Making the choice of sending kids to a boarding school is quite difficult. However, finding a good boarding school is even more challenging. The mushrooming of residential schools has confused parents and they find it challenging to choose.
However, certain tips when followed can help parents narrow down the list of best boarding schools available and make it easier for them to choose. They include:
- Curriculum and choice of subjects: This differs with the affiliations residential schools have. Schools affiliated to the ICSE or CBSE boards follow a curriculum and offer a choice of subjects that is far removed from that of the ib schools. To decide on the curriculum, parents need to decide what they want for their kids. If it is an admission to a foreign university at a later stage, it is best to opt for an IB board. If parents have no such preferences, they can opt for any board provided they offer the subjects that their kids are familiar with. Since all boarding schools admit students from the age of 11years, it is better to opt for subjects that the kids have been studying until the age of 11. Additionally, parents should also check what extracurricular activities or physical fitness activities the school has on offer before making the final decision.
- Distance: Sending kids to boarding schools at such a tender age is a huge challenge. Both parents and kids suffer adjustment issues for the first few months. Additionally, if the school selected is situated very far away from where the parents stay, then this has a negative effect on the psyche of the kids. It is always better to choose a boarding school that is relatively close to home.
- Cost: Sending kids to a boarding school is an expensive proposition. Thus parents should look at what they can afford and sort boarding schools accordingly. This will help them to choose the best boarding schools available within their budget.
- University admissions: The ultimate aim of sending a child to a good boarding school is to enable him to get admission in a good university. Checking the list of alumni, their current placements and universities attended will give parents a fair idea of the history of university admissions of the school. Those that have a history of sending students to top universities should always be preferred.
- Faculty strength: Two things need immediate attention concerning the faculty strength of the chosen school. One is the teacher-student ratio and the other is the qualification of the faculty employed. Both of these details are available in the boarding school website and thus parents need to study the website properly to understand the same. It would be prudent to mention here that ib schools maintain a very good teacher-student ratio and should be considered as kids get personalised attention from their teachers.
While these points will give you a general idea about the boarding schools selected, visiting the campus and interacting with the faculty and alumni will help clarify specific doubts and queries. Thus, the parents will be able to take a decision correctly.
