Britain's Youngest Boarder

[littledawley]

Anyone watching?

carriedababi

I don't know about the black dog or the alcoholism, but there was surely a link to Churchill's lack of empathy with the working class (unless they were dying in battle for the Empire of course). Ordering troops to shoot striking miners, recruiting a scab army from Oxbridge and the public schools to break the General Strike in 1926, and his sheer horror at the idea of the NHS, welfare state, etc. after he 'won' the war for the ungrateful unwashed were all the result of attitudes soundly instilled by his education.

fatzak - really!!!! I have posted here under other names saying how crap it is. Nothing like having the owner throw stuff and the kids heads and force feed them cream abnd caviar

Midfieldgeneral I completely agree with you.

I was watching this and was thinking how sad it was that these kids have their whole lives planned from age 8.

It all looked so regimented, cold, no place for individualism.

And they will continue this with their own children.

Midfield ,please find evidence for your Churchill ordering the miners be shot drivel,Up to now Ive found your rants rather funny but the problem is some people might take them as fact.

I've just watched this. I can't believe anyone thinks it is the right thing, to send your 8 year old child to boarding school.

When one mother said they grow up so fast and I know I have to let go ..... Well not at the age of 8. Surely these children are going to be lacking in the emotional department when they are older.

Dh's dad went to boarding school at 8 and wanted to send dh when he was 8. Lucky for dh his mother was an enthusiastic labour supporter and he went to local comp! Anyway dh's dad is emotionally dead.

propatria

You'll find this 'drivel' in all good British history books, but probably not in the ones used expensively to indictrinate the pupils of Sunningdale, Eton, Harrow, Hogwarts, etc.

In 1910, as Home Secretary, Churchill sent mounted police from London and ordered troops into South Wales to help owners suppress a miners strike, precipitating the Tonypandy riots. The unrest lasted several weeks and the police and army became an occupying force, turning South Wales into a police-state-cum-prison-camp. In case you've not got the patience to read a book, here's a link to a web source: libcom.org/history/1910-cambrian-combine-miners-strike-and-tonypandy-riot

The wounds in South Wales are still deep. Just as in other parts of the country that suffered under Chruchill's 'leadership', and in the minds of those who don't swallow the usual Churchill bullshit spouted by the establishment, Winston is not regarded as a British Bulldog but as a vicious class warrior, defending the priveleges and power of the rich. See www.bbc.co.uk/news/10294530

the headmaster reminded me so much of David Cameron it was a bit unnerving. He sounded just like him.

thought the older kids were like little old men some of them, especially the older brother of the little blonde kid (can't remember his name). Insanely posh. Can just imagine what they'll be like when they're older ie exactly the same as they are.

'Yes, but you're forgetting that the point of schools like Sunningdale isn't academic 'excellence' (whatever that is) but training in the habits, attitudes and expectations that mark you out as a member of the ruling elite. That, and the access they give to the 'right' schools, universities, clubs, friends, etc. that are necessary to take the next step on the ladder to consolidating power and privilege.' agree midfield

when the head was showing them portraits in Harrow of PMs and told them that was where their portrait would be hung if they became PM he was not being entirely light-hearted.

This is the sort of place that produces the establishment in this country, and I find it a little sickening.

I believe Midfield hints at the controversy surrounding the events at Tonypandy I am not an expert, so I would not get involved in this side discussion.

I could not watch this programme last night, but hope to watch it on iplayer. It seems heartbreaking.

@ Midfield: I wouldn't agree that golf and shooting were necessarily the "pastimes of the posh", my DC's school teach them golf and plenty of boys around here go shooting. I was actually thinking more of the rugby and football teams that they showed, that would have really appealed to DS1. To be fair though, my DC have never played Eton Fives...

@ Mollie: I was thinking the same about not seeing that much of my 8 year old during the week. Although I only work PT he has after school activities almost every night (hockey, rugby, sports club, choir, piano etc) and so often I don't see him until 6pm. He goes to bed by 8pm. I only see him for an hour or so in the morning. So I am only actually with him for 3hrs a day most weekdays. If I worked FT and so was back home myself later it would be even less. OK so he sleeps in his own bed at night, but his bed at boarding school would be "his" bed too. And you could really dedicate the weekends to doing things together as you would have all week to do everything else.

I think if my ds really wanted to go to a school such as this, and if we had the money, I would send him (although not at 8, but a little older) because i think that it would allow him to fulfill his full potential. However, as we cannot, and never will be able to afford it, and so ds and dd will have to wrangle (as dh and i did) with large classes, less up to date equipment etc. They certainly will not have the benefits that come with 8 children per class, a laptop for each child, endless sports grounds, fives courts and the like!

When i went to university at 18 many of the friends i met had been to private boarding schools. I had not, and i noticed that many of them were much more confident in certain social situations than i was. This may of course have been my personality, and i did soon learn. Howerver i do think schools like this create socially confident (arrogant?) people. Having said this, i am sure there are some children for whom boarding school is absolutely wrong, and in those cases i imagine it is not a confidence building experience.

Well this documentary was also very cleverly filmed. Of course it was not going to show the head shouting and being pushy. Of course it will only show a tiny bit of the boys crying at night. They had to show some of that to make it seem more realistic, but I am sure it's not as rosy without the camera's rolling. There is no denying it, children are hard work and time consuming (although I wouldn't change that for the world). Surely if you are rich the easy option is to send them off for somebody else to care for them whilst you get on with your life. I am not sure there is any point having children if you can't hack the responsibility looking after them. Who's children are they, if they spend the majority of their lives being cared for by other people.

