The UK's Cricket and Education specialists
CRICED helps families in England find the right UK independent and boarding schools for children aged 11–17, matching academic goals with serious cricket opportunities — and a real person guiding you from first call to offer.
Speak to a real person — no cost, no obligation.
England has more school cricket than anywhere in the world, and the gap between a school that plays cricket and a school that develops cricketers is wider than the prospectus suggests. Indoor facilities, coaching qualifications, fixture strength, county links and how the school manages a growing player's workload all matter more than a famous name.
CRICED helps UK families work through it properly: which schools genuinely suit your child's standard and academic profile, what the fees and the extras really come to, how scholarships and means-tested bursaries interact, and what the 11+, 13+ and 16+ timelines demand of you.
We are not paid by schools to recommend them. We visit, we ask the awkward questions, and we tell you when a school is not the right fit for your child.
We do not hand out the same generic list of schools to every family. Each conversation starts with your child — and the shortlist follows from that.
Typical annual costs vary by school, but boarding at leading UK independent schools can commonly be £30,000–£50,000+ per year including boarding. Day places cost less, and schools also charge extras such as registration and deposit fees, trips and guardianship.
In England, expect day fees of around £18,000–£30,000 a year and full boarding of £38,000–£55,000, both including the VAT applied to school fees from January 2025 — before uniform, kit, tours and travel.
Many schools award academic, sport, music or all-rounder scholarships. For cricket, these are usually assessed by video, references and performance records from England. We flag which of your shortlisted schools offer them and what they typically cover.
We guide you through registration, UKiset or school entrance assessments, online interviews, offers, acceptance deposits, CAS for the Child Student visa, and setting up a UK-based guardian for boarders under 18.
Figures below are indicative annual ranges for English senior independent schools, VAT included. Individual schools vary widely, so we build a real budget around your shortlist.
| Cost | Typical GBP | Indicative GBP |
|---|---|---|
| Day fees (annual, inc. VAT) | £18,000–£30,000 | £6,000–£10,000 a term |
| Full boarding fees (annual, inc. VAT) | £38,000–£55,000 | £13,000–£18,000 a term |
| Weekly or flexi boarding (annual) | £30,000–£45,000 | £10,000–£15,000 a term |
| Registration fee (one-off, per school) | £100–£350 | Paid at registration |
| Acceptance deposit (credited or refundable) | £1,000–£6,000 | Due with the offer |
| Uniform, games kit and cricket equipment (first year) | £1,000–£2,100 | Mostly one-off |
| Tours, festivals, trips and music lessons | £500–£3,000 | Billed per term |
| Realistic first-year total (full boarding) | £41,000–£62,000 | Before travel |
Every school sets its own deadlines and we confirm each one on your shortlist in writing. A typical English timetable for September entry looks like this:
Shortlist schools, book open mornings and private tours, and speak to the director of cricket at each one.
Register with each school. Several oversubscribed schools close 11+ and 13+ registration a full year ahead.
ISEB pre-tests, school entrance papers and 16+ registration deadlines fall here. Scholarship applications are usually submitted at the same time.
Academic, sport, music, art and all-rounder scholarship assessments, cricket trials and interviews.
Offers and awards confirmed. Means-tested bursary assessments are completed and acceptance deposits fall due within weeks.
Uniform and kit fitted, transition days attended, boarding house allocated, first-term invoice issued.
Breakfast in house, lessons from around 8.30, sport most afternoons, supervised prep in the evening, then free time before lights out. Each house has a housemaster or housemistress, resident tutors and a matron who knows the pupils well.
Most independent senior schools in England still teach on Saturday mornings and play fixtures in the afternoon. Day families should plan for this — it is where the sporting culture actually lives.
Many schools now offer flexi-boarding for a few nights a week, which suits families within an hour's drive whose child wants early nets and evening sessions without full boarding fees.
Indoor nets and strength and conditioning from October, pre-season from February, outdoor cricket April to July, then festivals, tours and club cricket through the summer holidays.
A talented cricketer can end up playing school, club, county and academy cricket at once. Ask each school how it monitors bowling loads and protects academic time — the good ones have a written policy.
Boarders go home for fixed exeat weekends and half-terms. Check the fixture calendar against those dates before you assume a free weekend.
A practical PDF written for families in England — no jargon, no sales pitch, and honest about what a UK boarding place really costs.
Almost every independent school lists cricket. The differences that matter are visible if you know what to ask about.
An indoor centre with run-ups, a bowling machine and analysis equipment matters more than a picturesque outfield, because the English winter is where technical work happens. Ask how many indoor lanes there are and how they are timetabled between age groups.
Look for ECB Level 3 and Level 4 coaches, ex-professional staff who actually coach rather than figurehead, and a fixture list against schools of similar standard. A school winning every game by 100 runs is not developing its players.
