Why would anyone send an 8 year-old to boarding school?

[OldieMum]

I have never understood how anyone could choose to send a young child away to school, unless their lives were very disrupted by travel. Last night, I took part in a discussion about this at an NCT group and nobody spoke positively about it. 'It's child abuse', was one comment. Today, at a coffee morning, I met some people who think it's quite normal, and one had a child boarding only three miles from the house. In most countries, children almost all go to the local school and many people think that this British practice is very peculiar. Why do people do it?

I could never do it. In my eyes it is a little bit like saying your child's eductional needs are more important than his/hers need for your love.

Dog and Kennel spring to mind.

However I agree with pph about tempestuos hom elives and even for children gifted in some way for specialsist education

Forgot to say on my post that we would NEVER send dd away to school (unless she wanted to go and it was for a short period eg a month while we were abroad or something). I agree that there is no point in having a child and sending it away, also we couldn't bear to be without her!

Though some people feel that way about working mothers (that you are having a child and letting someone else bring them up....) Cat/pigeons...

I know I know. I'm a working mum and I do get comments sometimes.

Well that killed that one stone dead didn't it!?

You've met my opposite neighbour, haven't you, CD!

Why Motherinferior, does she give you a hard time? I'll pop over and suck her blood out if you like.

CD, you wouldn't like to suck the life blood out of some Year 11's I've just been teaching, would you????

I wish that they would go to boarding school

Hell of a lesson today, blast them!

some special schools (for sn kids) are so geared up towards 'teaching' them how to behave and learn 24 hrs are supposed to be really good, wonder what they are like?

Fio2, Some of those schools have a good reputation and do some excellent work. One of our ex-members of staff has gone to work in such a school and finds it very rewarding. Not only is it 24/7 it is also 365 for some of the children.

The kids I was whinging about are not SN, just your common or garden nasty

I have a SN class and they are great, wish I had them instead of Year 11

oh hmb, read my post back and it sounded quite sarcy - not how I wanted it to sound at all My mate's daughter has ASD and she wanted her to go to a boarding in Nottingham, and it has a very good reputation from what I have heard. She hadn't got a cat in hells chance of getting her in there but I suppose it was worth a try I agree with your last post btw

btw my mum used to work as a chef in a special school and she used to find it really sad that kids were not picked up during the holidays

private school also in Australia - public schools are comprehensives- government schools.

In Australia a lot of children who parents live on properties board - particularly as there are no schools within hundreds of miles of them or the local school are not able to cater for them.

Have a friend who sent her three to board when they were 12 until 17 - they loved it although they were able to get the odd weekend visit from parents and were home every holidays.

My best friend at school was a boarder and they were allowed 4 weekends a term out. Her parents never bothered so she always came to our house. Very sad.

I would have loved to have gone to boarding school. My dad was ill when I was a child and my siblings are a lot older than me. I was a bright, confident sociable child (oh, where did it all go?) and I think I would have thrived there.

My home life was happy and my mum wanted me at home. Now I'm a mum I can understand why but I don't think we should rule out what the child wants either.

DS won't be going though no matter how much he pleads... Mind you he's only 14 months and so I can't bear to think of him leaving home

Oh dear - agree with a lot of comments, especially the ones about it depending on the child, the behaviour of other pupils,and the school. Many of my friends think I am mad because we have decided to send our 13 year old to board 30 miles from home next September, when we live in the catchment area of a sought after Kent Grammar! However, we looked very hard at all the school options available to us an concluded the following: the Grammar is more elitist - ie harder to get into - than the school we have chosen (even though DS would pass quite easily), and is full of relatively affluent parents opting for the state school of choice. The children tend to have a reasonable amount of freedom and money, and consequently there are slightly more issues with drugs and alcohol than we would like. However, and much more importantly, the children congregate together from 4pm, and the pressure on parents to let them stay out/go out etc is continuous. Last weekend a group of 13 year olds headed for a 'club' in Tunbrisge Wells, and two were collected from a street corner by a parent after word got back that the 'sleepover' wasn't quite what it seemed. The grammar school itself has greater restrictions on it than a private one in terms of its rules and who it can/cannot exclude. When we looked at the school we have now chosen, with no bias for or against private education, we came to the view that it offered our son a fun, safe and secure place to grow up as a teenager in. It is co-ed, and the atmosphere is amazing, but the rules are strict, and there is zero tolerance for drugs and booze. I would rather find such an environment in the state system, but I can't. To find the pastoral care we want, we have chosen to pay, and we are not alone. I wish that that choice of school was open to all. I never thought I would want my son to board, and if he hates it he can come home, but my guess is that he will thrive there.