Boarding schools are a fantastic option for many families, providing a home away from home that allows children to focus their full attention on both their studies and extra-curricular activities. However, not all parents who choose to send their kids to boarding school do so for academic reasons. Some want their kids to have a religious element to their education. Some favor a specific educational philosophy that can only be found in a boarding school setting.
It is important to note that during uncertain times, boarding schools can also create stability for pupils and parents alike. Those schools are running more “normal” in any circumstances. Many boarding schools stayed open in 2020, even with COVID-19. Our children are now challenged to develop the critical social skills, so parents from all over the world increasingly believe that boarding schools are excellent for the development of social pragmatics and more. Boarding is about community, living with and supporting others, learning to work as a team, giving and taking, and being part of something much larger and important than you as an individual. While in-class teaching and learning can, to a certain extent, be replicated by Zoom or Teams, the experience of boarding house life cannot.
Let’s take a look at some other reasons why you may choose a boarding school instead of a traditional school for your child’s education:
Unique education possibilities
One major advantage of boarding schools is that they provide their students with unique and high-quality education possibilities. Class size is around 10-12 and "student-centered. " This means that not only pupils get a top education, but they can also attend courses that would usually not be offered in conventional schools. Chances are good that your child can find their niche with courses like these, allowing him or her to discover and dive into a new passion. In addition, boarding schools have high standards when it comes to teachers’ employment. Teachers are expected to adapt classwork around passions that stimulate the discussion, and are available for students outside of office hours.
Community feeling
Children that spend all day and night in boarding schools develop a strong feeling of community. Mealtimes allow socialization with friends. Dorm parents are available to talk, assist with conflict resolution and answer homework questions, among other things. Afternoon programming supports interests in sports, arts, music and awakens interests not available at home. Experience sports not tried before, sing in a choir, act in a play, try new things while not being encouraged by parents, but by peers and teachers/community. Consequently, young boarders build pretty strong connections to their roommates and their teachers, and this strong connection to the institution may increase the students’ motivation and their learning behavior.
Friends for a lifetime
Boarding schools are also known to form quite strong bonds among students. Many children find friends for a lifetime in boarding school, and they will stay in contact with each other also when they finally leave boarding school.
Future business connections
Boarding schools do not only promote friendships, they are also known to provide their students with excellent networking opportunities. Since many kids in boarding schools come from wealthy families and will have pretty decent jobs afterwards, chances are that those connections children make early on in their lives will lead to a strong business network once they grow up. This may give these children pretty good job opportunities and a strong network for the rest of their lives.
Students may actually feel at home in school
Once adjusted to the new environment, most children actually feel like boarding school is their home. Since they really identify with their school, those students have a great motivation to study hard, which leads to better grades and better job opportunities afterwards.
Increases sense of responsibility of children
Children who attend boarding school tend to be more responsible compared to those who go to conventional schools. This is true to the fact that children in boarding schools have a quite strict curriculum and are expected to learn and study hard in order to sustain the good reputation of the institution.
Contributes to the independence of pupils
Since children in boarding schools do not have their parents around to do the laundry and organize their daily life, they grow up faster and become more independent in a shorter period of time compared to children who attend day school. A high level of independence is quite an important characteristic which helps in all parts of daily life.
Fosters discipline
Discipline is another trait that is taught to students in boarding school. Teachers pay close attention to the behavior of their students and a lack of discipline is often sanctioned in a certain way. Therefore, children will learn a high level of discipline at a quite early stage, which may also benefit them their whole life since discipline is a key feature for success.
Decision-making is encouraged
Children in boarding schools are often encouraged to make their own decisions. Kids are given the opportunity to make lots of important decisions from a quite young age so that they are better prepared to make difficult choices once they turn into grownups later.
May prevent kids to do ill-advised things
Supervisors and boarding schools staff take great care to assure that there is no smoking and consumption of alcohol and drugs inside their institution. Hence, while other kids may develop alcohol or drug problems or even addictions, children in boarding schools may be better protected against this problem.
Students may be more eager to learn
In general, due to the high level of discipline students are taught on a daily basis, they are more likely to study hard and to learn quite fast. This may give them an important advantage when it comes to college applications. Kids from boarding school may also have it easier to keep up with the strict pace of some elite universities since they learned from an early age on to study hard, while other kids from conventional schools may have a harder time adapting to the learning pace in college.
Boarding school traditions
Some boarding schools also have nice traditions which have been practiced centuries ago and will still be celebrated. This can be quite exciting while broadening students’ horizon – they get a better feeling of how life looked centuries ago and what was important to people.
