Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56There is a girls’ boarding room in the Castle with walls painted in amazing geometric swirls and spikes of blue, black and pink. It is the result of a competition to design a dormitory. (The boys have a corresponding room where one wall is given over to the Union Flag.) ‘My room at home isn’t as cool as this,’ admits the girl showing us around. The conversation about the relative merits of being a day or boarding pupil continues as we wander along to the newly decorated common room. It is big and airy, its windows giving onto far-reaching views over woods and fields to the village beyond. ‘Well, of course it’s best being a boarder,’ insists a Prep 7 boy, throwing himself down onto a big squishy sofa, and forcing his friend to roll quickly out of the way. ‘Day pupils miss out on all the fun!’ Such is the popularity of flexi-boarding that many of the ‘day pupils’ are also regular or occasional borders. And yes, it would appear that those nights they spend in the castle tend to be the most popular. But why? They number the reasons off: You get to hang out with your friends. It’s basically a big sleepover; they go on amazing trips every weekend; brilliant games, like hide and seek by torchlight. ‘Come on!’ interjects my full-time boarding friend. ‘I live in a castle! What more do you want?’ Boarding