EDUCATION SCHOOLS PRESENT
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To board or not to board...?
Boarding preps are a rare breed but their pedigree shouldn’t be overlooked, says
Summer Fields old boy David Faber, who returns as headmaster in September
W
hen my son started at boarding school almost ten committed to the concept of full, seven-day boarding. Yet, as weekly
years ago, we lived near one of London’s leading day and flexi-boarding has grown in popularity, full boarding has also felt
prep schools. I would often walk past it at about 4pm the wind of change; in my opinion, for the better.
and see the boys, weighed down with homework, While some parents still send their children to board far from
sports bags and musical instruments, sitting on the pavement or home, especially those working overseas or foreigners impressed by
neighbouring doorsteps waiting to be collected. Many of them would the English boarding school education, the vast majority of boarders
then spend the rest of their afternoon being ferried to football clubs, now live much closer to their school. Consequently, parents are more
music lessons, aikido or their Kumon maths tutor. By contrast, I closely involved in their children’s education, forging a partnership
consoled myself that although my son was probably no happier nor any with the school that would have been unthinkable ten or twenty years
better educated than his day-school counterparts, he had 70 acres of ago. Where once, a visit on a boy’s birthday might have necessitated
secure playing fields in which to run around, lengthy negotiation with the headmaster, there
before turning his hand to one of the multitude
“Thrown together
are now numerous reasons to pay a flying visit.
of extra-curricular activities without once
stepping into a car.
at an early age,
At Summer Fields, where 6th, 7th and even 8th
XIs sometimes perform on a Saturday, there are
Next September I will return as headmaster
pupils build
regular opportunities to walk the touchline or
to Summer Fields, Oxford, where many
years ago, I spent five happy years. Much
friendships that, as
boundary rope. Chapel services, golf matches,
concerts and school drama all ensure that parents
will have changed; however the arguments
I can testify myself,
are a familiar sight in the corridors.
in favour of boarding remain as strong as At Summer Fields, unusually for a prep school,
ever. A boarding school provides a safe and last a lifetime” boys board in public-school type houses. But unlike
comfortable environment in which pupils public school, boys of the same age are kept together
learn academically and – by living in a community – tolerance and and looked after by a husband and wife team who ensure that their
consideration for others. T_hey enjoy a breadth of education, inside and “lodge” has its own distinct character and caters to the needs of their age
outside the classroom, that is unrivalled elsewhere, and can participate group. An eight-year-old boy, just embarking on the world of boarding,
in an extraordinary range of activities. T_hey learn independence, has very different interests and needs to a thirteen-year-old whose
social skills and how to take initiative without being left entirely to thoughts have started moving to his future life at senior school. Lodges
their own devices; they gain confidence and have the ideal preparation provide a place where boys can wind down under the watchful eyes of the
for later life at a boarding public school. T_hrown together at an early ‘lodge’ team, who are also an important point of contact for parents.
age, they are exposed to a wide range of personalities and cultures and Most children love boarding and are often the driving force behind
build friendships that, as I can testify myself, last a lifetime. ‘upgrading’ from day school or flexi-boarding to the real thing – a
For parents with increasingly demanding jobs it is reassuring to point often conveniently forgotten by critics. T_hey do feel homesick
know that their children are being cared for twenty-four hours a day, sometimes but the flexibility of modern boarding means that children
taking advantage of every single minute. Better to be running around are rarely away from their parents for very long. Above all, they have
letting off steam than spending a couple of hours on the school run. the chance to grow up at their own pace, aware of the world outside,
What has changed, however, is the practical administration of but perhaps protected from its worst excesses for just a little bit longer
boarding. Summer Fields is one of the few prep schools that remain than might otherwise be the case. %
24 FIRST ELEVEN SPRING 2010 WWW.FIRSTELEVENMAGAZINE.CO.UK
pp24FE_SPR10School HeadmasterSMsub2.indd 24 28/1/10 17:35:30
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