Students from all over the world
Boarding schools are not only meant for local children, they also have plenty of partnerships for international students. A high mix of international learners in boarding schools makes it very exciting and beneficial for students as they get to experience different cultures over time.
Personal development programs
Boarding schools promote a variety of personal development programs. For your future career, it is not only your knowledge of hard skills that makes you succeed in the corporate world. It is essential how you present your results, how you communicate to clients and so on. In order to perfect all of this, it is crucial growing on a mental level. In boarding schools children are taught from an early age on what is important in this regard so that they can incorporate those characteristics into adulthood.
Innovative teaching techniques
Boarding schools are also known to be quite innovative and to provide students with the latest technologies in order to improve the learning experience. This can be rather beneficial for students since they will be able to get to know the latest innovations in time and will often have an advantage over other students regarding technological knowledge. In turn, this may translate into better job opportunities.
Students can have a mentor
Mentoring is also a popular thing in boarding schools. Many successful people claim that it is important to have a mentor in order to really learn what it needs to be successful in our current society. Boarding schools provide children with a mentor who takes care of them and is there to answer questions and to assist them with all kinds of issues.
Sending your child to a boarding school has a wide range of both immediate and long term benefits, and in this overview we mentioned merely the most important ones. If you need a further guidance, contact our admissions office for a free consultation. Or, for a deeper dive, talk to our specialist in boarding school placements to set up a school visit. We have insider knowledge to help you select the schools that best suit your interests.
Boarding
schools
are a fantastic option for
many
families, providing a home away from home that
allows
children
to focus their full attention on both their
studies
and extra-curricular activities.
However
, not all
parents
who
choose to
send
their
kids
to
boarding
school
do
so
for academic reasons.
Some
want their
kids
to have a religious element to their
education
.
Some
favor a specific educational philosophy that can
only
be found
in a
boarding
school
setting.
It is
important
to note that during uncertain
times
,
boarding
schools
can
also
create stability for pupils and
parents
alike. Those
schools
are running more “normal” in any circumstances.
Many
boarding
schools
stayed open in 2020, even with COVID-19. Our
children
are
now
challenged to develop the critical social
skills
,
so
parents
from all
over
the world
increasingly
believe that
boarding
schools
are excellent for the development of social pragmatics and more.
Boarding
is about community, living with and supporting others,
learning
to work as a team, giving and taking, and being part of something much larger and
important
than you as an individual. While in-
class
teaching and
learning
can, to a certain extent,
be replicated
by Zoom or Teams, the
experience
of
boarding
house
life
cannot.
Let
’s take a look at
some
other
reasons why you may choose a
boarding
school
instead
of a traditional
school
for your child’s education:
Unique
education
possibilities
One major advantage of
boarding
schools
is that they
provide
their
students
with unique and high-quality
education
possibilities.
Class
size is around 10-12 and
"
student-centered.
"
This means that not
only
pupils
get
a top
education
,
but
they can
also
attend courses that would
usually
not
be offered
in conventional
schools
. Chances are
good
that your child can find their niche with courses like these, allowing him or her to discover and dive into a new passion.
In addition
,
boarding
schools
have
high
standards when it
comes
to
teachers’
employment.
Teachers
are
expected
to adapt classwork around passions that stimulate the discussion, and are available for
students
outside of office hours.
Community feeling
Children that spend all day and night in
boarding
schools
develop a
strong
feeling of community. Mealtimes
allow
socialization with friends. Dorm
parents
are available to talk, assist with conflict resolution and answer homework questions, among
other
things. Afternoon programming supports interests in sports, arts, music and awakens interests not available at home.
Experience
sports not tried
before
, sing in a choir, act in a play, try new things while not
being encouraged
by
parents
,
but
by peers and teachers/community.
Consequently
, young boarders build pretty
strong
connections to their roommates and their
teachers
, and this
strong
connection to the institution may increase the
students’
motivation and their
learning
behavior.
Friends for a lifetime
Boarding
schools
are
also
known to form
quite
strong
bonds among
students
.
Many
children
find friends for a lifetime in
boarding
school
, and they will stay in contact with each
other
also
when they
finally
leave
boarding
school.
Future business connections
Boarding
schools
do not
only
promote friendships, they are
also
known to
provide
their
students
with excellent networking
opportunities
. Since
many
kids
in
boarding
schools
come
from wealthy families and will have pretty decent
jobs
afterwards, chances are that those connections
children
make
early
on in their
lives
will lead to a
strong
business network once they grow up. This may give these
children
pretty
good
job
opportunities
and a
strong
network for the rest of their
lives
.
