Why consider a boarding school?
Boarding schools represent about a third of the accredited schools in membership of the Independent Schools Council: in 2007 more than 67,000 boarding pupils attended accredited independent schools throughout the UK. In addition, there are approximately 4,000 boarders in the 36 accredited state-maintained boarding schools.

The need for boarding provision remains undiminished. For some groups it is the only real option: children whose parents are resident outside the UK or regularly posted abroad may find boarding the only means of maintaining stability and continuity. Similarly, some young people require special education which cannot be provided within the limits of a day school. But many simply choose boarding in preference to day; despite escalating fee levels, many parents are prepared to make sacrifices to meet the cost. Why? Certainly those willing to consider the boarding option will find their choice of potential schools widened enormously. But there are also many other reasons to choose boarding.

An increasing number of "time-poor" parents, pressed by the demands of their career, are finding that boarding improves the quality of life both for their children and themselves. A good boarding school replaces the anxiety about not having enough time to devote to your children with the confidence that they are looked after with care and professionalism at all times and have full and constructive lives. Many parents find that their relationship with their children improves and grows closer once they go to boarding school.

Unlike state schools, independent boarding schools are not subject to Local Authority control although they are required to meet regulations set by the Department for Education and Skills. Independent schools are not required to teach the National Curriculum, although many choose to do so and they will all be aware of its requirements. Nearly all prepare pupils for the GCSE and A level examinations, although an increasing number now offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

The freedom given to schools in this way encourages enormous choice and variety within the independent sector. There are single-sex and co-educational schools, specialist music and choir schools, schools with a particular religious foundation, such as the Quaker group which place great emphasis on the individual, and schools with specific ideals such as those in the Round Square Conference, which follow the style of education developed by Kurt Hahn. Many of the country's oldest and best-known schools are boarding schools which have maintained their own traditions and philosophies. Some schools are privately owned, but most are now run as charitable trusts under the control of a board of Governors.

What is different about a boarding school?
Modern boarding schools take great pains to provide a caring environment and community life in which children are encouraged to contribute as well as to participate. The carefully-structured day and the immediate availability of staff and resources in the evenings and at weekends lay the foundations for good work habits and organisation of time. Periods set aside daily specifically for supervised homework or private study avoid the arguments over television programmes and other distractions which may arise at home.

In recent years boarding schools have invested enormously in improvements to their teaching, boarding, arts and sports facilities, which may outclass anything students find in colleges and universities later on. In 2006, for example, boarding schools spent an average of £1250 per boarder on refurbished boarding facilities (source: ISC Annual Census). A boarding school's facilities are available to pupils seven days a week, for academic or extracurricular purposes, offering the best possible opportunities either to study or develop a hobby or personal interest.

The time outside normal lessons is used to the full. Most schools offer a wealth of different activities - sporting, cultural, creative - which encourages involvement and allows opportunities for pupils to discover and develop their talents in areas outside the timetabled curriculum. Personal and social developments are further important aspects; living away from home in a large community helps to build self-confidence and self-reliance and to foster tolerance and understanding. Friendships made at boarding school often last a lifetime.

What are the usual entry requirements?
Some children begin boarding at seven, eight or nine, when schools normally require a simple test in English and Mathematics and an interview or an informal assessment.

Many pupils begin boarding when they enter senior school, at age 11 for girls and 13 for boys. A few schools set their own entrance examinations but most require applicants to sit the Common Entrance examination. At 11, this may include papers in English, Mathematics, Science, a Verbal Reasoning Test and, from the age of 12, elementary French. At 13, papers are set in English, Mathematics, Science, French, History, Geography and Religious Studies. Latin is an optional subject but a few schools require it.

The papers are set centrally by the Common Entrance Examinations Board but marked by the individual schools who set their own entry standards. There is no agreed national standard as such; a child gains entrance to a particular school by Common Entrance according to the performance standards accepted by that school.

For entry at 16, schools usually require a report from the student's present school and specify the grades needed at GCSE. At all stages schools may wish to interview the prospective student - this is a two-way process, giving the school an opportunity to find out more about their potential pupil, and the potential pupil a chance to get a feel for the school.

Are boarding schools inspected?
Boarding schools have two kinds of inspection - of the education they provide and of the arrangements they make to ensure the welfare of the children in their care.

