Page 6 | Boarding from the age of 3. Who does this?

diagonavenue · 2024-03-27T08:14:59+00:00

Someone sent me this: "Our boarding school in Villars (Switzerland) welcomes girls and boys from ages 3 to 13, as boarders or day pupils." [[https://prefleuri.ch/boarding-school/ https://prefleuri.ch/boarding-school/]] What?

AgeingDoc · 27/03/2024 16:37

Yes, @Foxesandsquirrels state boarding is a lot cheaper as you are only paying for the boarding component, not the education. My DS attends a state boarding school (as a day pupil)and I think the fees are a bit less than £5k a term. By contrast his cousin is a boarder at a fairly well known though probably not "top" independent and the termly fees are about three times that. If forces families are only having to pay 10% then state boarding must be a very attractive proposition from the financial point of view. I spend nearly as much on bus fares for my DS to get to school.

Ladyritacircumference · 27/03/2024 16:41

I went to boarding school and there were 5/6 year olds there. Tragic circumstances, basically orphans with a shit load of money in trust funds and no family willing or able to look after them. They sometimes went to relatives in the holidays. Sometimes they went to stay with school staff. The alternative would have been a children’s home or fostering.

mathanxiety · 27/03/2024 16:43

Xiaoxiong · 27/03/2024 09:34

The Swiss must have strange rules for under 5s.

Yes I don't think we can use Swiss expectations of boarding at a young age to judge UK schools. The Swiss expect reception age day school children to walk to and from school, alone, twice a day (home for lunch). A British friend who lives there walked her son to school on the first day and the teachers said "thanks for that, we don't want to see you doing that ever again" even though the walk was at least 20 mins and crossing roads. There was also an assumption that she would be at home waiting for her son with lunch for him every day for two hours in the middle of the day, plus school is a half day every Weds.

One can imagine that a Swiss single parent commuting and travelling while working for an international company, when faced with these expectations from Swiss day schools, might start googling boarding schools for 3 year olds.

It seems from the photo posted upthread showing ages and schedule of fees that there is a British section and a French section in the specific school.

I may be barking up the wrong tree here, but that indicates to me that there is an English speaking group of young children boarding and the parents have opted for a British schooling in a Swiss boarding school thst caters for very young children.

Not all English speaking children are British or other Anglophone nationalities of course.

TempestTost · 27/03/2024 16:48

Illstartexercisingtomorrow · 27/03/2024 13:53

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Parents who work full time still have their children live with them.

I shouldn’t have to explain that is quite different - physically, mentally and emotionally - to being sent away to live with people who are most definitely not your parents.

I feel awful for anyone who has to do this pre-secondary school. A child needs parents and security, not to be sent off to be at the mercy of others. And yes it is at the mercy of others. Perhaps their environment will be wonderful, or perhaps they will be abused on a daily basis, as we hear so often about historical institutions. Humans are humans, where there is vulnerability and opportunity there is also abuse sadly.

Show quote history

I'll just put it out there that this kind of emotion is how I felt about being sent to nursery, and even in home care situation. Like I was alone, not with my people, away from those I could rely on. I hated it.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 27/03/2024 17:00

Caspianberg · 27/03/2024 10:18

@WhatWillIWear maybe. But if they advertise from 3, then presumably 3-6 year olds would have equivalent of a full time kindergarten school on-site. So many children might be there daily anyway.
Its Likely most ‘boarders’ under 8 at that Swiss place are actually there daytime 99% of the time, but they have the option of evening and overnight if needed.

So for example in my example of ill single parent, child might already go 9am-5pm daily for kindergarten from 3 years, so if you needed overnight for 3 days whilst you were having surgery then it would be the ideal place for 5 year old if no family as it wouldn’t be an unknown place to them.

Or if you're performing surgery overnight. Surgeons become single parents, too.

Xiaoxiong · 27/03/2024 17:03

OriginalStarWars · 27/03/2024 15:35

Where do these census figures come from?

