Private Boarding Schools

What is a private boarding school?

The term boarding school fundamentally refers to classic British boarding schools and most boarding schools around the world are modelled on the classic British boarding school. Boarding schools have specified rooms or allotted areas for different activities that occur throughout the day as defined by the boarding school administrators. These activities have a predefined structure and time set by the institution. These schedules and rules are to be strictly followed, the failure of which could earn punishment. The rooms include the dormitory, where pupils share sleeping quarters, possibly on bunk beds, the refectory, where pupils take meals at fixed schedules, and the study hall, where pupils do their academic work. The school also has facilities for bathing and washing, and a room for the storage of residents' belongings. Boarding schools also provide a playground for games and activities for the students.

Boarding schools range from those which are all-boarding or very close to it, to mainly day schools which offer boarding facilities for a few pupils. An increasing number of schools offer weekly boarding, where the pupil comes home at weekends or flexible boarding where the pupil stays at school only occasionally.

Private boarding education suffered a decline in the early 1990s, but it has re-established itself as increasingly popular with young people, some of which may be due to the “Harry Potter” effect. According to one headteacher, “It takes more than a young boy being a wizard to make up someone's mind, but one thing the books have done is promote to children the idea that boarding schools can be exciting places.” New figures published in 2011 show that numbers of pupils attending UK boarding schools now top 68,000, which reflects the efforts of schools to make boarding an appealing choice.

The Children Act did much to raise boarding standards and the Independent Schools' Inspectorate (ISI) is empowered to monitor standards in the private sector. Many boarding schools provide a very high level of recreational, sporting and specialist facilities which cannot be matched in the state sector.

The UK's boarding private schools include famous names recognised the world over, but these are just a few of many excellent schools offering the benefits of a boarding education. Good boarding schools offer superb facilities and pastoral care and a full range of weekend activities. Accommodation is in small dormitories for younger pupils and individual study bedrooms for examination candidates. Boarding houses are furnished and decorated to a very high standard and pupils are encouraged to bring their own home comforts. Boarders also enjoy immediate access to teachers and resources and often make long-lasting friendships. Within a boarding community there is also a keen emphasis on the development of personal qualities such as tolerance and consideration for others.

Modern boarding, which bears little resemblance to the old-fashioned media image, offers many advantages:

  • You have a wide choice of schools
  • Boarders have access to an excellent range of facilities and activities
  • Most boarders think it is more fun than being a day pupil
  • Flexible boarding arrangements permit frequent contacts with home
  • Most boarding schools have day places too, so children can convert to boarding later if it attracts them