Home and away
Boarding teaches a lot about academics and a little something about life
Find a list of schoolsAhlya Fountain is saying goodbye.
Ahlya Fountain is saying goodbye.
After four years as a boarder at The Bishop Strachan School in central Toronto, Ontario, she is leaving the Gothic building centric campus and going on to university. "I am going to miss this so much," she says, looking at the other two girls at the table, one from Bowmanville, Ontario, one from Hong Kong. "I'm going to miss you so much. We're sisters. It's true."
Five years ago while at home in the Bahamas, Fountain thought boarding schools only existed in children's stories by Enid Blyton. Her parents helped plant the seed for boarding school, and after touring a few campuses while visiting her grandparents in Montreal, she and her parents chose The Bishop Strachan School (BSS), where 85 of the 860 girls board.
Although Canadian boarding schools are based on the British model, they set their own style. Rupert Lane, head of school at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario, after teaching in British schools. "There's a cultural difference," he says. "In the Canadian context, there's more consultation, less autocracy."
In the hallway outside his office, students from around the world have discarded their uniforms for the day to attend class in their own national costumes, from Texas cowboy hats to Japanese kimonos.
Philip Gaertner is in his final year at Ridley College and says he attended boarding school back home in Germany. But Ridley "really changed me. I am more open-minded. I even learned a whole song from my roommate from Taiwan."
It's unfortunate, then, that at a time when smaller families and absent parents make boarding schools more relevant than ever, parents seem more reluctant to let go of their children. It may be a lingering symptom of 9/11, BSS head Kim Gordon suggests. "I think we have to market to those people who want a family away from family," she says.
Emily Bradley of Toronto attended public school, an independent day school and, after Grade 9, Ridley College as a boarder. She knows what Gordon means. "I find a sense of community I have not seen before," says Bradley. But that doesn't mean losing her family.
Although she wanted to board, the day she left home "was really bittersweet," she recalls. "My parents were excited for me, but it was hard to say goodbye. And it was really hard to leave my friends and my sister."
Once at school, there was little time to mope. "The first two months you are so busy you don't have time to think," she says. Now going home is different, she adds. "You have a different appreciation for being back with your family." When she goes home for weekends - and many of her spring weekends were taken up with rowing training - she's just as happy going out to dinner with her parents as she is being with friends.
Bradley, who thinks about a career in international relations or politics, believes in the boarding school edge, especially in Grades 11 and 12.
"I think the jump from home to university is huge. This is a transition. I have the opportunity to be independent," she says. "There's more opportunity to succeed here. There are so many people behind you. Class doesn't end at 3:30. It's a 24-hour community."
In fact, that kind of academic and social backup seems to work for kids at all levels of ability. Fountain, at BSS, says she and her friends had real trouble understanding science in Grade 7. But after working together in a boarders' pre-exam study group, "I finally understood the water cycle."
"Academically," says her friend Karen Wiltshire from Bowmanville, "I have to work 10 times as hard (as the other girls) to get 75 or 80. But study groups really help me."
Some students might never make it to university if they were not boarders, Gordon says.
"I used to go home, do half my homework, then watch TV," says another BSS boarder Jennifer Chong, whose parents are in Hong Kong. "I can't follow that stuff anymore." With two hours of mandatory study every night, "I have watched maybe 45 minutes of TV this year."
Parties are no problem, either. "You can't say 'Please let me stay out a bit later?' " Wiltshire says. "The rules are there. You suck it up." Besides, adds Fountain, who needs parties if your best friend is just down the hall?
It's not all easy. Chong, with her parents so far away, says there have been times she feels she lost the opportunity to grow closer to her parents. "People say, 'Oh your parents don't love you.' But I think they really love me because they are willing to sacrifice by having me at this distance from them."
And then she admits: "I miss my friends here more when I am in Hong Kong than I miss my parents when I am here."
At St. Margaret's School in Victoria, British Columbia, 90 percent of the boarders are international. The school, says director of residence Beth Quinn, mixes it up by making sure everyone's roommate is of another background. "Often the girls become best friends and correspond for years and years," she says.
Staying in touch is part of being an ex-boarder: "We have little old ladies in their 80s come back," says Gordon at BSS. "They say boarding was the happiest memory of their lives."
Every boarding school offers a slightly different experience. Small-town Stanstead College in Quebec is very much part of the local community, says Joanne Carruthers in admissions. Students here engage in social service, tutoring at two local schools and helping at a seniors' residence.
And then there are schools where only boarding will work. Saint John's School of Alberta has just 120 students and is proud of its outdoor challenge program. Keith McKay, president of the society that operates the school, says it experimented with admitting day students.
