THE range of facilities which many prep and senior schools have on
offer is enormous. Keeping their pupils busy and occupied within a
happy, structured environment is what the best schools do very well
indeed, alongside providing a wide curriculum for a well-rounded
education tailored to the needs and capabilities of the pupil, and with
plenty of sport and extra-mural activities too.
Alan Bateman, headmaster of Cargilfield Preparatory School in
Edinburgh has been in the enviable position of having to turn potential
pupils away, thanks to rising demand for places.
''I think probably to make a place like this tick, the answer -- aside
from the normal things you get at a school -- is to create a busy
atmosphere with lots going on. Obviously there are various group
activities which are much more fun done in school, the balance I feel,
is that schools like this have got to have a reasonable amount of the
private comforts that children expect and get at home.''
Mr Bateman taught for 14 years in Canada where, he says, ''they were
not against comfort, and I didn't think the school suffered at all. I'm
entirely in favour of warm, comfortable schools.
''Our pupils get sweets in a reasonably controlled way, because they
probably would at home, and unlike a lot of prep schools, I'm quite
happy to allow them electronic games to play on big screens, at certain
times. Obviously there are things you can't do because you're in a
group, such as choose your own bedtime. Perhaps the hardest task is
finding space and privacy for the child who likes to read, or happens to
be a rather dreamy character. If you have the right staff, they can
obviously help.''
With a nursery and pre-prep department, Cargilfield's traditional prep
school of 8-13-year-olds has 126 (50 of whom are girls) this year, which
is 20 up on last year. Seventy-five are full-time or weekly boarders.
''By their last few years here,'' Mr Bateman explains, ''almost
everybody is a boarder, some of the parents reluctantly agreeing. All
the evening activities, the Sunday Afternoon Club when pupils visit
museums or leisure centres perhaps, can make day pupils feel they are
missing out on the fun.''
At Lathallan Preparatory School, near Montrose, headmaster Philip
Fawkes has a roll of 78 boys and girls in the 7-13 group, more than half
of whom board; a small pre-prep department, and a kindergarten of 90.
Why would he send a child to boarding school?
''There are far greater opportunities for following a broad
curriculum. After the school day, we have sport and three or four
different activities a night. Interestingly, we are finding that more
than 50% of our day pupils stay on to do their homework between 5pm and
6pm and join an early evening activity -- many stay overnight on that
evening.''
Parenting, Mr Fawkes believes, ''is becoming increasingly difficult
because of the various attractions on offer. Television for instance,
has less and less suitable material, therefore it has to be monitored
which can cause friction in the family.
''I think parents appreciate the fact that school lays down the
rules.'' He goes on: ''They all want to do the very best for their
children. They are aware that there are certain distractions in society
at present, from which they want to protect their children. The stand we
take on matters like TV, good manners, courtesy and so on, is also what
they feel they are paying for; they look for a balanced education, and
rounded young people.''
The seamlessness of having no division between school and life is what
Ian Templeton, warden (headmaster) of Glenalmond College, Perthshire,
sees as an outstanding advantage of boarding school. Of his 260 or so
pupils, all but nine board, and Glenalmond takes girls in its sixth
form.
''It's a total experience,'' he says, ''with no commuting dividing it
all. It gives scope for learning to get on with people, learning
independence, with tremendous facilities very few of the day schools can
match. You learn to take responsibility in the community, to give and
take . . . pupils gain a lot of confidence. They see the academic work,
the sport, the music and all the rest of it just fitting in as a natural
part of the way life is.''
Great emphasis is laid on co-operation between staff, pupils and
parents, Mr Templeton explains: ''It's no longer a question of handing
your child over and letting somebody else do it -- it's a dimension we
can give because of the larger community, that a family can't without
losing family ties.''
Institutional rules he believes, can be useful as teenagers move
towards being independent adults. Barrier-pushing exercises, a normal
part of growing up, puts less stress on family relationships when
youngsters try to bend the rules at school instead of at home.
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