Students may actually feel at home in school
Once adjusted to the new environment, most
children
actually feel like
boarding
school
is their home. Since they
really
identify with their
school
, those
students
have a great motivation to
study
hard
, which leads to
better
grades and
better
job
opportunities
afterwards.
Increases sense of responsibility of children
Children
who
attend
boarding
school
tend to be more responsible compared to those
who
go to conventional
schools
. This is true to the fact that
children
in
boarding
schools
have a
quite
strict curriculum and are
expected
to
learn
and
study
hard
in
order
to sustain the
good
reputation of the institution.
Contributes to the independence of pupils
Since
children
in
boarding
schools
do not have their
parents
around to do the laundry and organize their daily
life
, they grow up faster and become more independent in a shorter period of
time
compared to
children
who
attend day
school
. A
high
level
of independence is
quite
an
important
characteristic which
helps
in all parts of daily life.
Fosters discipline
Discipline is another trait that
is taught
to
students
in
boarding
school
.
Teachers
pay close attention to the behavior of their
students
and a lack of
discipline
is
often
sanctioned in a certain way.
Therefore
,
children
will
learn
a
high
level
of
discipline
at a
quite
early
stage, which may
also
benefit them their whole
life
since
discipline
is a key feature for success.
Decision-making
is encouraged
Children in
boarding
schools
are
often
encouraged to
make
their
own
decisions.
Kids
are
given
the
opportunity
to
make
lots of
important
decisions from a
quite
young age
so
that they are
better
prepared to
make
difficult choices once they turn into grownups later.
May
prevent
kids
to do ill-advised things
Supervisors and
boarding
schools
staff take great care to assure that there is no smoking and consumption of alcohol and drugs inside their institution.
Hence
, while
other
kids
may develop alcohol or drug problems or even addictions,
children
in
boarding
schools
may be
better
protected against this problem.
Students may be more eager to learn
In general
, due to the
high
level
of
discipline
students
are taught
on a daily basis, they are more likely to
study
hard
and to
learn
quite
fast
. This may give them an
important
advantage when it
comes
to college applications.
Kids
from
boarding
school
may
also
have it easier to
keep
up with the strict pace of
some
elite universities since they learned from an
early
age on to
study
hard
, while
other
kids
from conventional
schools
may have a harder
time
adapting to the
learning
pace in college.
Boarding
school
traditions
Some
boarding
schools
also
have nice traditions which have
been practiced
centuries ago and will
still
be celebrated
. This can be
quite
exciting while broadening
students’
horizon
–
they
get
a
better
feeling of how
life
looked centuries ago and what was
important
to
people
.
Students from all
over
the world
Boarding
schools
are not
only
meant for local
children
, they
also
have
plenty
of partnerships for international
students
. A
high
mix of international learners in
boarding
schools
makes
it
very
exciting and beneficial for
students
as they
get
to
experience
different
cultures
over
time.
Personal development programs
Boarding
schools
promote a variety of personal development programs. For your future career, it is not
only
your knowledge of
hard
skills
that
makes
you succeed in the corporate world. It is essential how you present your results, how you communicate to clients and
so
on. In
order
to perfect all of this, it is crucial growing on a mental
level
. In
boarding
schools
children
are taught
from an
early
age on what is
important
in this regard
so
that they can incorporate those characteristics into adulthood.
Innovative teaching techniques
Boarding
schools
are
also
known to be
quite
innovative and to
provide
students
with the latest technologies in
order
to
improve
the
learning
experience
. This can be
rather
beneficial for
students
since they will be able to
get
to know the latest innovations in
time
and will
often
have an advantage
over
other
students
regarding technological knowledge. In turn, this may translate into
better
job
opportunities.
Students can have a mentor
Mentoring is
also
a popular thing in
boarding
schools
.
Many
successful
people
claim that it is
important
to have a mentor in
order
to
really
learn
what it needs to be successful in our
current
society.
Boarding
schools
provide
children
with a mentor
who
takes care of them and is there to answer questions and to assist them with all kinds of issues.
Sending your child to a
boarding
school
has a wide range of both immediate and long term benefits, and in this overview we mentioned
merely
the most
important
ones. If you need a
further
guidance, contact our admissions office for a free consultation. Or, for a deeper dive, talk to our specialist in
boarding
school
placements to set up a
school
visit. We have insider knowledge to
help
you select the
schools
that best suit your interests.