"We thought the boarders would be resentful of the day students being able to go home every night," he says. As it turned out, it was the other way around. The day students were jealous arriving at school every morning and hearing about the fun and adventures the boarders had had the night before. After three years, McKay says, all the day students had become boarders.
Academics are important, he adds, but when students and former students of the school get together, it's not the great history class they remember, but their time in the wilderness (canoe trips can last up to three weeks) or the dorm life. It's a bond, he says, that binds men and boys of different ages and cultures.
"The fact that they have to get along together is a great step towards independence." And that, says McKay, is one reason boarders have an edge in life.
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Toronto, Ontario — The Bishop Strachan School is a leading independent JK-Grade 12 day & boarding school for girls. Students build the academic skills to thrive at university and beyond. Over $2 million available in financial assistance. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Girls)
Type:
Progressive, Reggio Emilia
Tuition:
$35,800 to $69,145
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
1000
Avg. Class:
18 to 20
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Windsor, Ontario — JK- 12/IB/AP , inter-faith/R.C.co-ed day, and boarding located in Windsor, ON Family of Schools includes Nursery, Elementary and Secondary Schools, athletic facilities, performing arts wing (music and dance studios). View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Traditional, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$10,950 to $50,000
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
250
Avg. Class:
10 to 16
|
Waterloo Region (Breslau), Ontario — SJK offers an enriched environment of exploration and experiential learning. Through its IB curriculum, SJK provides exciting experiences and guides students to discover their talents and passions. Go beyond at SJK. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Progressive, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$19,720 to $73,700
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
470
Avg. Class:
10 to 17
|
Oakville, Ontario — Appleby College in Oakville is recognized globally as one of Canada's leading independent schools. Breadth, excellence, innovation and caring are the characteristics that define the essence of the Appleby experience. View School Profile.
Grades:
7 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Liberal Arts
Tuition:
$41,030 to $81,870
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
785
Avg. Class:
12 to 16
|
Port Hope, Ontario — At TCS, an excellent education means students remain open to learning throughout life and doing something positive with what they have learned. View School Profile.
Grades:
5 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Traditional
Tuition:
$28,000 to $77,500
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
570
Avg. Class:
12 to 16
|
Rosseau, Ontario — Through extraordinary learning opportunities rooted in meaningful outdoor education experiences in our unique natural environment, RLC graduates develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to take on any challenge. View School Profile.
Grades:
7 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Progressive
Tuition:
$11,350 to $66,300
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
120
Avg. Class:
15 to 18
|
Belleville, Ontario — At Albert College, every student is an 'A' student. From Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 our students experience all 5 of the Albert 'A’ s; Academics, Arts, Athletics, Active Citizenship and Adventure programming. View School Profile.
Grades:
PS to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Traditional
Tuition:
$18,700 to $75,400
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
303
Avg. Class:
15
|
Scarborough, Ontario — RCS’s purpose is to unleash the potential in each student and set them on the path for a successful life. We provide rigorous academics with individual attention in a diverse, energizing, and caring environment. View School Profile.
Grades:
7 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Progressive
Tuition:
$22,800
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
300
Avg. Class:
10 to 15
|
Toronto, Ontario — Branksome Hall is Toronto’s only all-girls, all-years International Baccalaureate (IB) World School developing the leaders of tomorrow through the nurturing of curiosity and critical thinking at every age. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Girls)
Type:
Liberal Arts, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$37,130 to $75,020
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
960
Avg. Class:
16 to 22
|
Toronto, Ontario — Located in the heart of Toronto, UCC provides transformational learning experiences with exceptional day and boarding programs. Our highly sought-after graduates are awarded International Baccalaureate and OSSD diplomas. View School Profile.
Grades:
SK to 12 (Boys)
Type:
Liberal Arts, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$36,750 to $71,875
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
1200
Avg. Class:
20 to 25
|
Toronto, Ontario — Havergal has been preparing young women to make a difference since 1894 through its innovative curriculum and future-ready programming with a focus on wellness and student agency. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Girls)
Type:
Liberal Arts
Tuition:
$36,950 to $68,540
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
1000
Avg. Class:
18 to 22
|
Lakefield, Ontario — Focussed on Community First, Outdoors Every Day, and Authentic Learning, LCS offers a world-class, individualized, day/boarding program (Grades 9 -12) designed for students to be leaders who care, connect and contribute. View School Profile.
Grades:
9 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Liberal Arts
Tuition:
$38,600 to $79,200
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
425
Avg. Class:
15
|
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