So, basically, my advice is a warning: don't send your son to a boarding school aged 8 - it's far too young!
Other reasons are the following:
FOOD and DIET. School dinners are OK once a day, but do you really trust schools to feed your child really well 24/7? In my son's first year at school he would get into trouble (actually, he received punishments) for spending too long in the toilet. Basically, his body had to get used to a diet that was severely lacking in fresh fruit and vegetables. He was also expected to get energy from snack foods which he barely recognised as food at first - ie the cheapest varieties of biscuits - on a regular (2-3 times a day) basis. Apart this, he is a slow and fussy eater, so often doesn't eat enough. As a result, he is often cold and for well over a year suffered from a cough which everybody comments on but could do nothing to resolve.
READING. Before my son went to boarding school, he was an avid reader - and he still when I create appropriate conditions at home. However, at boarding school this habit was (not literally) beaten out of him. He is now 'afraid' (!!!) to read - even on bright summer mornings when he wakes up early before 7. They are allocated something like 10 - 15 mins each evening for reading (which, you can imagine why, is always less). If you are caught reading at any other time, you risk having either your book or torch or both confiscated.
YOUR CHILD'S EDUCATION. Extensive research has shown just how important and effective parental involvement is. It is the single most important thing caregivers can do to help children succeed academically (Cummins, 1993; Hannon, 1996; Morrison and Cooney, 2002). Studies have proved how these experiences as a child set them apart academically from their peers by age 15 (Borgonovi, 2011). It is the ?genuine interest and active engagement? of the caregiver that is most important, and not their specialist knowledge. Is this clear? If not I'll tell you more...
My son, a boarder, almost never finishes his homework. This is because he is, like many children, a little slow to get started, always has quite a few questions to ask, and takes longer than most children. There is nobody at the boarding who ever notices or bothers to help although it is a well-known problem that he has. The educational results are quite as bad as you would imagine them to be: when my son started life as a chorister, he could have chosen which school/scholarship to take. Now he has no choice - currently, he wouldn't pass the CE for ANY reasonable private school. He is up the river without a paddle - we cannot afford private education without a scholarship. BEWARE! Unless your child is HIGHLY gifted academically and a VERY FAST worker - DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER THIS OPTION. The school may well be academic, but boarding will not do your child any favours whatsoever.
FREE-TIME IS SEVERELY LACKING. My son has little/no free time - to just relax and be a child.
They have a very busy schedule all week - until bed-time. On Saturdays: school, and sport, and rehearsals and service. On Sundays: usually two services and rehearsals. If he has spare time on the Sunday afternoon, he HAS TO go out on an expedition somewhere.
After the Christmas choir-time, he has about 5 free days, and then he has to start revising intensively for school exams in January. The Easter holidays are broken by 10 days of choir-time, as are the summer holidays. The summer half-term is spent revising for the summer school exams. Other holidays have to be arranged so that your child can continue to practise their musical instruments. At school they actually do not get enough time to practise - especially if they have 2 instruments - so it is up to parents to create conditions on their children's holidays to ensure they have time to make some headway.
Remember, if you are not rich and your child is not brilliant academically, a music scholarship with a bursary is the only thing that will save your child from going to the local comprehensive school - and only the local sink school has places available in Year 9.
COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS. Contact with parents is HEAVILY discouraged - even phone calls. You'll be lucky if you can have 5 mins in an evening on the phone - and this is never a conversation that is held in private.
YOUR SANITY. To be a good parent these days, you need also to work. When a child leaves the home at the age of 8 it is like suffering a death in the family. Remember - you will have to endure 5 years of mourning and grieving while you wait for your child to finish their duty. How will your mood effect your ability to function at all, let alone work?
YOUR ATTITUDE TO C of E. The pain of separation from your child will make you start to loathe church music and despise the league of ridiculously-dressed pompous priests that stroll around the cathedral preaching pointlessly the about things like the love of God, while doing their very best to spit (can't think of a better word at the moment) on the love that parents have for their children. In my experience, they do absolutely everything they can to keep you at arms lengths from your child. So, my advice is: DO NOT - for God's sake - LET THEM!
BULLYING. I think I mentioned before that I discovered after one whole year only. Staff did not notice! Even though they are good and very reasonable people. NOBODY can care for your child better than you can. NOBODY knows your child better than you. In parentis loco: it is just not possible if there 50 boys around! Think! Use your common sense!!!! Don't try to suspend your disbelief as I did. Trust your instincts. They are right. Don't be fooled by the prestige or the name of the organisation.