What are the benefits of Boarding Schools

For many parents, the idea of leaving their child at boarding school tears at the heartstrings. No parent has an easy time being away from their kids. However, the pain of separation may be eased by considering lots of benefits boarding schools offer.

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. Nevertheless, not all parents who choose to send their kids to boarding school do so for academic reasons. Some want their kids to have a religious element to their education. Others favor a specific educational philosophy that can only be found in a boarding school setting. Here’s a look at the major pros of boarding school, according to our academic advisors:

Boarding schools are running more “normal” in any circumstances

Since boarding schools are quite contained on campus and generally have very few students taking public transportation, they are extremely safe. Many boarding schools stayed open in 2020, even with COVID-19. Those schools are bubbles with the majority of students and staff staying inside the campus. In-class teaching and learning can only to a certain extent be replicated by Zoom or Microsoft Teams, thus parents from all over the world increasingly believe that boarding schools are excellent for their children’s social-emotional development.

Unique education possibilities

One major advantage of boarding schools is that they provide their students with unique and high-quality education possibilities. Class size is around 10-12 and student-centered. In addition to a top education, pupils get a chance to attend courses that would usually not be offered in conventional schools. Chances are good that your child can find their niche with courses like these, allowing him or her to discover and dive into a new passion. Boarding schools also have high standards when it comes to teachers’ employment and duties. Teachers are expected to adapt classwork around passions that stimulate the discussion, and are available for students outside of office hours.

Community feeling

Children that spend all day and night in boarding schools develop a strong feeling of community. Mealtimes allow socialization with friends. Dorm parents are available to talk, assist with conflict resolution and answer homework questions, among other things. Afternoon programing supports interests in sports, arts, music and awakens interests not available at home. Boarders can experience sports not tried before, sing in a choir, act in a play, try new things while not being encouraged by parents, but by peers and teachers/community. Consequently, young boarders build pretty strong connections to their roommates and their teachers, and this strong connection to the institution may increase the students’ motivation and their learning behavior.

Contributes to the independence of pupils

This is one of the prime reasons why parents prefer sending their children to a boarding school. At a boarding school, children learn to take care of themselves from a really young age, which turns them into an independent individual for life. In a day school, children have a more sheltered upbringing since they know that they can rely on their parents for even the smallest of chores, which they otherwise would have attempted to do by themselves.

Friends for a lifetime

Boarding schools are known to form quite strong bonds among students. Many children find friends for a lifetime, and they usually stay in contact with each other when they leave boarding school.

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 afterwards, 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

Once adjusted to the new environment, most children actually feel like boarding school is their home. Since they really identify with their school, young boarders have a great motivation to study hard, which leads to better grades and better job opportunities afterwards.

Increases sense of responsibility

Students who attend boarding school tend to be more responsible compared to those who go to conventional schools. 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.

Fosters discipline

The foremost reason that makes boarding schools a better option than day schools is the fact that boarding schools naturally instill a sense of punctuality and discipline in the students. At a boarding school, children are made to follow and maintain a schedule according to which they wake up, study, eat, and sleep. There are rules both within the school and in the dormitories that each student follows diligently. It all comes together to groom them into more responsible and dependable individuals in the future.

Decision-making is encouraged

Pupils in boarding schools are encouraged to make their own decisions from a quite young age so that they are better prepared for difficult choices once they turn into grownups.

Students may be more eager to learn

Children from boarding school may have it easier to keep up with the strict pace of 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 have nice traditions which have been practiced centuries ago and are still celebrated. This can be quite exciting and broadens students’ horizon.

Students from all over the world

Boarding schools provide the most diverse, global environment available prior to the university level. Having classmates from all over the world will not only help your child understand other cultures, but connect him/her with future leaders around the globe.

Personal development programs

Boarding schools promote a variety of personal development programs. For your child’s future career, it is not only his/her knowledge of hard skills that determines the success in the corporate world. It is essential how a young learner communicates, handles stressful situations, presents his/her results, etc. In boarding schools children are taught from an early age on what is important in that 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 may translate into boarders’ higher acceptance by leading universities and better job opportunities later on.

Having a mentor

Mentoring is popular 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 thriving in our current society. Boarding schools provide children with a mentor who takes care of them and is there to answer questions and assist them with all kinds of issues.

Just as universities and colleges have evolved in the past several decades, so have boarding schools. You no longer have to be very wealthy to send your child to boarding school. Today, in the United States, approximately a third of all boarding school students receive financial aid. Financial aid grants can represent a significant portion of tuition depending on the school and your family’s situation. Boarding school students now increasingly come from a wider range of family income levels.

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If money isn’t an object for you, and you want your child to be totally immersed in an educational environment, and/or you have a busy career yourself, boarding school has much to offer and it’s worth seriously considering it. As we’ve seen, there are a great many benefits to a boarding school education that your child won’t receive from a conventional day school education.

Our article introduces you only to the advantages of boarding schools, and you will surely add your own pros and cons to the list, as a lot will depend on your own family’s circumstances.

If you need a further guidance, contact our admissions office for a free consultation. Or, for a deeper dive, talk to PRODIREKT’s specialists 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.