Is boarding school only for the wealthy?

[bigyellowballoon]

I am looking at secondary schools and would really like my only dc to board. She's confident outgoing intelligent all the things I wasn't and also being an only she does get lonely and I think it would suit her spending extra time with friends.
The thing is they seem to be absolutely out of bounds financially. Do 'normal' families go? We are at a prep at the moment but not at application stage for secondary yet.

It's akways a toss up obviudlym being away from your parents most of the week (assuming you have a normal home life) is obviously a massive disadvantage. Children develop better when they're living in an environment where they receive unconditional love. How much of a disadvantage this is depends on the child and the older they get the less of an issue it's likely to be (at 8 most kids will be significantly affected by 16 many won't be). Whether the advantages you think the school offers compensates will depend again on the school and situation. If children lack opportunities at home or their local schools are awful then giving up their home environment will have more compensation.

Another disadvantage is the lack of social opportunities and the ability to develop independently. Obviously most parents would prefer the social lives of their kids weren't limited to school where kids come from a similar demographic. It also poses a massive risk if issues develop compared to at a day school.

The children also tend to be overly scheduled at boarding school - better than sitting at home on a ipad but worse obviously than actually developing interests independently (so again depends alot on the child and home environment the school is replacing).

Not everyone I know who went boarding hated it (although quite a few did - many of their parents still think they loved it) but none would wish it on their own children.

Also, a lot of boarders go home at weekends, so only really board Monday to Thursday evenings. They have a small number of boarders at my son's state school - my son is friendly with several and they really enjoy it. So, like everything, it depends on the child, on the school, on their peer group, etc. My son has said he thinks he'd have enjoyed boarding given what his friends say, but then again, he also admits he wouldn't have wanted to board when he started aged 11. He says that the older boarders do a lot outside school, i.e. trips to the cinema, to theme parks, to football matches, etc., which is why I think he'd like to be a boarder now, rather than when he was younger.

Just watched the documentary about "Sunningdale: The Youngest Boarders". m.youtube.com/watch?v=QCVrCPmlChU Ahhh those kids really break your heart. They are so lovely and put on a brave face, but really they would all rather be at home.

No, it is not so. Any student can go to boarding school.