From here: https://www.isc.co.uk/research/annual-census/

Annual Census

https://www.isc.co.uk/research/annual-census

lul1 · 27/03/2024 17:27

Forces kids aren't entitled to the pupil premium as you know it ie no free meals or milk etc.

mpsw · 27/03/2024 17:33

Yes, it's a bespoke version, with money to schools to be spent on those pupils to help bridge the attainment gap. Info here (which happens to be an Army page, but it applies to all Services)

Service Pupil Premium - Army Families Federation (aff.org.uk)

AnnaMagnani · 27/03/2024 17:36

I have dealt with the super rich in health care and it was so awful.

Large amounts of money, often never had a real job in their lives, no one had ever told them no, lots of socially accepted drug use, incredibly dysfunctional families with a lot of hidden eating disorders in the women. They found it hard to understand they were in a situation they couldn't buy their way out of.

I now work in a very deprived area and it's much better.

vanillawaffle · 27/03/2024 17:39

AnnaMagnani · 27/03/2024 17:36

I have dealt with the super rich in health care and it was so awful.

Large amounts of money, often never had a real job in their lives, no one had ever told them no, lots of socially accepted drug use, incredibly dysfunctional families with a lot of hidden eating disorders in the women. They found it hard to understand they were in a situation they couldn't buy their way out of.

I now work in a very deprived area and it's much better.

You only saw the super rich who couldn't handle it though

BigMandsTattooPortfolio · 27/03/2024 17:45

One of the worst bullies at my boarding school started at 5. Parents were armed forces. It was quite apparent how damaged this girl was. She made everyone’s life hell including staff. She had developed a talent for picking out anyone ‘sensitive’ or less confident and persecuting them until they broke.

AnnaMagnani · 27/03/2024 18:17

@vanillawaffle Don't want to say exactly what my role is but it wasn't mental health so it wasn't just 'those that can't handle it'.

These are families with multi-generational abuse and boarding school syndrome. There was a lot of weirdness.

Zyq · 27/03/2024 18:46

My mother was sent to boarding school from age 3. Essentially it was because her mother was stunningly non-maternal and wanted to be left free to travel, enjoy her social life etc. It was very clear that my mother was damaged by it.

TheThingIsYeah · 27/03/2024 19:47

JPGR · 27/03/2024 08:50

Heartbreaking. Why bother having kids for someone else to rear? I cannot think of any reason why a three year old should go to a boarding school even if a parent was ill.

Similar vein really to career driven parents that stick their offspring into a nursery at 3 months. What's the point in having kids if you don't actually "parent"?

"But but but we spend quality time with our baby child"

No you don't.

arlequin · 27/03/2024 20:19

Vermin · 27/03/2024 08:20

There were 3 of them at my boarding school back years ago. One was Nigerian and parents were abroad, one was a diplomat’s daughter (weirdly a foreign diplomat- not actually sure where they were stationed) and the other was very local but had parents going through a divorce. She had an older sister there. I think they were very nearly 4. They had a bedroom to themselves and imagine that they took a lot of the matron’s time meaning far less for the other 80 kids. Essentially- unfair on everyone.

Oh my gosh this breaks my heart

Kalevala · 27/03/2024 20:33

Hoppinggreen · 27/03/2024 09:18

Presumably parents collect their 3 year old from Nursery at the end of the day though, its very different to not seeing them 24/7

Show quote history

Could be 10 or 11 hours in nursery, 11 asleep at night. Not much more time with parents than weekly boarding.

Vermin · 27/03/2024 20:33

@arlequin i googled them today. Two have done very well in life (sadly can’t remember the surname of the third).

OriginalStarWars · 27/03/2024 20:49

@Kalevala There are 24 hours in a day, not 22. 8 to 6pm is usual opening hours for nursery, so a maximum of 10 hours.

Kalevala · 27/03/2024 20:58

OriginalStarWars · 27/03/2024 20:49

@Kalevala There are 24 hours in a day, not 22. 8 to 6pm is usual opening hours for nursery, so a maximum of 10 hours.

Please quote where I said there were 22? I said 'not much more time' with parents.

Wake up 0630
Dressed, breakfast, travel
Nursery 0800
Leave 1800
Travel, supper, bath, story
Sleep 1930

arlequin · 27/03/2024 21:15

Vermin · 27/03/2024 20:33

@arlequin i googled them today. Two have done very well in life (sadly can’t remember the surname of the third).

Phew!

Boarding from the age of 3. Who does this?

Interested in this thread?