I'm not sure why they would want to do this as an advertising exercise though? Surley they're already over-subscribed?

Also agree about shooting and golf not being 'posh' sports. My DH enjoys both and is about as far from being posh as you can get (he's a builder for a start!)

chirpy1 some of us don't have a choice but to let others look after our children. I suppose I could give up work and claim benefits instead....

propat

If you've got the taste for more Churchill-related 'drivel', why not read up about the Llanelli railway strike of 1911? Perhaps an estimated 500 injured coal miners at Tonypandy the year before wasn't enough for Winnie. This time Churchill sent in the troops who shot dead two railway workers. Of course, he might be excused by the fact that the ruling class were absolutely shitting themselves at this time that they couldn't keep their boots on the workers' throats much longer, and that the labour movement would force them to share the social product equitably. That that didn't happen is another story which we can take up later if you like.

Anyway, the whole public school culture is a central part of the rigid class system of this country, in which privileged young men are trained to perpetuate and defend to the death (it's no surprise that the military populate these places like flies) their priveleges.

I found the children's sense of entitlement repulsive. It made me come over all left wing for a couple of hours. I have nothing against private education and I did send my DD1 to boarding school at 16.

Oh dear as I expected Midfield doesnt answer the question,why? because of course his original statement was, as I said drivel,Chuchill never ordered Troops to shhot miners,I know this myth keeps being dragged up but its just that a myth,
So heres a few facts.
Churchill sent no troops,let alone ordered them to shoot miners,The troops were sent by O.C Southern Command,Churchill ordered they were only to be used if the Chief Constable agreed and the police felt they had lost control.
They were never used and certainly didnt shoot anyone,Churchills actions were said to have "saved many lives" mind you that was that well known right wing paper the Manchester Guardian.
You are of course right Churchill hated the poor,he would never have for instance been the politician behind
Unemployment insurance 1910
Wages Board(helping get rid of sweat shops) 1908
Introduction of 8 hour day in mines 1911
Oh,hang on,he was,dont you hate it when facts ruin a good story.
If it makes you feel better,Im just popping out to play Rugby Fives(far superior to the Eton version) pip,pip...

What do you mean by their sense of entitlement? Do you mean the expectation that they will go on to public school? If so then no surprise as that is the reason they are at Sunningdale in the first place.

I also see nothing wrong in being a confident child. Ds is very confident, always has been and is encouraged to be at school (behaviour seems to be very important). I think it is wonderful. I have always lacked confidence and it has been an issue throughout my life. If that is the one thing ds takes from his schooling I shall be happy.

I was a boarder from the age of 6, but it was to do with my parents not having the means to get me to school every day. It was abroad. (Rural environment, no car, etc.) It was weekly boarding, but I literally did not speak to my parents for a couple of weekends. They thought something went seriously wrong with me.
It gave me good education, good friends, but under no circumstances would I do it to my own child.
English private schools / boarding schools somehow do not appeal to me so far.
I read in earlier post that many of you find OEs very charming. Well, the ones I met were anything but. They obviously laboured under the impression that all women outside their caste are secretaries, cleaners, etc. I might have just met the wrong ones, though.

CatIsSleepy

Good call on the Dave Cameron lookalike headmaster. Just like Cameron, this guy has inherited his privileges (he took over the family business from ihs dad) and is keen to cash in on them by providing a service to fellow members of his class.

Like Dave, too, he seemed a bit nice-but-dim. I wonder if he's got any teaching qualifications. Not that these matter in such schools; membership of the right clique by accident of birth, and the connections that go with it, is all that really counts.

I think boarding school (at any age) is suitable for some but not others. I went from age 16 and had a fabulous time.

I do think 7/8 is a little young, but the programme did seem to portay Sunningdale as a lovely, supportive and warm environment. I thought the boys all seemed polite, motivated, energetic, keen and really supportive of one another.

Given how much time ds spends at school, doing homework, sports/clubs and time with his friends, he may as well board, thereby saving lots of time travelling to and from school/activities/friends houses.

I think you have to think about what is best for your child, not necessarily yourself (as I too would struggle to 'let go', even at 13 ).

I am a working mum and do not and have never claimed a benefit in my life.

MollieO The knowledge that you are the chosen ones with the keys to the kingdom and they are yours by birth right. Nothing wrong with confidence but such arrogance in ones so young is no good.

propat

Whether Churchill accepted the need for regulation of labour-capital relations out of love for the poor or out fear of growing worker militancy is an interesting question of historical interpretation. It's also interesting that much of this legislation came in the wake of Tonypandy and Llanelli which revealed to him the difficulty and expense to bosses and the state of using force to suppress labour unrest.

We'll save the General Strike debate for another time, eh?

Anyway, be careful in that scrummage. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself and be unable to drive the Jag into the City to attend to your portfolio!

didn't see the programme - am I right in reading this that the "youngest boarder" was 8yrs old?

In which case they aren't the youngest - I went to school with someone who started boarding at 7yrs old........(I think she was 6 when she first started at the school - although admittedly was "boarding" with the head teacher and his family rather than the actual boarding house - but was still over 100 miles from her family)