Figure 1.--Here the boarders are getting into their trunks after afternoon games and before tea. At some schools the trunks are stored away. At this schools they are kept available in each form common room. |
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The traditional preparatory school was a boarding school. This was because the purpose of a prep school was to prepare the younger boys for public school life and the public schools were boarding schools. It was widely seen as beneficial to board younger boys. Generally this began at 7 or 8 years of age, although younger boys might board, depending on family circumstances. An older brother was also a factor. A lot goes on at boarding schools in the afternoon and evening after the day children go home. There are also weekend activities. Here the program varies greatly from school to school. It also varies seasonally. Generally the children are allowed to stay up longer during the summer term with longer days. Of course thed schools vary considerably as to the facilities availavle for freetime activities. There can be free time, supervised activities like a free swim, tea (evening meal), perhaps some television (usually the news), prep, and finally bed time. Some schools give more attention to free time while others place greater emphasis on prep. The children's bed-times are staggered by age so the younger children go to bed a little earlier. The amount of time in the evening depends on the child's age. Most boarding schools have Saturday classes, but this is not common at day schools. Saturday classes are held in the morning. The afternoon is devoted to games, activities, and free time. Often a video is shown in the evening. Sunday is devoted to church in the morning and activities and freetime in the afternoon. Occassionally trips are organized in the afternoon.
We have begun another volume of our British prep school series specifically focused on boarding schools. We have so much information on boarding that we decided we could not do justice to the topic only by devoting a few pages to it in our Viol. II. Boarding is a very important part of the prep school story. Thus we have created an entire eBook just dealing with the subject of boarding. Readers who find the volume here of interest may also like to see our Volume IV specifically on the boarding experience.
