thorpe Park, the Bristol Hippodrome, pottery painting, and horse riding, has expanded our children’s horizons, offering them new and diverse experiences they may not have had otherwise.

The reliability and convenience Queen’s College provides to military families are immeasurable. From the Heathrow bus service to accommodate our international commitments to its proximity to the M5, facilitating simple drop-offs and pick-ups outside of working hours, Queen’s made our lives significantly easier.

However, it was not just the logistical advantages that made Queen’s the clear choice. The school’s excellent facilities for sports, academics, and the arts, along with its adaptability to accommodate our three children from Year 7 to Year 13, truly set it apart.

Each of our children has benefited from Queens’ welcoming and nurturing atmosphere, with fantastic house parents who offer round-the-clock support. Their dedication provided a profound sense of stability and community. It truly is the Family School of Choice.

Academically, Queen’s College has excelled in providing outstanding support, with our children achieving remarkable grades at GCSE and A-levels, propelling them into top-tier universities. The financial benefits, such as the scholarship options and the Service Family Package, significantly eased the financial burden, enabling all three to attend simultaneously.

Furthermore, the presence of other military families at Queen’s fosters a strong sense of community and relatability. Our experience at Queen’s College has been nothing short of exceptional, making it the perfect choice for military families seeking both stability and academic excellence.” Neil and Clare Whitehead

Stuart Bartlett – a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy – and his wife Elizabeth have twin daughters, Eleanor and Caitlin, who have just finished their A Level exams. Here he tells of their Queen’s College journey…

Seven years ago we dropped off our twin girls at Queen’s College, Taunton. The beginning of a new journey was fraught for us, an adventure eagerly grasped by them.

Accepted with open arms by their peers, they instantly settled into the routine of a new school and boarding house, forming bonds which still stand to this day and undeniably comparable to those within the military environment.

How those seven years have passed, almost in a proverbial blink of the eye, we arrive at the final stage of their tenure, their transformation from girls to ladies complete. Ready to face the world with all its problems, the need for autonomous decision making, a confidence facing outlook they stand steadfast in their desire to continue in the Queen’s motto – “We learn not for school, but for life”.

Within the past seven years we have faced both scholastic and familial issues – with two teenagers away from parents’ eyes, this is almost expected.

When required we always had faith and trust in those discharged in our absence and, most importantly a relationship built on solid foundations, that matrons, house parents, safeguarding teams and teachers interaction didn’t end at the resolve but ensured a continuation of care and oversight to ensure the quickest return to normality as expected.

Taking all aspects of our children’s needs – academically, psychologically, socially and spiritually – the school’s holistic approach nurtured, honed and encouraged independent thinking, fully preparing them for life beyond Queen’s.

In totality, has the experience worked? Undoubtedly so and with a full peer recommendation for both Queen’s and their boarding lifestyle.

Without the effort imparted by all, our children would not be where they are today, experienced the events which have shaped their outlook and personality, and been given a start in life we could only have dreamed of when we dropped them off seven years ago.

“Cotlake House has been a real home from home for our two children (Year 7 & 8). Being a Forces family, our main priority was to find a caring, nurturing and homely environment where our children could feel secure. Cotlake has been just that. The team are warm, friendly & flexible, encouraging strong links between the boarding house and home. Consistently, we have found the pastoral care to be excellent; any issues or problems have been dealt with swiftly and sensitively.

The weekend programme of activities is generally full of fun and exciting things to do. Some of the highlights have been the water parks, wildlife parks, the Pier, high ropes, ceramic painting, shopping trips & plenty of BBQs!” – Mrs Rendall

“With a new posting every two-years, Queen’s College provides us with the stability and continuity we are so eager to give our two children. We have nothing but praise for the exceptional academic, sporting, drama and music facilities Queen’s offers. 

Currently serving at the Defence School of Electromechanical Engineering (DSEME) in Lyneham, I have given 34 years of service and advanced through the ranks to Major.

Our daughter is currently in year 10 and has been boarding since year 7 and our son is now in year 7 and has been boarding since year 5.

The prospect of boarding was extremely daunting to us at first but Queen’s has never given any us any cause to question our decision. The pastoral care at Cotlake has been simply outstanding and second to none in every way. We have found each and every member of staff over the years to be empathetic and caring and never failed to impress. 

The weekend trips are extremely varied, imaginative and exciting and the whole set-up with the house parents, their family, pet dog and all the staff just makes it feel like home from home – they really are simply superb.” – Iain & Naomi McDavid