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.