Elmdon Lodge: boarding with music at its heart
Welcoming our first boarders in September 2026
We’re preparing to welcome our first boarders in September 2026, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.
As one of only two schools in Birmingham to offer boarding — alongside Elmhurst Ballet School — Kimichi School’s boarding house, Elmdon Lodge, offers a warm, home-from-home environment with a maximum of just 20 places, combining excellent pastoral care with outstanding musical opportunity.
Kimichi is the school where every student plays and every student performs. Founded in 2014 and rated Good by Ofsted, we are a small, mainstream music specialist school where classes never exceed ten, one-to-one instrumental lessons are included in the fees, and a rich calendar of performances takes our students to stages including Birmingham Town Hall and Symphony Hall. Our association with Birmingham Conservatoire brings masterclasses, audition guidance and professional musicians into school life — and boarding brings that musical life to life around the clock. At Elmdon Lodge, evenings flow from rehearsal into supper, practice, prep and friendship. There is always an instrument being played somewhere in the house.
A home, not an institution
Elmdon Lodge is a beautiful double-fronted town house with a spacious garden, a short walk from school and close to the vibrant, regenerated city of Birmingham. Boarders stay in single or twin en-suite bedrooms, each with a desk for study and space to make their own — Ofsted’s inspectors found the house “homely”, “decorated and furnished with care”, and noted that boarders will be encouraged to add their own touches “so that the environment feels personal to them”. Evening meals are eaten together in the house, and alongside cosy shared spaces there are quieter corners for winding down at the end of the day. With family agreement, boarders build real independence too, learning life skills such as cooking simple meals and doing their own laundry.
Inspected and ready
Ahead of opening, Elmdon Lodge was inspected by Ofsted in April 2026. The outcome could not have been clearer: the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards and the national minimum standards for boarding in every area inspected. Inspectors highlighted our “robust” safeguarding, a “cohesive school community” in which pupils “feel safe” and “trust staff to help them”, and leaders’ careful, well-informed preparation — including a dedicated Head of Boarding, two houseparents, a linked boarding governor, and boarding captains who will represent the house on our school council.
Deliberately affordable
We keep boarding deliberately flexible and deliberately affordable, because an immersive musical education should be within reach of far more families than people expect. Weekly and full boarding options are available, guardianship arrangements support families living at a distance, and Kimichi opens the door to memorable experiences beyond the classroom — including vastly subsidised international residential trips.
Boarding at a glance
- Opening September 2026 — maximum 20 boarders, ages 11–16
- One of only two boarding offers in Birmingham
- Single and twin en-suite bedrooms in a double-fronted town house with a spacious garden
- Instrumental lessons included; performance opportunities including Symphony Hall
- Weekly or full boarding; deliberately affordable fees
- April 2026 Ofsted material change inspection: likely to meet all national minimum standards for boarding
Come and see Elmdon Lodge for yourself — we would love to show you around.
Year 2026/2027
Fees
£28,000 p.a. ex-VAT
Extras included in fees
Instrumental lessons on two instruments
Laundry
Exam entry fees
