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
When my son started at boarding school almost ten years ago, we lived near one of London’s leading day prep schools. I would often walk past it at about 4pm and see the boys, weighed down with homework, sports bags and musical instruments, sitting on the pavement or neighbouring doorsteps waiting to be collected. Many of them would then spend the rest of their afternoon being ferried to football clubs, music lessons, aikido or their Kumon maths tutor. By contrast, I consoled myself that although my son was probably no happier nor any better educated than his day-school counterparts; he had 70 acres of secure playing fields in which to run around, before turning his hand to one of the multitude of extra-curricular activities without once stepping into a car.
Next September I will return as headmaster to Summer Fields, Oxford, where many years ago, I spent five happy years. Much will have changed; however the arguments in favour of boarding remain as strong as ever. A boarding school provides a safe and comfortable environment in which pupils learn academically and – by living in a community – tolerance and consideration for others. They enjoy a breadth of education, inside and outside the classroom that is unrivalled elsewhere, and can participate in an extraordinary range of activities. They learn independence, social skills and how to take initiative without being left entirely to their own devices; they gain confidence and have the ideal preparation for later life at a boarding public school. Thrown together at an early age, they are exposed to a wide range of personalities and cultures and build friendships that, as I can testify myself, last a lifetime.
For parents with increasingly demanding jobs it is reassuring to know that their children are being cared for twenty-four hours a day, taking advantage of every single minute. Better to be running around letting off steam than spending a couple of hours on the school run. What has changed, however, is the practical administration of boarding. Summer Fields is one of the few prep schools that remain committed to the concept of full, seven-day boarding. Yet, as weekly and flexi-boarding has grown in popularity, full boarding has also felt the wind of change; in my opinion, for the better.
While some parents still send their children to board far from home, especially those working overseas or foreigners impressed by the English boarding school education, the vast majority of boarders now live much closer to their school. Consequently, parents are more closely involved in their children’s education, forging a partnership with the school that would have been unthinkable ten or twenty years ago. Where once, a visit on a boy’s birthday might have necessitated lengthy negotiation with the headmaster, there are now numerous reasons to pay a flying visit.
At Summer Fields, where 6th, 7th and even 8th XIs sometimes perform on a Saturday; there are regular opportunities to walk the touchline or boundary rope. Chapel services, golf matches, concerts and school drama all ensure that parents are a familiar sight in the corridors. At Summer Fields, unusually for a prep school, boys board in public-school type houses. But unlike public school, boys of the same age are kept together and looked after by a husband and wife team who ensure that their “lodge” has its own distinct character and caters to the needs of their age group. An eight-year-old boy, just embarking on the world of boarding, has very different interests and needs to a thirteen-year-old whose thoughts have started moving to his future life at senior school. Lodges provide a place where boys can wind down under the watchful eyes of the ‘lodge’ team, who are also an important point of contact for parents.
Most children love boarding and are often the driving force behind ‘upgrading’ from day school or flexi-boarding to the real thing – a point often conveniently forgotten by critics. They do feel homesick sometimes but the flexibility of modern boarding means that children are rarely away from their parents for very long. Above all, they have the chance to grow up at their own pace, aware of the world outside, but perhaps protected from its worst excesses for just a little bit longer than might otherwise be the case.
For more on choosing the right school for your child read our How to Choose a School for your Child feature.
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