Ask how the school works with county age-group and academy programmes: who talks to whom, how release for county fixtures is handled, and how bowling loads are shared between school, club and county.
VAT on school fees has changed the arithmetic for many English families. It is worth being precise before you fall in love with a school.
Sport scholarships are usually a modest percentage of fees. Means-tested bursaries do the heavy lifting and can cover half the fees or more at well-endowed schools. Apply for both, and apply early — bursary funds are allocated in rounds.
Cricket kit, tours, festivals, individual coaching, music lessons, exam entries, travel to Saturday fixtures and pocket money for boarders. A realistic first year sits several thousand pounds above the headline fee.
Flexi and weekly boarding can give a cricketer most of the contact time at a lower cost, if you live close enough. We model each option against your postcode and the school's fixture calendar.
Most families reading this need no immigration paperwork at all. A few do, and it is better to know early.
No visa is required and no guardian is legally needed, although schools will ask for a named UK-resident emergency contact for boarders if both parents live abroad.
If your child holds another nationality without UK immigration permission, a Child Student visa is required once the school issues a CAS, along with the Immigration Health Surcharge and a UK guardian if parents remain overseas.
Overseas postings rarely align with English entry points. We plan the entry year around GCSE and A Level start dates so your child does not arrive mid-course, and around cricket selection windows where we can.
We have written a detailed, free guide for families in England covering entry points, fees in local currency, cricket pathways, UKiset, visas and guardianship.
Identify schools where your child’s cricket can develop alongside their education.
Find schools that match your child’s academic ambitions, interests and future plans.
Receive individual support navigating UK independent-school options and admissions.
Study at a leading UK school while developing your cricket — a natural next step for talented young players from England. We identify schools with strong UK school cricket, coaching pathways and cricket scholarship opportunities.
A £30,000–£50,000 a year decision deserves more than a brochure. Here is what you get.
Years inside British independent education, not a directory of names.
We know which schools genuinely develop young cricketers, and which don’t.
Guidance built around overseas families and the realities of boarding.
A shortlist shaped around your child, budget and long-term plans.
Registration, assessments, interviews, offers, visas and guardianship.
Pupils placed at schools such as King’s Taunton and Christ College Brecon.
“We were fixed on one famous name. CRICED made us look at two schools we had dismissed, and the one he chose gave him far more cricket than he would have had sitting in a second XI elsewhere.”
“Honest advice on what the fees really came to after VAT, and on how the bursary process worked. No school was going to tell us that.”
UK independent schools offer small class sizes, specialist subject teaching and well-established GCSE, A Level and IB pathways, with structured support for university applications in the UK and beyond.
Many UK schools run established cricket programmes with qualified coaches, indoor and outdoor facilities, and a full fixture calendar through the summer term, alongside links to county and club cricket.
Boarding builds independence, routine and confidence. Beyond the classroom, pupils take part in music, drama, service and a wide range of sports as part of everyday school life.
Pupils live and learn alongside classmates from across the UK and around the world, gaining fluency in a British academic environment that many families value long after school.
Tell us a little about your child and we’ll help you identify the UK independent and boarding schools worth considering for English students.
Step 1 of 6
Criced made what felt impossible feel straightforward. Within months, our son had an offer and a cricket scholarship to a school we had only dreamed of.
The team understood cricket, but more importantly they understood me. They found a school where I could develop as a player and still aim for top universities.
As a head of admissions, I value partners who send us well-prepared, well-matched candidates. Criced does exactly that.
My family spoke to Criced and they were very helpful in navigating a path into the UK school system.
Working with the team throughout my school application process was a really positive experience. From the beginning, I was given the opportunity to explore a number of different schools, which helped me understand my options and decide which environment would be the best fit for me. Throughout the process, I was supported with arranging school visits, understanding the different opportunities available and navigating each stage of the application. I never felt pressured towards one particular school; instead, I felt that the focus was on helping me make the right decision for myself.
I am extremely grateful for the support and guidance provided throughout my brother's application to King's College Taunton. Having attended King's myself, it was particularly important to me that the process was handled properly and that my brother was given the best opportunity to follow a similar pathway. From the beginning, the service was professional, responsive and thorough. Every stage of the application was handled with care, making what can often be a stressful process feel straightforward and well organised. I would confidently recommend their services to any family looking for knowledgeable and reliable guidance when applying to schools in the UK. Their experience, attention to detail and genuine commitment to helping students find the right opportunity made a real difference to our family.
Tell us about your child and we will reply with the UK schools worth considering, realistic costs in your currency and the next steps. No fee, no obligation.
Every child is different. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll help you understand the UK school options available.