Swapping Germany for Longridge was right call

International Student Series

Longridge Towers School is developing a reputation across the globe for its schooling of international students who come to Northumberland to complete their education.

In recent years, Longridge has been home to children from as far afield as China and South Korea to South Africa, Spain and Germany to Russia and Ukraine and even La Rèunion, the French island in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar.

To learn more about our international students, and share insight with families thinking about an education in the UK, we are launching a series of interviews. They all have very different stories to tell, from escaping wars or the rigidity of a Chinese education and seeking a safe haven to considering brighter futures, and we explore how they feel about their moves to Longridge, dealing with trauma and changing life course in their teens.

Curd Böcker and sister Leni with parents Ute and Konrad enjoying a family lunch out.

Economic reports wax lyrical on the tourism benefits of the north of England and south of Scotland, but few mention that this part of the world is also providing fresh launchpads in education and careers.

When German parents Ute and Konrad Böcker wanted a change for their children, a move away from Essen and nearby industrial cities of Dusseldorf and Cologne, their minds floated to the memories of family holidays.

When Ute discovered that there was a potential school near Berwick-upon-Tweed, the family’s favourite holiday destination in the UK, she and husband Konrad visited Longridge Towers in early spring, 2022. They met current headteacher Jonathan Lee and had a tour to assess whether it would be a good option for their children. A ‘Taster Week’ in June, 2022, clinched it for them and they decided that Longridge would be the perfect place for the next stage in their children’s education.

“From being simply an option to consider,” explained Ute, “Longridge instantly became our first choice. From the first visit, we just knew that it would provide a safe and welcoming environment for our children to grow and thrive in, which felt especially important coming from another country.

“From day one everyone was very welcoming, supportive and friendly, and they have really enjoyed it so we are glad we made the decision to send our children to Longridge.

“Being students at Longridge has provided them all with excellent opportunities. They became fluent in English and have grown in every aspect, both personally and academically, and we feel are now well prepared for life.”

All roads lead to Longridge for the Böckers

The Böckers have three sons and a daughter, Julius and Curd the first to come to Longridge, starting in October 2022 as full time boarders. When daughter Leni joined her brothers at LTS In January 2023, the three of them became day pupils.

Julius sat his A-Levels at Longridge and, after a great end to his school experience, travelled to Sweden to do social work, confident in being able to extend his positive experience of living in a different cultural environment.

Younger brother Curd, who joined Longridge at 14, and is now 18 and in Sixth Form, and sister Leni, is now 16 and completing her GCSEs at Longridge.

As Curd begins to think of the next chapter beyond school, his story has been another of memories and opportunities. Chosen as Head Boy for his final year, he has become a key figure in Longridge life, at the heart of organising events and charity fundraisers, alongside a dedication to his studies that has ensured a variety of choices as he contemplates stepping into university life.

Outside of Longridge, the 6ft 2in student has played for the Kelso Harlequins U18s rugby team, of the famous Kelso RFC which has produced Scotland and British and Irish Lions legends, and in 2026 is celebrating its 150^th year. He has spent much of this season recovering from a serious knee injury but is now back playing.

‘At Longridge we found a different approach’

So, is he pleased with his parents’ decision to take him out of German education in his mid-teens and move to a new country with a different language?

“It wasn’t all new,” he explained, “because we spent great holidays in Berwick for three years in a row I think, and with my brother also at Longridge I just wanted to get here to be honest.

“The German school system is really unforgiving, where basically if you don’t perform for one year, for whatever reason, you get held back a year. You’ve got exams every year in high school that determine if you go into the next grade or not, and I don’t think that system suits everyone.

“When Julius came here he found a different approach, where it is still strict about your studies and passing exams, but teachers work with you to support you in different ways. They’re not as rigid in how they teach so I think it works for all types of people.

“I came here for a taster week before the summer and absolutely loved it. I loved that everyone was incredibly friendly. Teachers were super welcoming and everyone was super nice. I made friends in the first week and so, for me, I have only good impressions.

Ute and Curd have both loved the Longridge environment with Ute also supporting German lessons

‘I have been able to grow – academically and in sport’

“Academically, I feel I have been able to grow so much more because the classes are way smaller than in Germany – here 15 or 20 students would be a big class, but we had over 30 pupils always per class in Germany. So, the teacher here has time to focus on you a lot more and you can get your own ideas across, and I think that has really, really helped me develop.

“And besides academics, I think the biggest thing for me has been rugby. It was a whole new sport when I first joined, just a really exciting new thing. And also quite scary at times! But I love the sport now, and I love the social side of it.”

Curd started with Berwick RFC, who did an impressive job of introducing him to the sport, and represented Alnwick RFC too, before he moved to Kelso for under-18s because many of his Longridge peer group played there. He has just come back from a knee ligament injury, but his physique and enthusiasm for the game suggests that rugby play a part in his future plans.

Longridge also benefits from his mother Ute’s passion for education, as she supports German language lessons at the school, as well as working part-time at the historic Paxton House nearby.

‘I would recommend Longridge to international students’

For Curd, a polite and intelligent lad with an infectious enthusiasm, there is little surprise in his answer when we ask if the decision by his parents to send him and his siblings to Longridge was a wise one.

“Definitely! I would recommend coming to Longridge to anyone, especially international students, and even if it was just for a term or two,” he said. “The difference it made to my English was pretty rapid, and I was fluent by the end of my second term, and that’s helpful of course for what you want to do in your career.

“But everything else it has brought me I am very thankful for. I didn’t enjoy school in Germany much, but I have loved it here and now I would like to go to Edinburgh University and study archaeology and ancient history. I can see myself spending the rest of my life over here actually, bringing a family up here and playing rugby.”