Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
📖

Boarding school

society Maturity 5-7 Next article →

A boarding school is a place where students live and learn in one spot.

Main (west) facade of Dollar Academy
Main (west) facade of Dollar Academy

The term "boarding" means the school provides both a room and meals. These schools have existed for many centuries. They are found in many different countries today. Some schools only have students who live there. These students are called boarders. Other schools also have day pupils who go home every evening.

Life at a boarding school follows a specific way of working. Students live in separate buildings called houses.

Croydon Shubra Hall PLC
Croydon Shubra Hall PLC

Adults called housemasters or housemistresses look after the students. They take on a role similar to parents. They might look after between 5 and 50 students at a time. Some houses have a matron to help with the home. Other staff members like house tutors help with schoolwork. Houses often include a dining room and a library.

TASdorm1898
TASdorm1898

Boarding schools have a long and varied history. In the United Kingdom, some schools are very famous and elite. Schools like Eton and Winchester have taught many prime ministers. In the United States and Canada, history includes some very difficult parts. The Canadian Indian residential school system and American Indian boarding schools were used to change indigenous children.

Carlisle pupils
Carlisle pupils

These were times of forced assimilation for many families. Other schools, like the G.I. Rossolimo Boarding School Number 49 in Russia, acted like orphanages.

There are many different types of boarding schools today. Some students are full-term boarders who stay for the whole year. Weekly boarders go home every weekend.

Student hostel (Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Barabanki)
Student hostel (Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Barabanki)

Some schools are very specialized for certain needs. Therapeutic boarding schools help students with psychological difficulties. Military academies focus on strict discipline. There are even schools for students with special needs, such as those for the blind. In China, tens of millions of rural children attend boarding schools.

Modern boarding schools offer many ways to explore the world. Some are international schools, like the United World Colleges. There are even traveling boarding schools like Think Global School.

THINK Global Students at BISS
THINK Global Students at BISS

These students move to a new city each term. Other schools are based on ships and sail around the world.

Schloss in Torgelow, direkt am See
Schloss in Torgelow, direkt am See

Some schools focus on the outdoors to teach self-reliance. These schools use many different tools to help students grow. They often provide gyms, pools, and theaters for fun activities.

377 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (13)
File:Main (west) facade of Dollar Academy.jpg
Main (west) facade of Dollar Academy.jpg
File:Croydon Shubra Hall PLC.JPG
Croydon Shubra Hall PLC.JPG
File:TASdorm1898.jpg
TASdorm1898.jpg
File:Schloss in Torgelow, direkt am See.JPG
Schloss in Torgelow, direkt am See.JPG
File:THINK Global Students at BISS.jpg
THINK Global Students at BISS.jpg
File:Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, June 2013 (3).jpg
Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey,...
File:Phillips Academy, Andover, MA - Samuel Phillips Hall.JPG
Phillips Academy, Andover, MA - Samuel...
File:Carlisle pupils.jpg
Carlisle pupils.jpg
File:Northcliff Campus, Columbia International College.jpg
Northcliff Campus, Columbia International...
File:The Doon School India.jpg
The Doon School India.jpg
File:Boarding school of humanities,facade.jpg
Boarding school of humanities,facade.jpg
File:Rosenberg Main Building.jpg
Rosenberg Main Building.jpg

+ 1 more

More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.