British boarding school and expats

[edgeofheaven]

I'm living overseas in Asia and have noticed that among expat families with secondary school aged children, it's mainly the British that send their DCs to boarding school back in the home country. Whereas other nationalities e.g. French, American, Australian either just send their DCs to international school using the home curriculum, or they relocate as a family back home for final years before university.

Is this just because Britain has such a strong history of boarding schools? I'm wondering if there are other cultural reasons that British expats feel it's more important to have their DCs study in the UK rather than at a British international school.

I’m in the Middle East, and there are a number of families I know who have done this.

The main reason is that the main breadwinner can’t really give up their job - they are too close to retirement to be considered by another company. Leaving a job voluntarily gets increasingly risky as you approach 50. This is coupled with the fact that the jobs market in Britain isn’t great at the moment.

If they were to go back, it would normally mean a big salary chop, which would mean state schools for the kids. The UK’s education system (rightly or wrongly) doesn’t look great from a distance, so people worry about putting their kids into it.

There is also an element of people having ‘done good’ out here and have maybe come from quite tough backgrounds to suddenly having more money. It’s an exciting option for them to be able to give their kids what they perceive to be a social boost by sending them to boarding school.

Finally, one of the BIG factors here in the decision is getting kids used to normal life in England and allowing them to develop a bit of street sense in a gentle way, before they go to Uni and learn the hard way. I don’t know about Asia, but kids here grow up very naive - they are less exposed to drugs, alcohol, crime and general teenage naughtiness. So sending them back for sixth form is a way to gently overcome this.

Another factor is the quality of education. It’s a vicious circle really; because so many families do this then sixth form provision can end up being quite small in many schools, or the numbers are boosted by non-native English speakers. Thus, the quality and results may not be the same as those obtained in the U.K.

Finally, there is the issue of residency to consider 3 years before uni. If you’re not U.K. resident for 3 consecutive years immediately before going to a U.K. university, you might have to pay overseas fees, which are considerably higher.

I'm sure the cultural history of boarding school has an impact here. Sending kids to boarding school is quite aspirational in terms of social class, isn't it? As feesh says. I don't know whether other EU countries have the same relationship to boarding school.

I live in an Asian country as an expat and I have a lot of friends who have done this or are doing this and for me it's definitely about the "social status" more than anything else and because "they can" because either money is no object or they get their children's education covered by a huge expat package.

Also a popular option for Antipodean expats.
I was a child who boarded , both my parents boarded and I'm intent that my children will board.
For me it's a chance for some sort of reintergration to home culture.
In reality, according to a friend's son whose just begun the process, the internationals form such a big percentage of the houses it's just one big expat brat sleepover.

Thanks you’ve all pointed out the social status element of it which must be what I was missing. That’s definitely a cultural thing. I lived in the US for many years and boarding school there is quite niche there and often associated with military schools for delinquents!

And feesh agree it must be a bit of a vicious circle, have heard from friends with older DCs that the A-Level options here are not strong and the most popular international schools for secondary offer IB. So then they have to send their children to the UK to board.

My DCs are younger but I don’t think I’d send them so far from home to any school where they’d pick up “street smarts” - makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it!

In reality, according to a friend's son whose just begun the process, the internationals form such a big percentage of the houses it's just one big expat brat sleepover. I can imagine!

Even 30 odd years ago, the internationals held court, selling duty free fags to fund the coin phone calls to parents. I was very envious of the girls who had amazing ball dresses made in HK/singapore in the hols.

I'm also in the Middle East, and think British families choose boarding school for all the reasons articulated by Feesh; good summary.

An additional reason is for stability for the children at a crucial time in their schooling; i.e. when important exams loom. The breadwinners jobs are often unstable because companies may be under pressure to get rid of expensive expats and hire more locals, or because the breadwinner has a job that moves around due to company needs or promotion.

