5 of the Best Benefits Your Family Gets From Boarding School.

Boarding school can be a contentious topic for some families. We often have very different ideas on it; whether it’s beneficial or harmful to a child; whether it’s worth the expense; whether the family will be really happy with one of its members living away for a great portion of the year.

These questions are hard to answer definitively because families have very different circumstances. In general, however, we believe that the case for boarding school is quite convincing, and that the benefits brought to your child and your family as a whole are tangible and significant. Benefit 1: No more school run One event that eats into the time of student and parent alike is the morning and afternoon school runs. For families who live further away and/or don’t have access to school buses, the four-way run consumes time, energy and gasoline! You get that time back with boarding school, but so does your child. Living at school means that each day is more efficiently and effectively used. It’s nice to know that your living space and school space are a mere stone’s throw apart. Everything is just where you need it. Benefit 2: A continuous learning experience The boarding aspect of school is not just about sleeping. Living at school is part of the overall educational experience. Kids learn to socialize, share spaces, keep their living space clean and tidy, make their beds and more. Living at school also means the facilities of the campus are continuously at your child’s disposal, allowing them to settle into a real scholarly and productive academic atmosphere, free from the many distractions of home. Benefit 3: Independence for your child As we touch on in Benefit 2, the independence your child can gain from boarding school is astonishing. As the old saying goes, if you want to keep your kids’ feet on the ground, simply place a little responsibility on their shoulders. A boarding school will offer that in spades. Starting with simple disciplines, the lifestyle quickly translates into meaningful long-term habits and practices. Benefit 4: Close friendships Students who share living and learning space form quite unique and profound bonds. Beyond learning simply to socialize with their peers, boarding school students can learn to form and nurture meaningful and lasting friendships. That sense of solidarity and togetherness is an invaluable asset later in life. Benefit 5: Preparation for university life Many parents dread the day their kids go off to university, conflicted inside by the mixed emotions of excitement at their going into the world, but sadness at the nest being left empty. Boarding school can help both parents and students learn to handle being apart. It’s hard at first, to be apart from your child, but time does its great healing work and the benefits in the long-term can be keenly felt, especially when that university day you formerly dreaded now becomes sweeter because you focus on being excited and happy for your child’s achievements. Boarding: a key to future success It’s no mere coincidence that so many world-famous and elite schools also happen to be boarding schools. The experience of living at school, as far as they are concerned, is as much part of the learning experience as classes and athletics are. Hopefully this will help settle any fears you may be currently having over your own child attending a boarding school.