20 | FEATURE: DAY VERSUS BOARDING SCHOOLS ❶
“Every school, in whatever it does,
strives to achieve the best that they can. It’s about creating these opportunities,” says Mortimer. “The more you create, the more you achieve. Perhaps as a boarding school we have more time to create additional opportunities, but that in itself can cause pupils to spread themselves thinly over a number of activities.” In both boarding and day schools, a staff body with a passion for cultivating talent can, she argues, provide a huge fi llip for students’ chances of advancement. “If you work in a boarding school, you accept the fact that it is 24/7. Therefore most of the staff go beyond what is expected, because you can. Not only can staff fully commit to games sessions, but I often see notices for extra practices, to aid specifi c development or iron out any problems. I think if you obtain that ‘buy in’ from most of the staff, the atmosphere is always going to be positive and strong.” There are other important differences
between day and boarding schools, however, in terms of the role that sport plays within a school. Sue Hincks is Headmistress of Bolton School Girls' Division, a day school in Greater Manchester, several of whose pupils have gone on to compete at national and international level, including the Olympics. She feels that, although day and boarding schools often share comparable cultures and emphasise similar values in their pursuit of sporting excellence, their requirements contrast somewhat. “It’s true that boarding schools
have to fi nd ways to occupy their pupils during different parts of the week, and sport is a superb way of helping young people deploy their physical energy in appropriate ways,” Sue says. Her colleague Trevor Pledger, Director of Partnerships at Bolton School, feels that the greatest distinctions between schools may ultimately be between their staff. “It really comes down to the personnel who work in individual schools and the sporting provision put in place, rather than boarding schools having a particular advantage,” he says. One of the UK’s largest
independent day schools, with
over 2,350 pupils, Bolton’s facilities, says Hincks, “can match those on offer in any boarding school”. And the school’s day, rather than boarding timetable has not hampered the amount of sporting provision on offer. Lunchtimes have been extended to accommodate additional team practice, while facilities are allocated for club use before and after hours. “At Bolton School, we appreciate the importance of sharing the resources that we have,” Pledger explains. “We share high-quality coaches between clubs and school.” Between the Boys’ Division and Girls’ Division Senior Schools, over 250 of Bolton’s children actively participate in sport at County level and above. Its sportspeople are offered pathways into clubs through a number of long-standing relationships with local partners like Bolton United Harriers, and several bodies including the Bolton Sports and Physical Activity Alliance (BoSPAA). Such practices can set a school apart
– and begin to redefi ne what sporting ‘achievement’ actually means for staff and pupils. Its functions may also be far more comprehensive than scaling national school leagues, or ensuring a well-stocked trophy cabinet, suggests John Claughton, Chief Master of King Edward’s School in Birmingham and Chairman of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) Sports Committee.
“Clearly, in independent day schools,
sport is important, but you can see why, in a boarding school, it’s more substantial,” Claughton argues. He points out, for example, that pupils at boarding schools need to be continually occupied. Moreover, this particular environment and structure creates some unique opportunities. “On balance, boarding schools have
a higher density of quality coaches, all year round, and they may also have invested more heavily in scholarships,” says Claughton. The size of some boarding schools is a factor here, too: large pupil intakes helps the biggest boarding schools to fi eld high-quality teams in a number of disciplines, with the resources to run six or seven teams at, say, under-12 level. One way day schools can succeed at a similar level, Claughton suggests, is by focusing on particular sports – such as water polo in the case of his own King Edward’s School. Claughton also cites other independents such as Whitgift, Bradford Grammar School and the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle as schools which have gained much from this targeted strategy. “In each of our schools, sport assumes a
"IF YOU WORK IN A BOARDING SCHOOL, YOU ACCEPT
THE FACT THAT IT IS 24/7" HAYLEY MORTIMER, TAUNTON SCHOOL
fundamental role in the structure and ethos of the school – but in day and boarding cultures, it by necessity plays a slightly different functional role,” Claughton argues. For instance, house sport is intrinsic to boarding culture, encouraging cohesion and a sense of shared values among house colleagues. By attempting to imitate the high-fl ying achievements of Millfi eld – which Claughton feels is a game apart from other schools – educators might neglect other important benefi ts that sports can achieve. These include improving health and welfare, and functioning as a pressure valve – a release from the pressures of academic life and the rigours of exams. “I think each school will decide,
completely independently, what it wants from its sports programme,” Claughton concludes. “But I think there’s a danger that we don’t think hard enough about what sport does and, consequently, we end up doing what we’ve always done.” ISS
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