Boarding school - what is it, what does learning look like

The boarding school is aimed at students who wish to educate themselves outside of their homes. Many people wonder what a boarding school is.

Boarding school - what is it, what does learning look like
Many people wonder what a boarding school is.

The boarding school aims at students who wish to educate themselves outside of their home country. Check out what life in a boarding school is like and find out what its greatest advantages and disadvantages are.

Boarding school - what is it?

Many people wonder what a boarding school is. This facility, apart from education, also provides accommodation and meals. The boarding school intends especially for those students who want to study outside their place of residence, without the need for daily commuting. Among them, we most often find high schools and technology. Primary boarding schools are much less common because living outside the family requires independence. They are therefore suitable for students from 15 to 16 years of age.

Boarding schools - what are their main goals?

The most important goals of a boarding school are:

  • Providing pupils with all-day accommodation and meals,
  • Providing pupils with appropriate conditions for learning, rest, and well-being, as well as developing interests and talents,
  • Organizing learning, making up for school gaps,
  • Organizing cultural entertainment and conditions for participation in culture
  • Socializing pupils for various jobs,
  • Promoting physical culture, the habit of practicing sports and promoting a healthy lifestyle,
  • Developing independence and life resourcefulness,
  • Socializing pupils for various jobs,
  • Upbringing consists in causing beneficial and intended changes in the personality of pupils.

Boarding school - price

How much a boarding school costs depends on many different factors. The prestige of a given institution, its equipment, and the city in which it is located has a great influence on the number of tuition fees. Those parents who want to send their children to a private boarding school have to face the highest costs. The entry fee is about $250, and the tuition fee is between $ 200  and $ 800 per month. Accommodation in a boarding school costs about $200  per month. In addition, you also have to pay fees e.g. meals, textbooks, and educational materials, uniforms, insurance, trips, additional language courses, or external language exams.

Boarding schools and dormitories - how do they differ?

The dormitory is an interschool care and education facility in which students study outside their place of residence living, attending various schools. A boarding school, on the other hand, is an establishment belonging to a specific school, and therefore it cannot be accommodated by people studying in other educational institutions. A boarding school can be converted into a boarding house if at least 30 percent of the pupils will be students from various schools.

Direct supervision over the boarding school is performed by the headmaster of the school at which it was created, and over the boarding house - the school superintendent or upbringing, or under his authority, the commune school director or the school inspector.

Types of boarding schools

Boarding schools can divide into several types, depending on the profile or the values ‹‹promoted. These are:

  • A boarding military school - they prepare young people for recruitment to military universities, as well as for work in the army and service in military units;
  • Boarding sports school - they provide fitness preparation, develop students' sports skills, improve their level of training, strengthen health, and instill the principles of sports ethics and discipline;
  • Boarding art school - aims to develop the imagination, creativity, and artistic abilities of students. In addition to general education, students take classes in art history, sculpture, drawing, and painting, sculpture, multimedia design, as well as photography and film;
  • Boarding music school - it develops pupils' love for music and their interest in playing the instrument, shapes their imagination, sensitivity, and aesthetics, encourages systematic exercises, prepares them for public performances and participation in various forms of artistic life;
  • Catholic boarding school - educates the student in the Christian faith, teaches him to live according to the principles of faith, shapes his personality according to the Christian model, and also develops spiritually.

In addition, the facilities can be divided into boarding schools for girls and separate schools for boys. Their idea is based on the belief that boys and girls have different needs and that they learn and develop in different ways. Gender disaggregation can therefore be beneficial as learners are less embarrassed and less distracted, and can try new things and develop their passions without being influenced by social expectations based on gender.

Special boarding schools

There are also special boarding schools for students with a special education certificate. We are talking about students with a mild intellectual disability, motor or multiple disabilities, the blind, deaf, or chronically ill.

The last are boarding schools for troubled youth, which operate at Youth Sociotherapeutic Centers. They enable the education of young people from dysfunctional, neglected, withdrawn, hyperactive, oversensitive families, with symptoms of school phobia and functioning poorly in relationships and social tasks.

How is life in boarding schools?

A student day at boarding school usually starts at 6:30 or 7:00. After the morning restroom, he goes to breakfast, which serves from 7.30 am. Lessons start at 8:00 AM and last until 3:00 PM or 4:00 PM. In the meantime, the pupils are eating lunch. After school, they can take an hour off, then do their homework and get ready for the next day's activities. Dinner takes place at 18:30.

Students have free time until 20:30 or 21:00, which they can spend on rest, sports, or other recreational activities. The evening toilet takes place at around 9.30 p.m. and each pupil must be in their room at 10.00 p.m. The curfew lasts from 22:00 to 6:00. On days off from school, there is a wake-up call and breakfast later. The visits of relatives scheduled for Sundays. The schedule shown is an example and the hours may vary depending on the facility.

Living in a boarding school - what else is worth knowing?

In a boarding school, students must keep their rooms tidy. Their duties may also include: cleaning the common areas and duty in the canteen. Each exit from the facility (to the store, for a walk, for extracurricular activities) is recorded and the student must return to it at the agreed time.

If the pupil causes problems and violates the regulations, he may receive a reprimand or a reprimand, and in the worst case, be expelled from the boarding school. Immediate removal is for the consumption of alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicants, and the use of mental or physical violence against fellow residents.

Advantages of boarding schools

The first and most important advantage of boarding school is the possibility of education outside the place of residence. Here, a great convenience, especially for those students who come from small towns, and commuting and returning could take too much of their time. High schools or boarding school guarantees them accommodation and safety.

Many people emphasize that living in a boarding school teaches independence, entrepreneurship, and discipline. Students must obey the rules, keep their surroundings in order, and perform their duties. A young man who has spent several years in a boarding school will become independent faster in his adult life.

In boarding schools, students look after a class teacher who can refer to the problem. Most institutions also employ a psychologist, educator, doctor, and nurse to help with physical or mental problems.

Living in boarding schools is also a great opportunity to establish long-term friendships and acquaintances. Students spend their free time together, prepare for tests together, and celebrate birthdays and holidays. Living in a dormitory or boarding school shapes the proper interpersonal relations and builds social competencies.

The institutions are very well equipped, e.g. with modern sports facilities, music, art, and computer rooms. They also offer numerous extra-curricular activities where students can develop their passions and interests.

Disadvantages of boarding schools

Boarding schools have some advantages, but they are not without their disadvantages. First of all, not every parent will be able to afford to send their child to her, due to the relatively high prices.

Some teenagers experience separation from their loved ones very much. And longing for home makes it difficult for them to function in everyday life. Boarding school residents also complain about high discipline, less privacy. The need to share a room with several people shared bathrooms or poor quality food.