From the Ceo

Boarding –certainty in an uncertain world

on a school visit before Christmas, i met a charming young boarder in first year sixth form. He explained that although he had not always been a boarder at his school, he had been a pupil since the age of three!

To have already clocked up 14 years at the same school by age 17 (82 per cent of his whole life) might be unusual, but it reinforces two positive forces in boarding education –continuity and stability.

I had experienced five different schools by the time I arrived at my sixth as a boarder, aged 13. Everyone knows how turbulent, confusing, and hard the teenage years can be, so to settle down for five years at my final school was a rare moment of stability.

It’s many decades since the external world has seemed so uncertain. Conflict, inflation, energy crises and industrial action are all competing for attention again in a way not seen since the 1970s.

Amongst this noise, it is important to recognise the strength and safety boarding continues to offer for our young people. Clear term-time routines with days structured by timetable, a secure home-from-home, good friends and a unique sense of community and togetherness. We know the boarding experience to be grounding, developmental, supportive and positive – a beacon of calm in an otherwise turbulent sea.

In particular, as you will read in this edition of our Boarding School Magazine, boarding schools have also provided stability and a safe haven for young people escaping the conflict in Ukraine. Rossall School and Millfield School, on pages 20-29, are part of a whole line-up of boarding schools in the UK who have united to offer support to families fleeing from these extraordinary circumstances.

As nations across the world grapple with the short-term pressures of prices, government spending and supporting a rising bill to keep its citizens healthy, leaders are also navigating the longer-term challenges of societal change and climate survival.

Against such a shifting domestic and world backdrop, it’s never been more important to stand tall and celebrate the value of boarding. There has perhaps never been a better time for families to look to boarding school as a well-proven way to support their child, and, in some small way, protect them from the buffeting winds outside.

I hope you will enjoy reading this latest edition of the magazine.

Robin Fletcher Chief Executive CEO, BSA and BSA Group