Boarding Schools

A boarding school is a school where some or all students not only study, but also live amongst their peers - away from their home and family. There are a wide variety of boarding schools, catering for pupils of all school ages from nursery schools to senior schools.

It is a common misconception that boarding is only offered in independent (private or public) schools. This is not the case - boarding is also offered in a number of state-maintained schools. In these cases, the schools only charge for boarding fees, as tuition is paid for by the Government.

A typical modern boarding school may be made up of several separate residential houses, in which teaching staff are appointed as housemasters or housemistresses to provide pastoral care for each resident pupil. Each master or mistress may be assisted in the domestic running of the house by a housekeeper (often known as matron), and by a house tutor for academic matters. Older pupils usually receive less supervision and may take on a share of the responsibility of running the house as monitors or prefects.

Each house normally includes a number of study-bedrooms or dormitories, bathrooms, a dining-room or refectory where pupils take meals at fixed times, a library, study halls or cubicles, a common-room for television and relaxation and facilities for making drinks and snacks.

Pupils of all houses and non-boarders are taught together in school hours; however, boarding pupils' activities extend well outside school hours and will include a period for homework, along with provisions for additional sports, clubs and societies or excursions until lights-out.

Most UK boarding schools have three terms a year, averaging about twelve weeks each, with a week's half-term holiday during which pupils are expected to go home. There will also be several weekends when pupils may go home in each half of the term (known as exeats).