Some years ago, when I was Chairman of a national education organisation in the UK I was quite often asked to speak at schools to groups of parents. Invariably I would be asked to speak about an educational topic. My favourite approach would be to get them thinking – what did they think was the purpose of the education they wanted for their children? What was going to school really for?
I remember speaking at a school not far from Cambridge, on their “Speech Day and Prizegiving” with all the pupils and parents gathered in the school hall. I asked the parents to stand up and close their eyes. As they were in front of their children and in school, the parents were perfectly behaved, and all stood up and closed their eyes. I asked them to think about when they had been the age of their children, and to think about any occasion when they’d learned something especially important or memorable.
I said that if that had taken place in a classroom, they should sit down. Then I said that if it taken place indoors, they should sit down. Then I asked them to open their eyes. To their surprise almost three-quarters of them were still standing up!
So, despite all the time spent indoors in classrooms, their most memorable and important lessons were learned elsewhere. My point was not to downplay the importance of classrooms and lessons, but to emphasise that it would be foolish to ignore the powerful opportunities for learning that they had all just demonstrated existed elsewhere too.
And that’s the remarkable combination that British boarding schools have known for so long and becomes so remarkably good at exploiting. Their classroom lessons are undoubtedly excellent. The teachers are well-trained, the lessons interesting and enjoyable, the rapport between teachers and students both friendly and strong. The learning is purposeful and effective. But on top of all that, alongside it, and working with it, is the knowledge of how powerful the learning can be in all the hours outside class.
Performing in the school play is not just fun, it is developing presentation skills and confidence, and improving memory; captaining the school team is not just fun, it’s developing leadership skills and understanding systems and people; playing in the orchestra is not just fun, it’s learning teamwork and absorbing the mathematical patterns of music.
It’s all learning without knowing you’re learning and all the while you’re enjoying it too. Add to that the personal and social skills that are encouraged and developed in the 24/7 experience that boarding represents, and it’s no surprise that people who’ve had the boarding school advantage so often go on to make such a difference in their lives and careers.
ESBA scholarships are truly exceptional and offered each year at different schools to guarantee availability at the fixed price of £18,000 per year which includes all tuition and accommodation costs. This price is guaranteed for the entire time the child is at the school. For further details contact ESBA