Since 2000, educational inspection of schools which belong to the associations making up the Independent Schools Council - these include almost all major boarding schools - has been carried out by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, under a scheme regulated and monitored by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Schools are inspected every six years and full reports are published on the ISI website (www.isinspect.org.uk).

Welfare inspections are also regularly undertaken by external inspectors to ensure that a rigorous set of agreed standards - covering things like accommodation, catering, supervision, privacy, access to telephones and healthcare - are maintained. Reports of these inspections, carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (soon to be subsumed into Ofsted), are also publicly available.

How do I find the right school?
Finding the school which best suits your needs among the hundreds available need not be as daunting as it seems! The first step, before all else, is to establish your academic needs. Even within the busy environment of a boarding school, pupils will spend most of the time at study, so this must come first. Be realistic; boarding schools offer a wealth of choice for all abilities. Fast-moving academic schools are for fast-moving academic students and it can be very demoralising for a student to find himself always struggling at the bottom of the class. Think ahead, particularly at secondary level, to likely options after GCSEs or A levels and consider any special needs or interests which merit particular attention.

Then consider the type of school you are looking for and the geographical areas within reach. Once you have established the basics you can begin to gather information from the many sources available. The Head of the school currently attended, other parents and friends may be helpful. Schools should be happy to send you a prospectus on request; it is a good idea to obtain a selection for comparative purposes. These will tell you something about the curriculum, the range of subjects, extracurricular activities and pastoral care.

However, the only way to gain a proper feel for a school is to visit it, ideally during term-time when classes are in progress. Make sure you visit at least two, so that you have some form of comparison, and note down those areas not covered in the prospectus on which you would like more information.

How do I make the most of my visit?
Normally when you arrive you will spend some time with the Head. The Head will then show you the school or, more usually, ask another member of staff or a pupil to take you round.

Above all, don't be afraid to ask questions, however minor they may seem. Heads are used to answering all sorts of awkward questions, and you are about to make a major investment to which you may be committed for several years. The following may be a useful reminder of areas to be discussed during your visit:

Arrival and first impressions
Is the school tidy and well-kept? Some schools are housed in magnificent buildings and beautiful grounds, but others take equal pride in somewhat less elaborate surroundings and take great pains to make the school look attractive. Are the pupils neat and well-behaved? Did any of them offer to direct you? How easy was it to find the Head's office? Were the staff welcoming and interested?

Academic matters
What is the main thrust of the curriculum? Where do leavers go? What are the school's special curricular strengths? At preparatory level, is the school preparing pupils chiefly for Common Entrance and boarding at 11 or 13 or is there more movement to day schools or the maintained sector? At secondary level, what is offered at GCSE and A level? How strong is the Sixth-Form? Is there a leaning towards sciences or the arts? What proportion of leavers go on to universities, professional courses or vocational studies? Does the school offer any vocational courses at Sixth-Form level?

What is the average class size? How large are the teaching groups for GCSE and A level? How are the pupils organised? Schools may cater for a broad range of ability and pupils are often taught in 'sets' taking account of their ability in individual subjects. Ask the Head about the school's policy.

What provision is there for special individual needs or learning difficulties and, at senior level, careers advice?

Since 1993 independent schools have been required to publish exam results, although many had done so already. Schools should be happy to let you have their results on request, but make sure you know what you are being given - schools may list results in different ways. (This advice applies to newspaper league tables of results too - newspapers use different criteria to compile their rank orders and this often produces quite different positions for individual schools).

Staff
It is important that you should meet the staff who will be responsible for pupils; not only the Head but also form and subject teachers and, as important, the House staff who will provide pastoral support and act in loco parentis, dealing with day-to-day personal matters and providing a source of guidance or comfort when problems arise.

Discipline
This will vary from one school to another, but all schools will have a system of rules which are essential within a large community. Ask the Head about the school's approach. What constitutes punishable conduct? Are there clear guidelines for staff and for pupils? What sort of offence could lead to suspension or expulsion? Are parents informed about any misconduct on the part of their child?

The general level of supervision and control is also important, although you should be able to get a 'feel' of this simply by using your eyes. To what extent are pupils supervised during prep periods and leisure time? What rules are there with regard to bedtimes, television viewing and use of free time? Are pupils allowed out of school unaccompanied? On what terms?

