Our Location
A home from Home
Moorland School is located in the Heart of the Ribble Valley, which is a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
A timeless landscape of forests, rivers, attractive market towns and villages and stunning countryside, the Ribble Valley was said to provide JRR Tolkien’s inspiration for Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings and includes a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the magnificent form of the Trough of Bowland.
Indeed, the Queen herself was quoted as saying she would like to retire to the Ribble Valley, a place full of folklore, culture and stunning natural habitats.
Moorland School is located on the edge of the historic town of Clitheroe, best known for its 12th century Norman Castle Keep. It is within easy reach of Dunsop Bridge, officially declared the centre of the British Isles; the Forest of Bowland, offering some of the finest walking in the North West; and Pendle Hill. Clitheroe only has a small population of approximately 15,000 people, and therefore is much safer than those schools with a city location.
In Clitheroe itself you will find a special selection of independent food stores, designer boutiques, wine merchants and other attractive shops as well as a contemporary craft gallery and museum.
It is a perfect fragment of rural England where our pupils can freely learn, live and explore, and where you as parents can enjoy visiting.
Please note: That for those parents who are not from the United Kingdom and who therefore maybe unfamiliar with the location of cities, that Clitheroe has its own train station, which is just thirty minutes from Preston City Centre. Manchester City Centre is just 30 minutes via train from Preston, and London from Preston by rail is approximately two hours.
Moorland provides a quiet, tranquil and safe environment away from the buzz and distractions of the larger cities. The safe haven of Moorland School provides our students the opportunity to grow and develop in stunning natural surroundings, but at the same time pupils are within easy access to various cities allowing them to benefit from greater cultural and intellectual experiences, when appropriate.
Around one third of children at Moorland School are boarders and we find it makes for a good social mix with our day pupils from the surrounding areas.
Our boarding houses afford a high degree of pastoral care and we are certain that students learn better and thrive in our friendly, family environment. Boarding offers opportunities for our children to develop their independence and gain confidence in their own abilities whilst being supported by considerate staff. Our aim is to offer more and ensure our students become composed, articulate, confident, and self-assured in order to learn, live and lead our global society of the future.
All doors are highly secured through access-controlled doors, this ensures that our current contingent of 90 boarding children are safe, whilst ensuring that boys and girls sleeping accommodation is completely separate.
Moorland provides boarders with a broad range of recreational and leisure facilities to make their evenings and weekends as varied and engaging as possible.
Our boarders have access to:
- Extensive Grounds & Common Rooms
- Computer Suites
- Lounge with Sky TV
- Music Room
- Sports Facilities
- Local Swimming Pool & Cinema
- Trips and Excursions
As with all its pupils, Moorland provides boarders with a wide range of sporting activities, trips and outings to complement the academic programme. Boarders are encouraged to take an active interest in arts and culture through visits to the theatre, cinema and concerts in neighbouring towns.
Airports
& Transportation
Most our students who live overseas travel from Manchester Airport which is just fifty minutes away from Moorland School by car.
However, Moorland School is equidistant from 3 airports, the largest being Manchester Airport, and the 2 smaller airports, being Leeds Bradford Airport and Liverpool Airport.
Moorland School provide a free airport collection and drop off service. The school utilises their own transportation and DBS cleared drivers. Our transport drivers also ensure that children are fully accompanied by them into the airport, and then all children are personally seen through ‘check in’, before being seen through the ‘Departures Gate’.
Please ensure that you have read and understood the airlines ‘Unaccompanied Minor Policy’ before booking your child’s airline tickets. Please ensure that you have communicated this to the school office.
An unaccompanied minor is a child without the presence of a legal guardian. This term is used in immigration law and in airline policies. The specific definition varies from country to country and from airline to airline.
Boarding Facilities
Our boarding facilities consist of three separate boarding houses; The Willows, for Years 3-10; The Oaks, for Years 10-12 and The Cottage for Years 12-13.
The Willows
Children for years 3 – 9 reside in the Willows boarding house. We have a huge focus on nurturing all of the children within our care, ensuring they feel safe and happy, in our home from home setting. Miss Hayley Mosscrop, Willows Boarding Manager, is also part of the schools Pastoral Team; this allows us to establish a full 360-degree view of each individual child, both in school and at the boarding house.
Everyone boards together in the Willows, with separate boys and girls’ areas for sleeping, separate sitting rooms for relaxing and a joint common area so pupils can decide how they’d like to spend their social time.
Our staff team in the Willows, endeavour to be warm and friendly; we want the children to feel comfortable in coming to us, even if it just for a chat or to discuss any problems, just as they would do if they were at home. Their supportive relationships with boarders are caring and involved but encourage increasing independence.
We provide the children with a stimulating and wide range of extra-curricular activities, from trips out at the weekend and arts and crafts to rugby training and team challenges. This gives the children the opportunity to explore and try new things and to be happy whilst making new memories with friends. Our Boarding Committee liaises with the boarders to get a feel of what activities they would like to be on offer; these are then reviewed at our fortnightly meetings with the Boarding Manager and members of the Boarding Committee.
The Oaks
Children that reside in The Oaks are over seen by Mr Rob Lyon, Oaks Boarding Manager who works closely with the schools Pastoral Team to ensure all of the children’s individual and personal needs are dealt with effectively.
The students have access to two common areas, equipped with a pool table, TV’s with Sky, lounge and bar area and a small kitchen.
With permission from parents, children are permitted to go offsite providing that they sign in and out and are of course back for their set curfews.
The children are encouraged to be independent in preparation for adult life, yet still have the close support and mentorship from our team of skilled and dedicated House Parents.
As with all its pupils, Moorland provides boarders with an extensive range of sporting activities, trips and outings to complement the academic programme. Boarders are encouraged to take and active interest in arts and culture through visits to the theatre, cinema and concerts in neighbouring towns.
The Cottage
Pupils who live in The Cottage are between 16 and 19 years of age. Our students have full access to their own functional kitchen, providing them with the independence needed to prepare them for adult life, as well as their own living room complete with Sky and WiFi.
One of our experienced House Parents resides in The Cottage at night and supervises the students intermittently throughout the evenings and weekends.
Pupils who live in The Cottage are trusted to have later curfews and again, with permission from parents, are able to go off site on trips and visits.
