The notion of boarding school is quintessentially British, and they understand it, but to many other nationalities it is an abomination. After all, who in their right mind would want to pack off their darling children to a far away institution where they will be raised by other people when they could stay at home? Sue Anderson Consultants from the UK visit the Middle East regularly to advise and assist families in finding the right boarding school for their children. Sue Anderson herself has visited Saudi Arabia four times in the past twelve months. We met at the Meridien Hotel in Jeddah and she told me about her work revolving around boarding schools. “I lived in the Middle East for ten years,” she told me. “I had four children who all had to go to boarding school in the end because we lived in South Yemen, Kuwait, and Canada. Because we were moving frequently, there comes a time when you can't just keep moving your children, so they had to go to boarding school.” She is very pro boarding school under these circumstances, but also because of the standard of education that they provide: “It is a First Class education. We are talking Gold Standard. You have small classes and dedicated staff; you have a huge range of extra curricular activities, lots of after school clubs and fantastic facilities on site. I have schools with their own equestrian centers, golf courses, fantastic drama studios – whatever your child's strengths, talents and interests are, we can find a school that will make sure that they reach the top of their potential.” Anderson is well qualified for her role as she also worked in a British boarding school for eighteen years: “I was the Careers and Higher Education Advisor and Student Counsellor, so my job was to help my students get into a University. I also organized all sorts of extra curricular activities for 6th formers to develop their interests. Another aspect of my job was travel all over the world with the admissions and marketing department, recruiting students to the school. It included recruiting children from other cultures whose first language was not English, and helping resolve the difficulties that they have.” Anderson acknowledges that sending a child to boarding school is a very emotional decision, particularly when it comes to very young children: “It depends on your situation and the child's attitude to it. I have to say that Harry Potter did us a wonderful favor! All these kids are now dead keen to go to boarding school. The families that are moving frequently are the ones that probably think about it earlier because it is such hard work for your children to make new friends every 18 months to 2 years that you are moving on. So stability of education is important. Whatever age they go, it is very important to involve your child from the beginning. They need to be enthusiastic about it. Very often I meet families where the mother or father will be quite tearful about the situation, but the kids are very excited and they have already done their research.” Anderson has personally visited over 350 schools throughout the UK and these are the ones that feature in her Directory. She talked about the priorities involved when thinking about the boarding school option: “You need to plan 18 months to two years in advance so that it is not a rushed decision. We can help you by finding out as much as we can about your children: academic levels, interests, strengths, weaknesses, do they have any learning difficulties, medical problems – and location is important too, if you have relatives in the UK. We then select schools based on all this information and we would select six or eight schools that meet the criteria. We contact the schools and get them to send you information. We then suggest to the family that they narrow the choice down to two or three, and we are happy to make appointments for them to go and visit. I always say that if you visit a school you just know if it is right for your child.” Computers and the internet has also helped facilitate the process: “Often we meet with children who have already done their own research, they have been on the internet. I had a family once with a 12-year-old boy, and one day he sat his parents down and he had made a power point presentation to show to his parents about why he should go to boarding school! In another scenario, parents had received all these different prospectuses from schools, and left them lying around on the settee. The children came to them the next day, so excited – the parents were shocked at their enthusiasm! Children also have friends who have gone and they have heard about it from them. Very often, the parents are the ones who find it much more difficult than the child.” She is insistent that the schools must be visited during the term-time: “Parents and their child must see the school in action. You need to meet the students, and meet the headmaster or headmistress, you need to meet the head of boarding; if your child has learning difficulties, meet the head of learning support and that way you will get a real understanding and feel for each school and that is the way that you can make the right decision.” If you have a gifted child, Anderson can also advise on scholarships: “If you are going to go for a scholarship you need to plan well in advance. We have academic scholarships, music, drama, sporting and all round scholarships. So if your child is very strong in any of those areas it is worth considering a scholarship, but you do have to plan early.” Anderson advises Saudis as well as expats of all nationalities, and has discovered that there is a layer of Saudi culture that already has a well-established connection with UK boarding schools. For those who don't, she can also advise on summer schools and language programs and often this is the first step for the Saudi family before they consider the boarding school option. This exclusive form of British education does not come cheap: “On average, fees are between £6000 – £9000 per term, so about £25,000 a year (approx. SR6 to £1). That includes everything – the accommodation, food, tutoring, books – absolutely everything. If your child wants piano lessons, or something like that, then you will pay extra.” For more information, log onto their website: www.andersoneducation.co.uk The service that they offer is completely free and impartial. The Directory can be obtained from the British Council offices in Jeddah, Riyadh & Al Khobar. Every year, they hold a Boarding School Exhibition for three days in Dubai with 28 schools from the UK. Next week: Boarding Schools for children with Learning Difficulties and Special Needs. __
