Study the text about why some students live on their school campuses and what boarding schools are all about. Then do the exercises below.

Marcin Legeżyński Living and Studying at a Boarding School

While we are quite used to going to school to gain knowledgegain knowledgegain knowledge and develop new skillsdevelop new skillsdevelop new skills, the idea of actually staying at school for most of our childhood and adolescence may seem shocking. Still, some students do live in schools where they study and boarding schools are still very popular in some cultures and societies.

Boarding schools, whose name refers to “board”, a set of meals offered to students in addition to education and lodgingeducation and lodgingeducation and lodging, started appearing around 1,000 years ago when the number of educational institutions was small and it wasn’t possible for most students to travel to their lessons every day. The first boarding schools, like most education, were only available to children of affluentaffluentaffluent parents, often being a part of the aristocracy or wealthy merchants. Gradually, they became more accessible to regular peopleaccessible to regular peopleaccessible to regular people, although some remained quite elite and selective in their recruitment processselective in their recruitment processselective in their recruitment process. Also, certain specialised boarding schoolsspecialised boarding schools [specialised boarding school]specialised boarding schools exist, which shape their curriculumshape their curriculum [shape one’s curriculum]shape their curriculum according to the particular needs of their studentsparticular needs of their students [particular need of their students]particular needs of their students. Such are international language schoolsinternational language schools [international language school]international language schools, where students live and master a foreign tongue, taking advantage of the surrounding society speaking the language.

Students of boarding schools, often referred to as “boardersboarders [boarder]boarders”, spend most weekdays on their campuses, attending lessons in the school building, and spending afternoons and nights at dormitoriesdormitories [dormitory]dormitories. Dormsdorms [dorm]Dorms are usually supervised by adult tutorsadult tutors [adult tutor]adult tutors, sometimes called matronsmatrons [matron]matrons. Other schools have a resident family living at the dorm complexdorm complexdorm complex, called dorm parentsdorm parents [dorm parent]dorm parents. In addition to adult supervision, some dorms assign certain privileges and responsibilities to older students, called monitors or prefects. Those are responsible for younger students and are expected to look after them outside of school hours. Often, groups of boarders form so‑called houseshouses [house]houses, which compete with each other in a variety of activities and sports. All this aims at providing young people with a substitute for their family, whom they left behind and only travel to see at some weekends and during most holiday breaksholiday breaks [holiday break]holiday breaks. In addition to regular boarding students,regular boarding students [regular boarding student]regular boarding students, some schools allow day studentsday students [day student]day students, who live at homes with their families and only spend time at school during lessons and afternoon activities, usually taking advantage of all school meals, too.

Boarding school complexes consist of regular academic facilitiesacademic facilities [academic facility]academic facilities, such as classrooms, laboratories, music halls, and gyms which are no different than in their day school counterpartsday school counterparts [day school counterpart]day school counterparts. In addition, they feature living areas for students. Dorms include shared bedrooms, bathrooms, and toilets, as well as dining rooms and cloakrooms. Also, many schools offer additional options of sport and entertainment facilities, such as swimming pools, sports fields, or theatres. Some provide a school chapelschool chapelschool chapel for students and staff to use for their religious practices. Numerous boarding schools require a dress codedress codedress code that students must adhere toadhere toadhere to. School uniforms are not uncommon, as well as military outfits in schools affiliated with the armyschools affiliated with the army [school affiliated with the army]schools affiliated with the army.

Are boarding schools a thing of the past? They are certainly less common in most areas of the world than they used to be a century or two ago. Still, in many countries, boarding schools are considered centres of socialisationcentres of socialisation [centre of socialisation]centres of socialisation, where students enter independent lives and learn to rely on themselves. Also, many schools of this type are seen as an entry to social hierarchy and educate future presidents and prime ministers. The alumnialumni [alumnus/alumna]alumni of these famous institutions are often referred to as the elite of the “old boy networkold boy networkold boy network”. Often, boarding schools are simply convenient, as travelling to the nearest school and back every day is not feasible for students due to vast distances. Critics see educational institutions of these type as a source of unnecessary stress to younger students who get separated from their families and suffer from social detachmentsocial detachmentsocial detachment. A term “boarding school syndromeboarding school syndromeboarding school syndrome” has been coined, referring to certain psychological disorders resulting from being sent to a boarding school at an early age. Whether or not boarding schools will continue to function in the future, or will become obsoleteobsoleteobsolete, is yet to be seen.

1 Źródło: Marcin Legeżyński, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.