Is boarding school right for my child?
People in this current climate are constantly assessing what is affordable, beneficial and important right now. Many parents may well also be considering if boarding school is right for their child or worth the money? To help make this decision, we have collaborated a few key areas to consider and why we feel Hatherop is the perfect place for your child to board.
Smaller Classes
In most boarding schools, the classes tend to be smaller. This means that your child will have a greater level of engagement from each teacher. Regardless of your child’s ability, the greater the individual time that a teacher can give your child, the easier it will be to tailor each lesson to meet the various strengths and needs of the pupil. At Hatherop, our average class size is around 16, meaning that each and every lesson your child will have an environment where they can build confidence asking questions in a small crowd, rather than being intimidated by 30 students in one room.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Another major attraction to sending your child to a boarding school is the huge variety of extra-curricular activities. These could range from extra academic challenges to performing arts, from school different art projects to less conventional sports. At Hatherop, we pride ourselves on giving your child an opportunity to try something different, utilising the skill sets that the staff have. These activities can range from producing a school podcast, being in the school band, playing golf weekly or even bee-keeping, to name a few.
Academic Progression
Boarding schools tend to attract particularly dedicated staff. Many staff at boarding schools will even live on site. For these staff, school is not a job, it is a way of life! This level of immersion into the school breeds a level of commitment and passion that will help drive academic levels. At Hatherop, staff are regularly finding extra times in the day to offer support or extension groups to ensure that we offer that extra value from their learning experience.
Independence
The average child/young adult doesn’t experience in an educational sense until they are in further education. At a boarding school, children are given more independence so that they can start to learn some of these skills at an earlier stage of life. This is especially true if your child does board a night or more at school. Although at Hatherop we have a very strong boarding team to assist, children are encouraged to take ownership over packing their bag, getting themselves ready for the following day etc. Although for a few children, support is required, we have found that most children adapt quickly and always ask for help if they feel that it is necessary.
Fewer distractions
In today’s society, it is common place for children to have a lot of screen time, whether that is TV, computers or social media. At a boarding school, each school day is longer, packed full of lessons, activities, games, art, music and so on. Of course there are break times built into the timetable, but this allows children to focus on their academics and making the most of the wonderful opportunities that school’s such as Hatherop have to offer.
Strong Alumni Networks
Since the environment is such an immersive one, children bond through the highs of school life. Many of our Year 8 leavers have often said that the friendships that they have made will be ones that they will cherish forever. Many of our Alumni come back and visit our amazing school grounds to see how the school is changing and to bring up the amazing memories from their childhood. These strong networks and lifelong links with the school and friends provide them with the perfect foundations for their adult life.