Boarding High Schools

Boarding high schools are generally fee-charging educational institutions where some or all of the students study as well as reside in during the term, usually along with their teachers. Hence, the term ‘boarding school’ refers to providing lodging and food, along with educational facilities.

A Brief History of Boarding High Schools

When the British Empire spread during the colonial expansion, it gave rise to the classic British boarding school. The British colonial administrators who had to live abroad could therefore make sure that their children got the British upbringing that they wanted for them at the public schools back in the UK. This education became popular with the local rulers too, who sent their sons to these British boarding schools. Then, British-run boarding schools began to come up locally too where junior expatriates sent their children to. These boarding schools even began admitting selected children of the local populace who lived at considerable distances. These boarding schools inculcated their own cultural norms and values, thus becoming an effective method of de-culturizing the native populations from their own culture, in order to develop them into people who inculcated British ways and systems in order to help the British accomplish their imperial goals.

The Reasons for Opting for Boarding High Schools

Apart from cultural aspects, some of the other reasons parents sent their children to boarding high schools was that they could develop a wider perspective, and also give them better opportunities than they could provide. Boarding high schools can determine the culture of families for several generations, plus, by sending their children to a classy boarding school, parents have aspirations for better future prospects for their children since they are able to mix with children belonging to wealthy and upper classes on equal terms.

In the past, it used to be mostly boys who were sent to boarding schools. However, these days many girls are being sent to both boarding schools as well as private schools. The reasons for getting admitted into boarding high schools have changed too, being more focused on the academic and other requirements of the students.

Typical Characteristics Of Boarding High Schools

Boarding high schools are preparatory schools for college, and are known for their high academic standards, small sizes of classes, individualized attention students get from their teachers as well as advisors, and wide choices in the curricula.

Boarding high schools generally have a number of residential houses either within the school’s premises or close to the facilities of the school like sports facilities, dining rooms, and classrooms. Housemistresses and housemasters appointed in these residential houses assume a parental supervisory role, being responsible for the students in their house, especially outside school hours. They may be helped with the domestic management by a housekeeper, as well as other teaching faculty who supervise the students in the evenings.

The boarding facilities can vary at various boarding high schools. While some schools provide a common dining room where all the students have their meals, others may provide separate eating facilities for each residential house. The living accommodations in the houses can also differ from house to house and school to school. While in some there may be individual bathrooms for every room, others may have common bathrooms. Most boarding high school residential houses provide a common room where students can play games, read, and watch TV.

Apart from the usual facilities for academics like laboratories and classrooms, boarding high schools usually also provide various other facilities so that students can take part in extra-curricular activities like swimming pools, theaters, cinemas, squash courts, boating facilities, music rooms, and so on. Some boarding high schools also provide religious molding to the students and hence have a school chapel on the campus.

During regular holidays and the half-term break the students usually go home Special leave may also be granted during the weekends, allowing students to go somewhere or home. Boarding school students usually opt for a school that is within easy traveling distance from their homes so that they can visit their families often.

Many boarding schools also admit day-boarders, who attend school during the day along with the boarders and then go home after school. Even though they may live off-campus, they have their meals with the boarders at school.

The Various Types Of Boarding Schools

While boarding schools are a type of residential school, not all of them are the classic kind. Some of the other types of boarding schools are:

• Therapeutic schools wherein students that have disabilities like obsessive compulsive disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, severe anxiety disorder, and/or those with socialization problems and substance abuse problems are provided clinical inpatient services in these schools.
• Boarding schools for students that require special educational needs, with or without disability.
• Specialist boarding schools like stage schools or choir schools.
• Universities and colleges with residential halls.
• The kibbutzim of Israel, where the children are educated and live in a commune, but can also have daily contact with their parents during particular hours.
• Private boarding high schools are those that are not dependent upon funds from the government and are run by private funds and trusts. They usually have their own admission processes, regulations, and curriculum. This type of boarding school has always been popular with the elite and affluent.

The Benefits Of Boarding High Schools

According to research, students who attend boarding high schools display higher rates in achievement both socially and academically. The good quality boarding high schools become extended families wherein students and teachers learn and live together. This 24-hour boarding school environment enables the teaching staff to utilize every moment, whether in the playing field, dormitory, or classroom, to teach the students. Students get an all-round education in a stable, caring, and safe environment. This enables the students develop abilities that will ensure future success, both in college as well as life.