It is a complicated decision and I think Feesh has done a good summary of main points. Every family is different but probably considering at least one of those points. I would also add that if you choose well, then sixth form (or earlier) boarding at a UK school can be both fun and academically and extra curricular and socially good. Sixth form in particular is the big transition point in the UK (after 13 for boarding schools and 11 for the rest) and there is a lot of moving around and new schools for UK pupils as well. Particularly good may be those schools that have smaller boarding houses just for new sixth formers - I guess that depends on the school but if you choose it right it is a very nice environment. I will just add that we chose The Leys in Cambridge and it both ticked all boxes and had a feeling we liked. Nowhere is perfect but it came close enough for us to be happy. There is a lot of emphasis on being decent and sensible that goes through the whole school. Lots of good schools in the UK and I hope most people can find one they like. Worst outcome I suspect is if people only want prestige or the top 15 academic performers without ever querying what those mean in reality and whether in fact that is going to deliver the experience they want.

Edgeofheaven, yes that ‘expat sleepover’ thing is definitely something to be considered. I don’t know what the answer is except to visit (or do your best remotely) till you find the Goldilocks option. You probably don’t want your child to be out on their own but neither might you want them to be sharing a room with their neighbour from back home. I do know schools where that is what might happen (you have to decide whether that is what you want or not) but there are other schools where they won’t be the only expat/foreign student in the village but neither will they be bumping into their neighbour from back home.

The breadwinners jobs are often unstable because companies may be under pressure to get rid of expensive expats and hire more locals, or because the breadwinner has a job that moves around due to company needs or promotion.

But this applies equally to Americans, Canadians, French, Germans, etc. so it doesn't in itself explain why it's so much more common for British families to send their children to board.

I don't know whether other EU countries have the same relationship to boarding school.

Not that I know of. I live on the continent. "Boarding school" in my country is the equivalent of youth detention, literally.

it doesn't in itself explain why it's so much more common for British families to send their children to board.

Well, Britain has a long tradition of boarding schools, doesn't it?

I also "get" that a UK expat family want to send their kids to board in UK so that they have that UK sense of being able to put down roots, their future is more likely - but not always - to be based in UK rather than follow in their parents expat life.

I went to boarding school. I am still in touch with friends from there almost 50 years on, even though I don't live in UK anymore.

I'd say Brits and Australian/New Zealand are the main nationalities I see boarding. And in addition to the points raised here, I do think those countries have a history - or maybe acceptance is a better word. In A/NZ kids may board because the family is rural or remote (some islands in Pacific) and so boarding gives access to education. In Britain there's a long history - and for some people an aspiration- to boarding. Most other countries, don't have this so much and I agree on the Continent it's more you board if you're so bad or struggling that 'normal' school stops being an option (having said that one of my most successful - in terms of wealth - friends graduated out of a French boarding school)

I'm in Asia too and the Expat Sleepover is a big issue - some love it, if everyone's from overseas then there is bigger boarding cohort so less likely to have day or week boarders so your kid is less likely to be lonely. For others, there's an issue of cliches and/or one nationality being too dominant (mainland Chinese students for example)

I was always anti boarding for mine, now they are young teens I'm not yet convinced but I'm definitely more open to it.

Interesting at pointing out Aus/NZ as well. Seems more of the Australians I know here just aim to relocate back home before children. So I hadn't picked up that it's also part of the culture there.

I was always anti boarding for mine, now they are young teens I'm not yet convinced but I'm definitely more open to it.

Mine as so much younger that I haven't committed too much thought to it, but I'd only pursue it if the DCs asked and really wanted it, and (ideally) a school that is near relatives. We have family in greater London area and in a few places in the US. Anywhere else would just be too inconvenient.

I'm Australian educated, my sister and I both attended schools-with-boarders for secondary. Most boarders were there due to distance from the city, and it was very much a minority option. Had we still been in Australia, boarding would not have been on our radar for our children. I've ended up with children boarding in the UK (where I now live) and there is no comparison with Australian boarding schools (with perhaps a couple of exceptions). My children are at the schools they are at for the educational opportunities (in the broadest sense).

