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Prep school students begin a 8 years of age and finish at 13. Boarders live and go to school together, spending more time with each other than their own families. Not all children begin at 8 or stay until 13. But some children starting in the pre-prep spend even longer times together. The children become very close, not unlike brother and sisters. They know each other probably better than anyone ever will. As a result the children become very good friends abnd very close. They share not only school and sports, but meals and free times. Children can be cruel to each other, but with rhe proper guidance vey positive, suportive relationships develop. This was not always the case in British boarding schools, but this has changed. We noted very friendly atmosheres at almost all the prep schools we visited. The images we took at the school reflect the obvious close friendships among the children. We see this throughout the schools, in the classroom, at games, at play, at meal time, and in the dormitories.
We noted countless examples of prep school boys enjoying themselves in a rabge of activities on the playground with friends. Here we see two friends mugging about outside during morning break (figure 1). Normally the closest friends are made in the same form (class) because they spend so much time together, both in the classroom and the dortmitories, but prep schools include chikldren from a wide age range. This sespecially the case in boarding schools where the children spend more time together than with their families. We see very similar close friendships forning at the day schools as well. The school program is especially helpful as a major effort is masde to create the kind of friendly, community envirment in which friendships flourish.
Here two close friends are having a casual chat about the day's activities in their form commons room. They were talking about their teacherweho they both liked. They liked her jokes.