Pastoral care
Make sure that you are shown the boarding accommodation, warts and all, not just the most recently refurbished house. Is it warm, welcoming and comfortable? What sort of leisure facilities are there? Are the areas set aside for study outside normal lessons adequate, particularly for older students? Are they spacious, quiet and organised? Many schools have a House system, where pupils are accommodated in smaller groups in the care of a resident Housemaster or Housemistress, assistant staff and matron. Most boarding schools today offer comfortable, high quality and homely accommodation for their pupils, who are generally encouraged to personalise their own space. Younger pupils may sleep in bedrooms housing small groups. Older pupils, particularly at Fifth and Sixth Form level, often have shared or single study bedrooms, comfortably furnished and often with excellent bathroom and kitchenette facilities.

Extracurricular activities
A look at the noticeboards will tell you something about the various activities going on in school. What is the main thrust of activities - sports, art, music, outdoor pursuits? Is participation compulsory or voluntary? Is there sufficient provision for all types of interest? Are there areas in which the school truly excels? To what extent are pupils encouraged to develop their interests to their full potential?

If you are looking for a full barding place, ensure that there are substantial numbers of full boarders. A majority of weekly boarders may mean a depleted boarding house at weekends and a consequent reduction in friendship groups and planned activities.

Contact with parents
How often do parents receive reports? Does the school organise regular parents' evenings where progress can be discussed? To what extent will the school help with forward planning and choice of subjects? How often are pupils allowed out for weekend leave (often called "exeat weekends")?

Overall impressions
Much can be learned simply by observation. Is there a sense of purpose and organisation? Are pupils alert and interested? Is their work displayed on classroom walls? Are the standards of work what you would expect? How do pupils behave towards the Head and staff (and vice versa)? Is there a rapport and a sense of respect? How do the pupils behave towards you as a visitor?

Coming from overseas?
Overseas students seeking a boarding school have special requirements. Information on schools should be available locally, from British Council offices, British diplomatic representation abroad or possibly British companies with local bases who may hold the information for the benefit of their staff.

For children whose first language is not English it will be important to establish the level of English language acceptable to schools and the extent to which they can offer extra tuition where necessary.

All boarding schools will insist that children from overseas have a guardian in the UK who can offer a happy and secure home for weekends and half-terms, attend events at school and act as a point of contact for day-to-day matters.

What arrangements are made for travel? Does the school provide escorts to and from airports? Is it conveniently located for access to rail and air links?

Does the school offer an induction programme for overseas students? How many students of the same nationality are already in the school? More than a few may mean that new pupils will get less opportunity to speak English than they would in a well-balanced boarding house and therefore derive less benefit from the UK boarding experience.

How much will it cost? Why do fees vary so much?
School fees normally rise at a rate higher than inflation. In 2006, average annual fees in boarding preparatory schools were about £13,000 per year; for boarding in independent secondary schools the figure was £20,000. These averages, however, conceal a very wide range: the most expensive boarding preparatory schools, for example, charged nearly £20,000, while many of the best-known secondary boarding schools (so-called "public schools") were charging around £24,000 annually. Fees for weekly boarding are normally the same as, or a little less than, the full boarding fee. Some schools charge a higher fee for sixth form students, reflecting the high cost of smaller teaching groups. Fees at state boarding schools, where tuition is free, are much lower than these figures.

Fees are normally paid termly in advance, but there are often extras to allow for in the form of music lessons, sports kit, trips abroad, pocket money and so on, although schools rarely charge for text books.

Beware of making the assumption that higher fees mean a better school. The best school will be the one which best suits your individual needs. However, if the fees are very much lower than expected, find out why. Some schools receive special endowments which enable them to keep fees at a relatively low level, especially for families whose financial needs are great.

In addition, many schools offer scholarships, given on the basis of academic excellence or a particular talent in a specific area, or bursaries, which may be granted in cases of hardship.

Special mention should be made of Choir Schools for younger boys and, in an increasing number of cases, girls too. Fees for choristers are very much reduced and there is sometimes help available for fees at senior schools, although many choristers obtain music scholarships at this level. In addition, some schools have scholarships restricted to children of clergy, the Services, the medical and teaching professions.

School fees and VAT
VAT is not normally chargeable by schools since most are charitable trusts. There is however a small number that are not trusts and these may charge VAT. If you are in any doubt enquire at the school(s) in which you are interested.

For more information on school fees see Chris Procter's article Finding the Fees, p.xxii