Originally posted by DodgyAgent
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You have now lost sight of objectivity here -things have moved since the old days 
. I went to boarding school at 7 and all my children so far have been to them albeit from 13. My first boarding school was one of the cruelest places on earth and parents didnt really want to know. Boarding is not right for every child but for me and my children (public school onwards) it was fantastic. The first thing it teaches you is independence - for good or bad- and it also when it works gives children confidence. And provided that confidence does'nt turn into cockiness (usually the fult of parents) it gives one a great start in life. If you are a confident sort or good at something (every child usually is) then it is great. For a lot of children it can be miserable but that tends to be the fault of the school and or the parents.
The other key is the terms of engagement. As long as children are not allowed to "coast" and have the full attention of teachers and housemasters then they will not fail.
Nowadays boarding schools are overwhelmingly inclusive with the parents and they now aspire to building parent associations to make the parents feel comfortable visiting the school and engaging with teachers and housemasters in particular. One o fthe great things about competition is that these schools are constantly striving for improvement and nowadays with so much information being so freely available it is difficult for bad private schools to hide.
One of the things I have learnt is never to be intimidated by "poshness" or "wealth" which is what happens to many who have come from the state sector who reveal their chippiness on the subject of private school.
As for day schools I am not sure I like the idea of having teenage kids hanging around the town after school. Incascerate them in a boarding school and bring them out at weekends
. I went to boarding school at 7 and all my children so far have been to them albeit from 13. My first boarding school was one of the cruelest places on earth and parents didnt really want to know. Boarding is not right for every child but for me and my children (public school onwards) it was fantastic. The first thing it teaches you is independence - for good or bad- and it also when it works gives children confidence. And provided that confidence does'nt turn into cockiness (usually the fult of parents) it gives one a great start in life. If you are a confident sort or good at something (every child usually is) then it is great. For a lot of children it can be miserable but that tends to be the fault of the school and or the parents.The other key is the terms of engagement. As long as children are not allowed to "coast" and have the full attention of teachers and housemasters then they will not fail.
Nowadays boarding schools are overwhelmingly inclusive with the parents and they now aspire to building parent associations to make the parents feel comfortable visiting the school and engaging with teachers and housemasters in particular. One o fthe great things about competition is that these schools are constantly striving for improvement and nowadays with so much information being so freely available it is difficult for bad private schools to hide.
One of the things I have learnt is never to be intimidated by "poshness" or "wealth" which is what happens to many who have come from the state sector who reveal their chippiness on the subject of private school.
As for day schools I am not sure I like the idea of having teenage kids hanging around the town after school. Incascerate them in a boarding school and bring them out at weekends
have you been on the bilberry wine again?
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