Boarding School Characteristics

The term boarding school often refers to classic British boarding school and many boarding schools are modeled on these.

A typical modern fee-charging boarding school has several separate residential houses, and in various streets in the neighborhood of the school. Pupils generally need permission to go outside defined school bounds; they may be allowed to venture further at certain times.

A number of senior teaching staff are appointed as housemasters or house mistresses, each of whom takes quasi-parental responsibility for some 50 pupils resident in their house, at all times but particularly outside school hours. Each may be assisted in the domestic management of the house by a housekeeper often known as matron, and by a house tutor for academic matters, often providing staff of each gender. Nevertheless, older pupils are often unsupervised by staff, and a system of monitors or prefects gives limited authority to senior pupils. Houses readily develop distinctive characters, and a healthy rivalry between houses is often encouraged in sporting prowess. See also House system.

Houses include study-bedrooms or dormitories, a dining-room or refectory where pupils take meals at fixed times, a library, hall or cubicles where pupils can do their homework. Houses may also have common-rooms for television and relaxation, kitchens for snacks, and some facilities may be shared between several houses.

Each pupil has an individual timetable, which in the early years allows little discretion. Pupils of all houses and non-boarders are taught together in school hours, but boarding pupils' activities extend well outside school hours and a period for homework. Sports, clubs and societies (e.g. amateur dramatics, or political & literary speakers or debates), or excursions (to performances, shopping or perhaps a school dance) may run until lights-out. As well as the usual academic facilities such as classrooms and laboratories, boarding schools often provide a wide variety of other facilities for extra-curricular activities such as music-rooms, boats, squash courts, swimming pools, cinemas and theatres. A school chapel is often found on-site at boarding schools. Day-pupils often stay on after school to use these facilities.

British boarding schools have three terms a year, approximately thirteen weeks each, with a few days' half-term holiday during which pupils are expected to go home. There may be several exeats or weekends in each half of the term when pupils may go home or away. Boarding pupils nowadays often go to school within easy traveling distance of their homes, and so may see their families frequently.