We Asked Some of the Best Boarding Schools in the World About What are the Benefits of Boarding Schools! Let’s See What They Had To Say.
Top 7 Benefits of Attending a Boarding School
International Education
“At boarding school, your child will meet other students that come from all over the world. At École Jeannine Manuel Lille, we have students that come from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Iran, Tanzania, China, Singapore…and many other places! Being immersed in a multicultural and international environment helps children develop essential 21st-century skills such as critical thinking and intercultural communication. These will open countless doors for your children as they progress through their studies and, eventually, their career.”
Although we are a small family, the fact that we are an international one means there is nothing small-minded about our outlook. We want our girls to engage in social responsibility, to understand the tremendous opportunities they each have to make a difference in the world, to develop global perspectives that will serve them in the future and help them get to where they want to be.
At international schools where children are taught in, say, English (when it’s not their first language), boarding will immerse them in a community that fast-tracks their absorption of the language. It has been remarkable to see students at Rugby School Thailand who arrive speaking almost no English, becoming proficient speakers within weeks!
At Institut Montana, the boarding students learn to embrace and appreciate cultural differences. They live together harmoniously and discover diversity through daily conversations with fellow boarding students from all around the world. In today’s globalised society, we believe it is very beneficial to be exposed to various languages and nationalities, as this helps develop critical thinking skills, open-mindedness, and tolerance. On the academic side, we offer a truly international education with a range of options tailored for each student.
At Harrow International School Appi, Japan, the main language of instruction is English. All core subjects are taught and assessed in English, other than Japanese and Chinese language and culture programmes. For those students who are relatively new to English, specialist additional support is provided.
All students are required to study Japanese or Chinese and have the opportunity to study both if they wish. IGCSE and A Level examinations are provided in the subjects of Japanese and Chinese.
Harrow Appi students come from different countries and diverse backgrounds. To date, we have students from nine nationalities, with that number is still growing. This makes Harrow Appi a truly international school that brings in student from different parts of the world and thereby creating great foreign language learning environment.
High Academic Standards
The learning experience at boarding school is very different to the one at day school. Boarding schools have the advantage of being able to design and implement a curriculum that challenges and inspires their students.
Top boarding schools employ the best teachers in their subjects so that students get the best possible teaching experience and tuition and achieve the best possible results in their exams.
Of course, in a boarding setting it is given that students are supported with their homework, which is impossible in many cases at day schools where students have to produce their homework from home without any support.
Living at School Means Less Time Commuting, More Time to Study. Many of our boarders come from Bangkok or busy cities in neighbouring countries, where they’ve swapped slow city traffic for a short walk through school grounds. This gives our boarders more time in their day to focus on the things that matter most, such as study, music practice, and exercise.
Our boarding houses have dedicated study rooms that allow students to spend their spare time putting in extra hours where needed. We respect, and indeed instil, an ethos to work hard… but the House Parents also help the children in their care to strike a good balance of work and play.
Our after school boarding activities are run by teachers and tutors, meaning the children who board with us have more exposure to these academic guides. This allows them to ask questions in their free time and build an even stronger rapport with their teachers, which benefits their classroom work.
Beyond peer-to-peer friendships, one of the other very important aspects of Swiss boarding school is the building of mentoring relationships with staff and teachers at the school. A school with small class sizes and excellent student-to-teacher ratios, fosters these kinds of close relationships. Because each class size is very manageable for the teacher, every student gets personalized attention and tailored learning adjustments, if need be. A small school will never lose track of a student falling behind, but instead will always be offering support and guidance as well as extra challenge for those that require it.
We offer small classes of averagely 10 students, where teachers pay individual attention to every student, helping them with their personal strengths and weaknesses.
There is designated study time after school for students to do their homework. This study time is supervised by teachers who are available to help with questions. Later the house-parents are available to support students in reaching their goals. When a community of friends lives and learns together, they absorb the advantages of peer learning. Boarding students can do homework together and challenge each other academically. This can be hugely motivating and enrich their learning.
Over the years our Harrow International Schools have built an exceptional track record of successes in examination results and university placements, based on outstanding teaching, close personal tutoring and bespoke university counselling. Consequently, our alumni (International Old Harrovians) are studying at some of the world’s best universities.
Specifically for Boarding students, we run additional supervised study sessions and provide focused academic support. Our younger students are offered English and Mathematics support, our older students can request tuition in any of their IGCSE or A Level subjects. In all cases, full qualified Harrow teaching staff provide the additional lessons – all included within the Boarding fee.
Extra-curricular Activities
“Boarding schools often have excellent sports and arts facilities that allow children to thrive outside the classroom. We are very proud at École Jeannine Manuel Lille of our 1500m2 gym and climbing wall, our 300-meter racing track, as well as our many other facilities that our students use to relax and enjoy themselves after class. Taking part in a wide variety of afterschool activities allows our students to develop into happy and well-rounded individuals.”
