EDUCATION
Cottesmore School
pursue their busy careers in the knowledge that their children are well cared for, but they can come home whenever they want to. At St Mary’s School, Cambridge, they also aim for flexibility
in programmes that specifically cater for international students. “Depending on a particular student’s native country’s curriculum, and the age at which they wish to join us, we offer a variety of programme options to suit international students. Some students will join us for a term or two, or one academic year, to gain the experience of a British education,” explains headmistress, Charlotte Avery.
The importance of pastoral care Dr Douglas Ota, a child psychologist and author of Safe Passage, how mobility affects people and what international schools should do about it, explains that a move can be beneficial to children, but only if it is handled well. “Mobility across cultures can be one of the richest sources of learning and personal growth that life has to offer. But these benefits
only occur when mobility’s massive challenges are managed well,” Dr Ota explains. The days are long gone when a child was just dropped off at the
boarding school gate, suitcase in hand. The provision for pastoral care in modern boarding schools is extensive – from housemasters, tutors, mentors and prefects to chaplains and nurses, most schools aim to provide a home-from-home, with the added benefit of having experts on hand. However, there are things that parents can do to prepare children
for boarding. TASIS England has 165 boarders made up of 20 different nationalities. Its boarding programme is based on the idea that young people of all nationalities and backgrounds can live, work, and learn together in a structured environment; one that will probably be quite different to what they are used to at home. “The best way to prepare students to board is to encourage them
to keep an open mind to all of the new experiences they will have,” says Taniea Engel, upper school English teacher and house parent. “Motivate them to take advantage of the many
opportunities that will be provided for them to get an education, not only in the classroom, but also outside of it. “Prepare your child for the fact that there will be
challenging times, but for each difficult experience there will be three or four unforgettable experiences to take its place.” On a practical level, Quelli Coles, housemistress at
Vinehall School, a co-educational prep school in Sussex offers this advice, “One of our top tips for preparing children to board would be to teach your child a certain degree of independence. Get them to do chores at home like laundry and helping at mealtimes. Then these things will not then seem so alien to them at boarding school.” Schools have learned from experience about what helps
King Edward’s Witley
new boarders to settle into the unique environment of their school. Most schools will offer a structured induction programme with the focus on making relationships. “For the first two weeks of a new boarder’s time, they
48 | Re:locate | January 2018
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