A History of Boarding Schools

A History of Boarding Schools

A History of Boarding Schools

Boarding schools in the UK have a long and illustrious history of providing scholars with an excellent all-round education.

In ancient Greece and Rome, where the foundation of the classical education was laid, boys were sent to school at seven to study grammar, rhetoric and language (the so-called trivium); the great books, poetry, arithmetic, astronomy and the difference between right and wrong.

In the Early Middle Ages, from around 500 AD in Europe, boys of about six were sent to monasteries to be educated by monks in the reading and writing of Latin, with the purpose of becoming monks or priests themselves. This laid the foundation for the formation of the modern Grammar school.

The King's School, Canterbury, is widely acknowledged to be the first boarding school, established in 597 AD as a monastic school. With Henry VIII's turn from Catholicism, most monasteries were shut down along with the schools associated with them and new schools established in the Church of England tradition. Education was mainly centred on religion and knowledge of the Bible.

From the early 1800's, with the expansion of the British empire, British government and military servicemen living abroad started sending their children back to Britain to be educated in the old tradition and to ensure an education of a high standard. This resulted in the live-in boarding school we now know. The boarding school system in foreign countries was also instrumental in the spreading of the British ideals, as it perpetuated the British mindset and way of doing things.

In some families it is a strong tradition that children attend the same boarding school as their parents for many generations, assuring that the children are brought up in the same conventions that the parents subscribe to. There has however been a move away from this custom in recent years.

Today's modern boarding schools have diversified largely. Some are still based on the study and promotion of specific religions, some (the so-called "prep schools") aim to prepare students for college entry, some subscribe to military type discipline for problem boys and others are single-sex. There has also been a move towards boarding schools that cater for scholars with learning disabilities such as ADHD or even teens with drug addiction problems. These are called Therapeutic Boarding Schools.

Some top boarding schools incorporate day scholars, children who live at home but attend the school, into the classes; at some boarding schools scholars go home every weekend while at others some foreign scholars reside in the boarding school for almost the entire academic year.

A boarding school scholar in the UK today is assured of receiving a well-rounded education. The emphasis is no longer on academics only, but also on a balanced extra-curricular schedule, which includes outings and entertainment. Boarders are afforded many opportunities to broaden their horizons and to learn about getting along with others. Housemasters and other care-givers assure the well-being of boarders and create a home-away-from-home feel.

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