Access to local rates rather than international fees for university will be a big factor in Australian families moving back just as it can be for the UK.

The standard of English speaking international schools varies enormously. Some are on a par with a decent British school in UK. Others are expensive and inefficient and cater to a local market where parents just want their children to learn good English before they move on to a mediocre college in North America. They are not geared up to sending students to RG or Ivy League schools. Native English speakers are often a minority. So that can leave British parents with the choice of boarding school back home or 28 points at IB and an uncertain future.

That is in stark contrast to the Lycees and German schools where children need native level French or German before they can enroll and where standards enforced are the same as at a similar school in France or Germany.

There are also highly mobile families where parents move every two to three years and where the DC decide themselves at 13 that they want continuity in friendships.

The standard of English speaking international schools varies enormously. Some are on a par with a decent British school in UK. Others are expensive and inefficient and cater to a local market where parents just want their children to learn good English before they move on to a mediocre college in North America.

Where we are the international schools are to a very good standard and high quality of English with native speaking teachers. The students go to top universities in Europe and North America. But yes this is an issue in places with less of a history of English-language expat communities. The problem is that the majority of international schools use IB, I think there are only one or two that offer A-Levels now as many have switched over.

I'm increasingly convinced it is the cultural history of boarding schools in Britain and that in turn drives the lack of A-Level provision in the international school market in our area. And the nature of British university admissions means there's a penalty for doing IB vs A-Levels, whereas this is not so much the case if you wish to study in the US or Europe.

Isn’t it also because if they don’t want to pay overseas fees at Uni they need to be resident in the UK for 3 years before they start Uni?!

@HuloBeraal - I don't think the child attending boarding school in the UK meets the requirements for residency (there is an exception for students whose parents are overseas serving with the forces) - eg see requirements from university of London
www.bbk.ac.uk/student-services/residence-requirements
@edgeofheaven - It's not my experience that there is a penalty regarding admission to uk universities with the IB qualification. From my son's cohort (IB international school, China) everyone that applied to the UK received 5 offers from universities such as LSE, Bath, Warwick, Sheffield, UEA, Leeds, Durham, Newcastle, Imperial. The only exception was the student who applied for medicine (only one offer), but I don't think this is unusual as the course is so competitive.

@ShanghaiDiva the view from my friends (no clue if it's right as my DCs are little!) is that IB offers from UK universities are very high in comparison to A-Level offers. Not uncommon for people to have DCs move out of IB schools to A-Level for Sixth Form because they are worried about this.

However I'm sure it's similar in China that IB scores are quite high across the board. I read an article a few years ago that Singapore accounts for half of the world's perfect IB scorers! So that would explain getting good university offers.

Edge
I agree that the IB is a demanding course - (not suggesting that A levels are not) and achieving good HL grades with the service requirements, extended essay, standard courses and theory of knowledge course requires good time management and a lot of hard work.
I know that HK has excellent IB scores (probably accounts for the other half of the world's perfect IB scores!) but am not sure about mainland China. I know that some schools only enter their top students for the IB (eg those expected to score 40+) and this would skew the data. My ds's school is unusual in that all students take the IB.
From my son's cohort there were many good university offers and they all achieved between 38 and 44 points (those that applied to the UK) which are vg scores. Students with lower points (high 20s/lower 30s) have also received UK offers - Oxford Brooks, Swansea, Coventry, Brighton etc

Then there is the Harry Potter effect.
My own children are desperate tp board because of Hogwarts.

www.tes.com/news/hogwarts-effect-stronger-overseas-home-boarding-school-leader-says

The French system is different. Every school, wherever in the world, teaches the same lesson. This means transfers are easy and there is not an automatic advantage in boarding for stability. I knew several mobile expats who put their DC in the French system for that reason.

We are in HK and both my children go to an IB international school. The school being new to IB are extremely protective over their grade reputation as HK education is highly competitive, therefore students are advised against taking the diploma if their GCSE grades are good enough and are steered more towards BTec courses or BTec mixed with a couple of IB subjects.