Find-A-School UKThe definitive UK guide to finding an Independent UK Private School |
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There is no standard answer to this, any more than there is a standard child, or standard family, or standard situation. Boarding will be quite wrong for some children, and the best possible option for others. Boarding may be right for one child at eight, and for another may not be right until sixteen – or, indeed, twenty-one! But there are certain overall reasons why boarding may be the right option for your child at some stage of his or her schooling. For families who are on the move at frequent intervals – the services, international business, diplomatic corps and such like – the most obvious advantage is stability. And not just in terms of following an unbroken and consistent academic course within one national tradition: there is also the stability of friendships that do not end with each new posting. I have known families move on average more than once a year while their children were at school – but the children have had the advantage of continued friendships through that period and have not suffered the trauma that repeated making and breaking of those friendships might bring. |
But there is much more to boarding than being a ‘second best’ when the family, for whatever reason, cannot provide this kind of continuity. Boarding provides an all-round education in a way that is more difficult in a day school: within a single community it includes academic study, cultural and artistic pursuits, sport, and sharing leisure time. It involves learning about social relationships as well as the studying: friendships forged in boarding schools are often lifelong. A good boarding school also helps children with the growing-up process. Not in the sense of their becoming superficially ‘street-wise’, but learning to take on more responsibility for themselves as time goes on, and being able to learn about decision-making and peer-group pressure in a relatively safe environment. Self-esteem, self-discipline, confidence and a positive approach to life are developed as a normal part of the school’s routine. < Back | Page 1 of 3 | Next > |
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