Page 22 - ELG2109 Sep Issue 477

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UK RANKINGS 2021-22

What is a boarding school?

The British boarding school resides in a unique niche.
Melanie Butler shines a light on what it’s all about

PHOTO COURTESY OF CONCIRD COLLEGE

anguage courses owned and run by British boarding schools are We even have a boarding school at the top of the academic league
still the highest performers in our annual rankings, achieving table, Concord College, which started life as a language school.
over eight strengths out of an average 15 on inspection. There’s So, what is a boarding school?
L no doubt that some have been hit by Covid: three schools To answer this question we need to know what a school is in the
have left the accreditation scheme, but only one, King’s College St eyes of the law.
Michael’s, has closed. The other two seem merely to have dropped The legal answer varies a little depending on which of the four
their EFL summer schools. nations of the UK we’re looking at (education is a devolved issue),
Summer courses are the area in which most boarding schools but under English law it is any establishment offering full curriculum
operate EFL, but it is important to remember that not all summer education (not just language teaching, for example) which has
programmes taking place in boarding schools are actually run by enrolled five or more students under the age of 16. All such schools
the school, despite what language travel agents might imply in their must be registered.
brochures. That’s not to say that all English language course providers A boarding school is a legally registered school which offers
who rent school premises for the summer are of less good quality. residential accommodation, though that may include the use of host
Indeed, two summer school specialists, Summer Boarding Courses families who become the child’s foster parent in the eyes of the law.
and Discovery Summer, score higher in our rankings than their In all the nations of the UK, such schools must be inspected by
boarding counterparts. the relevant authorities to check that they meet National Minimum
However, if you choose a summer school at random, you’re much Standards for Boarding, which are extremely strict regulations covering
more likely to hit upon a high-ranking course if it’s owned and run by premises, pastoral care and safeguarding. There are also standards
a boarding school, though it’s sometimes difficult to tell. for institutions which educate students aged 16-18, generally called
There are boarding schools, like Stonyhurst, which designate its further education, and offer residential accommodation
summer school as a private language school to differentiate it from National boarding standards do not cover boarding for short courses
the institution. Then there are boarding schools, like Bath Academy, and vacation courses, which is one reason why some schools choose
which call themselves private tutorial colleges, though legally they’re to be inspected by the British Council. However, long experience of
boarding schools. adhering strict safeguarding rules means they tend to excel in this area,
Finally, we have school chains, like the King’s Group, which own with 84% of accredited boarding schools achieving an area of strength
boarding schools and language schools. If the British Council inspects in safeguarding in the British Council inspection.
the English language teaching in the boarding school as well as in the All the boarding schools with accredited language operations
language school, as they do at King’s, we count those too. are fee paying independent schools. Some state-funded schools do
22 September 2021