Newly on board: what to expect in UK boarding schools
- UK education offers many benefits such as chances for creativity and discovery
It is a growing trend among Hong Kong parents to send their children abroad to be educated, and Britain’s renowned boarding schools top the list of many. But it is also one of the greatest emotional and financial decisions a family can make. Sending a child as young as 11 off to a foreign country alone can be either a fruitful or a scarring experience.
Leo Winkley, the new headmaster of Shrewsbury School in the United Kingdom, says even simple things like the canteen menu can be perplexing for newcomers.
“They’re in a different culture meeting new people. Plus they’re learning new subjects in a second language,” says Winkley, who boarded at Cranleigh School in Surrey.
One thing parents often must watch out for is whether the boarding school is the “real deal” – meaning making sure there’s a high percentage of full boarding students so your children won’t end up alone in the residences while others go home during weekends or for the holidays.
Shrewsbury claims that 80 per cent of its students go through full boarding, 20 per cent of whom are international students, including those from Hong Kong.