Like all great boarding schools, the facilities at Rugby School Thailand become part of students’ home environment. This means playing fields are a back garden for boarders, and swimming in the school pools, exploring the nature trails around the grounds, and camping in the Outdoor Education Centre are regular activities. Life on campus is dynamic and inspiring—but we also take boarders to a whole host of exciting local places on weekend excursions.
The word “boring” does not belong to the lexicon of boarding students at Institut Montana. Their free time is filled with options that promote physical and mental health as well as providing lots of fun. We have facilities for sports, partners to play chess, workshops for becoming an expert in robotics and the chance to explore cooking from around the world. This helps to keep our students busy and constantly learning new skills. We also offer extra tuition for students with a particular skill or passion, weekend activities and holiday trips. The opportunities are endless in the heart of Switzerland, whether cultural: visiting historic cities or art galleries; or adventurous: karting, water sliding in canyons or rock climbing. And of course, there is always skiing in winter!
Life is about learning, but not just from a textbook. With a wealth of teams, clubs, societies, lectures, trips and enrichment opportunities to choose from, students at Harrow International play a full part in their house. House events include: Sports Days, Charity Events, Dance and Music Competitions. In these numerous activities, community pride finds expression in a healthy competitive spirit.
Students have full (safe) access to nature, where they can explore two distinct co-curricular seasons; White and Green. In the Green Season, students focus on golf, tennis, cycling, trail running, trekking and water sports. In the White Season, students ski or snowboard at least twice, and up to five times during the week.
Character Development
This is a big advantage when starting university because the move into university accommodation does not feel like such a big step from boarding. In addition, during the adaptation phase at the school, children receive close attention and pastoral care from specialist staff which is mostly unavailable at university, so that the transition to boarding and then university is usually much smoother than the one from day school straight to university.
At Rugby School Thailand our boarding houses encourage (age-appropriate) independence. For example, children make their own bed and are encouraged to help with laundry, or with loading the dishwasher after snacks. This all contributes to our boarders leaving school with a mature attitude and prepared for life beyond.
Peer Support and Influence From a Close-knit Community: There’s an exemplary collective ethos towards work amongst our boarders. They all seem to understand what makes a good balance of study and time off, and this can fluctuate according to the time of year, for example when exams are happening. The boarders can just as easily encourage each other to learn, as they can celebrate free time and enjoy playing games with each other, talking, or reading novels.
From the first boarding years in Primary to the last ones in Secondary, great boarding schools build a sense of independence in children that helps them through life. For example, at Rugby School Thailand, children make their own bed and are encouraged to help with laundry, or with loading the dishwasher after snacks. This all contributes to our boarders leaving school with a mature attitude and prepared for the demands of university.
Attending a boarding school offers many advantages, teaching important skills to young adults so they grow with confidence, resilience and independence towards adulthood. House-parents play a huge role in this experience as counsellors, mediators, comforters and guides. They supervise the students in their daily lives, overseeing general well-being and supporting them as they learn how to structure and balance their days. As they get older, children need more freedom to learn self-responsibility. Boarding schools allow exploration and independence while keeping young people safe. At Institut Montana, the older students have the privilege to venture into the nearby city of Zug, with permission from parents.
Students from Harrow International School Appi, Japan are well-rounded and confident, active, and engaged – in the classroom and beyond.
Our extensive Co-Curricular programme instils the Harrow Values – courage, honour, humility and fellowship – and develops six leadership attributes (not in any order of priority):
- Contributing positively the community
- Applying knowledge with compassion
- Solving problems collaboratively
- Solving problems creatively
- Making fair and just choices
- Facing challenges with determination
University Preparation
In boarding, young people prepare for life beyond school with greater tolerance, respect, and independence. At Rugby School Thailand, from the first years of boarding in Year 3, right up to the last in Sixth Form, we nurture the idea of independence in children. This is anything from cleaning away after yourself in the kitchen, to helping with laundry, to being more responsible for planning your own time in the evenings and at weekends. All this happens within the unique and supportive family of friends that boarders live in, which is a great introduction to the community living that they will encounter at university.
Senior School boarding is particularly helpful for this, as students live in a social environment and are expected to manage much of their own study time within that. University exposes children to an exciting new social life, day and night, so by allowing them to enjoy an active social life that off-sets their hard work will give them an innate understanding of the balance they need to strike: work hard to play hard!
At Institut Montana we offer college counselling, where we help each student to identify their talents, interests and aspirations, thus guiding them to choose the most suitable university worldwide. Experienced counsellors guide students through the application process while helping them make important decisions and create a strong portfolio.
