There is life north of Watford! A northern perspective on boarding

York: two hours on the train from London; one hour 45 minutes on the train from Manchester Airport; one hour’s drive from Leeds Bradford Airport; 45 minutes’ drive from Catterick and Leeming. Perhaps not quite the centre of the universe, but certainly much more accessible than most people realise. There is much to be said for choosing a boarding school in the north of England, particularly given the breadth of schools available. The York Boarding School Group (www.yorkboarding.co.uk) promotes 17 boarding schools, each with its own characteristics but all united by the provision of an outstanding boarding education. The location of the member schools ranges from Yorkshire’s heritage coastline through its breathtaking countryside to the heart of the cosmopolitan city. My own school is situated ten minutes’ walk from the historic centre of York, yet sits in 42 acres of grounds, with the River Ouse running alongside. As a result, rowing is a huge sport at both St Peter’s and St Olave’s. Boarders are able to benefit from being able to walk to the wide range of cultural attractions (and shops) in York. Cross the Pennines and there are even more boarding schools to choose from. So, boarding in the north is most definitely alive and kicking, and what a glorious environment for young people to grow up in.

A big decision for parents is at what stage to let their child start boarding. Some schools start at age seven, others at age eight, nine, ten or 11. Much will depend on your own circumstances and on the individual child. There are definite benefits to starting boarding before age 11 (Year 7):

Prep schools tend to fall into two categories: stand-alone prep schools that have no attachment to any one senior school, and tied prep schools, which are linked to one main senior school. There are pros and cons to both, and the advantages of stand-alone prep schools are well known. However, the advantages of a tied prep school are perhaps less well publicised:

St Olave’s is the junior school to St Peter’s, York, and so a tied school. This means that all the pupils who join us have a guaranteed place at St Peter’s. The advantage to this is that we can concentrate on teaching and learning in those final two years of prep school, not on preparing children to sit Common Entrance or jump through entrance exam hoops. It gives parents the reassurance of knowing where their child will be going when they leave us. They will have looked round both schools when they came to visit, to ensure they are happy with both the prep and senior school for their child. One or two pupils will be prepared to sit entrance exams to schools such as Eton, Oundle or Tonbridge, but the vast majority will go to St Peter’s. We are fortunate in having our own self-contained campus, with all its own facilities, only sharing the chapel, swimming pool and sports facilities with the senior school. This means that, to all intents and purposes, there is little difference between us and a stand-alone prep school on a day-to-day basis. We have our own uniform, our own core values, our own teaching staff, our own catering and cleaning staff, and our own facilities. In other words, pupils and parents don’t feel they are on a conveyor belt from age eight to 18, which can sometimes be a risk in choosing a tied junior/senior school. We also transfer to the senior school at age 13 not age 11, again giving the school the same feel as a traditional 13+ school, with the 12/13 year olds being top of the school, not bottom of a big senior school.
 

There has been much press coverage about the fact that, in recent times, 17 private schools have closed and another 13 have merged due to the recession. The truth is that, out of those 30 schools, only two were prep schools in membership of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS), and only one of them was a boarding school. The reality is that many boarding schools are finding things tougher than in previous years, but the message I am getting from heads is that the numbers of children from Forces families are as strong as ever. It is important when you are looking round a school to ask the difficult questions about numbers, especially how many children are in over the weekend, and the split between UK and international boarders.
 

So, boarding generally is holding up well and is something that many parents still find a very attractive option, for a multitude of reasons. Boarding ‘up north’ is also something you should consider, particularly if you have family links to the area.