Why to select a boarding school for your child?

Are you interested in understanding the benefits of sending your child to a boarding school as opposed to a traditional public or even private school? 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, but during uncertain times, boarding schools can also create stability for students and parents alike. Many boarding schools stayed open in 2020, even with COVID-19. Those schools are running more “normal” in any circumstances. Our children are now challenged to develop the critical social skills, so parents from all over the world are realizing that boarding schools have become 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 high-quality and also with unique education possibilities. Boarding schools often have quite high standards and teachers are often experts in their field. Thus, pupils will be able to get a quite good education, which may give them pretty good career opportunities afterward. Moreover, they may also be able to join courses that would usually not be offered in conventional schools. Thus, students may be able to broaden their knowledge through the attendance of boarding schools. Community feeling Since children spend all day and night in boarding schools, they also develop a strong feeling of community. Some children will build pretty strong connections to their roommates and their teachers. This strong connection to the institution may increase the students’ motivation and their learning behavior since they will actually enjoy their stay in boarding school. 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. Really good friendships are rare and therefore, this can be seen as another important advantage boarding schools can offer to their students. 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 afterward, 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 Some children also enjoy their stay in boarding school more compared to staying with their parents. Thus, some children might actually feel like boarding school is their home. Especially those students will have a great motivation to study hard since they will really identify with their school, which may lead to better grades and better job opportunities afterwards. Increases sense of responsibility of children Children who attend boarding school may also be more responsible compared to children who attend conventional schools at the same age. 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. Thus, children in boarding schools are often told how important it is to study hard and those children will develop a strong sense of responsibility to comply with the rules due to that. Contributes to the independence of pupils Since children in boarding schools will not have their parents around who will do the laundry and also organize their daily life, they have to grow up faster and will 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. Thus, children who attend boarding school may develop this important characteristic faster and may be able to succeed in life better on average. Fosters discipline Discipline is another trait that is taught to students in boarding school. Teachers in boarding schools often pay close attention to the behavior of their students and a lack of discipline is often punished 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 also often encouraged to make their own decisions from a quite young age. Since decisions determine how our future life will look like, it is quite important to give those kids the opportunity to make those decisions so that they are also prepared to make difficult decisions once they turn into grownups later. May prevent kids to do stupid things While many teenagers consume plenty of alcohol and drugs, children in boarding schools are often quite restricted in this regard and supervisors take great care to assure that there are no such substances 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 quite nice traditions which have been practiced centuries ago and will still be celebrated. For students in those boarding schools, this can be quite exciting and can also broaden their horizon since they will get a better feeling of how life looked centuries ago and what was important to people in former ages. Students from all over the world Boarding schools are not only meant for local children, they also have plenty of partnerships for international students. Thus, there is often a big variety of different cultures in boarding school, which can be quite interesting and also quite beneficial for students since they get to experience different cultures over time. Personal development programs Boarding schools also often 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 also important 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. Boarding schools recognized that and 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 quite 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 who 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 just the most important ones. If you need a further guidance, contact PRODIREKT 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.