The Harrow Family is proud of its track record in getting our graduates to their university of choice; and then seeing them be successful when they get there. This expertise is shared across the family and will support Sixth Formers at Harrow International School Appi, Japan as they prepare to move to university in the years ahead.
A key strength of our programme will be the access to university lecturers and admissions representatives that Harrow Appi students will have. A broad range of global universities will visit us, virtually and face to face, ensuring that our students receive the most up to date, focused information when they need it.
The Careers and University Guidance Department, along with the Sixth Form Team, will be focused on the individual needs of each student. All students will receive a one-to-one careers interview in Year 12 to formulate their individual action plan, liaising with parents. Drop-in clinics will be offered for students to receive help on university choices, writing personal statements, and personal essays. There will be bespoke workshops and the Next Steps Programme at the end of Year 12. We are confident that the personalized support and advice that will be available in our Sixth Form means there should be no need to seek help from consultants outside the school.
Lifelong Friendships
The friendships made in boarding houses are incredibly strong. There is a sense of family community that comes from living together, caring for and supporting each other, and enjoying free-time together. Some of the deepest-rooted friendships develop during a student’s time at boarding school.
The friendships established in boarding last a lifetime. Due to the ‘24/7’ nature of the bond, boarders know each other inside out and have been together through good and bad times. The network of friends and associates established in boarding school provides the ideal professional and business network in adult life.
“Boarding school is a home away from home. Our boarding school students develop friendships that will last them a lifetime, and they often have very strong ties to their teachers and dorm heads. Our alumni live and work all over the world, but wherever they are, their paths continue to cross throughout their lives”.
As Julien, an alumnus of Brillantmont International School from the 90s explained, “because the school was small, it was very easy for everyone to get to know each other and to get along. It was particularly easy to make friends with both day and boarding students alike.” Not only is making friends easier in a smaller boarding school, but often friendships span class levels and ages as well as nationalities.
The friendships made in boarding houses are incredibly strong. There is a sense of family community that comes from living together, caring for and supporting each other, and enjoying free-time together. Some of the deepest-rooted friendships develop during a student’s time at boarding school.
The friendships we see in the boarding houses are deeper than any others made within school. The boarding community are like a family of friends; evenings are about eating together, supporting academic study and enjoying leisurely activities, while weekends offer a whole host of exciting excursions.
The friendships made at boarding school are incredibly strong. There can be a wonderful sense of family community that comes from living together, caring for and supporting each other, and enjoying free-time together. Friends playing in the pool of Regents International School Pattaya A school boarding community can be like family; evenings are about eating together, supporting academic study and enjoying leisurely activities.
Above all look for a boarding school that has a family-friendly approach and flexible boarding options that feel right for your child.
Ask anyone what they like most about being a boarding student and the answer is likely to be friends! Boarding students eat together, live together and celebrate successes together. They create fond memories of evenings and weekends in each other’s company and can even turn the trying times into positive memories when they have their friends close by. Strong support systems are developed from sharing the formative experiences of these young adult lives. The bonds of friendship formed in boarding school last a lifetime, long after school years are over as shown by our alumni.
At Institut Montana we cherish the strong sense of community shared by our former students and staff. We are a global family of passionate individuals. Our alumni look back on their school years with fond memories and laughter and many of them take time to mentor current students.
Being a Boarder is the most authentic way to experience a Harrow education; Harrow School in the UK has been offering a boarding-only education for centuries, as is the case in Harrow International Appi, Japan.
What most students remember from the Boarding experience is the friendships they made.
In a Boarding House, students live with their friends, have meals with them and share the joys and tribulations of everyday school life. We see these strong and deep friendships growing over the years. Not only do students keep in touch with one another, we are proud to say many keep in touch with the school, long after they have left.
Language Immersion
Research shows that language immersion helps students develop cognitive and communication skills at an early age. In addition to daily classwork, boarding schools motivate their students to learn languages by providing fun activities that promote immersive language learning, such as extracurricular clubs and activities.
Immersion is key We recommend that parents place their children in an establishment where staff teach in their native language, or where many of the children have different mother tongues, including the language you would like your child to learn. This is the case at École Jeannine Manuel where a deliberate effort is made to enroll children with either French or English mother tongue (and sometimes neither!). Our students learn from one another by imitating and interacting with their classmates.
As a truly international school, Harrow International School Appi, Japan enjoys a mix of students from many nationalities, offering a language- and culture-rich environment.
All core subjects are taught and assessed in English. Students speaking English as an additional language are expertly supported as they develop confidence and precision in their use of spoken and written English.
We also offer both Japanese and Chinese, with a large portion of curriculum time dedicated to language study. Japanese nationals are able to progress in their native language to a level good enough to secure entry into a Japanese university, should they desire.
All students study Japanese culture. Celebration and respect for Japanese traditions, events and special occasions form an important part of Harrow Appi life.