Figure 1.--These boys were kind enough to show us around their school and tell us about theie experiences as boarders. |
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And of course there is the children. We found them to be uniformally delightful in our many visits and in fact a bit different than anticipated. The older children at a prep school are beginning to understand that many enjoy an elevated social status that will have a marked impact on their lives. Children enjoying such special educational privilige may begin to think that they are special and are afforded this privilge as a matter of right. Most British readers will recall the priginess of three prep school boys in the ground-breaking BBC documentary "7-Up". Many schools today try to develop a social consious among the children by discussing contemporary social problems such as unemployment, poverty, racism, etc. Certainly the priginess much in evidence before World War II is little seen today. But the overall impact of an elite education in modern England is an as yet poorly studied phenomenon.
And of course there is the children. We found them to be uniformally delightful in our many visits and in fact a bit different than anticipated. We noted non of the social snobbery seen on "7-Up". The children were polite, engaging hosts. They helped us not only to see the school facilities, but also a view of the school from their perspective--an important aspect of our project. Most were curious about in our project, happy to be photographed, and interested to tell us about their school. Almost always they wanted to know why we pivked their school, not seeing anything particularly interesting about it.
Britain's preparatory schools have a justifiable image as socially exclusive, elite schools. Many schools in the past consciously reviewed the backgrounds of applicants for social suitability and usually excluded working-class children. Of course such exclusion rarely took place as few working—class children ever applied for admission. The cost of an independent education alone had the practical impact of excluding most working-class children. The schools also excluded some children whose parents could afford the fees, children from Jewish, Catholic, racial and ethnic minorities or other low-status groups. Even when not excluded, such children could face a very unpleasant school experience. Modern schools are most concerned with the schools achievements. By this they usually mean the number of children who have won academic and other scholarships from the important public schools. School fees are considerable and continue to pose a significant constraint to any attempt at diversifying the children or to permit school entry on the basis of talent. Thus a substantial portion of the population is in effect excluded, significantly impacting the social backgrounds of the children. Preparatory and other English independent schools in recent years have noted an increasing broadening of the social background of their students. Many middle class parents who are prepared to make a financial commitment to their child’s education and forego some luxury purchases such as vacations and new cars can manage independent education.
The older children at a prep school are beginning to understand that many enjoy an elevated social status that will have a marked impact on their lives. Children enjoying such special educational privilige may begin to think that they are special and are afforded this privilge as a matter of right. Most British readers will recall the priginess of three prep school boys in the ground-breaking BBC documentary "7-Up". Many schools today try to develop a social consious among the children by discussing contemporary social problems such as unempolyment, poverty, racism, etc. Certainly the priginess much in evidence before World War II is little seen today. But the overall impact of an elite education in modern England is an as yet poorly studied phenomenon.
Prep schools primarily focus on children from about 7+ or 8 to 13+ years. The schools normally take children for their beginning form from pre-prep schools at about 7~ through 8~A. Some schools, such as West Hill Park, accept day boys at 7 and boarders at 8. Most schools believe that children of that age are able to easily adjust to school life and "progress up the school without undue pressure." Some schools such as Streete Court often report that day children often begin at a younger age than' the boarders . Most schools do not have formal entrance examinations but expect the new entrants will be able to read and write and know their tables. (See "Entry") Most schools would prefer the children to begin along with the new entrants at 7 or 8, but at least by 9. Beach Hill in Norfolk, for example, explains to parents that, "The desirable age for entry is, of course, 7. Though entries at other ages are considered, it should be stressed that the best results are usually achieved by those boys who join the school at 7 or 8." Hordle House in Hampsire tells parents concerned about boarding younger children, "it is our experience that children at 7 are natuarally gregarious. They like being with other children of their age, are excited by the school's facilities and quickly settle down as boarders." Headmasters sometimes report difficulty with older children entering at 11, especially at boarding schools. Not only do they not have the academic preparation, but the older children often find it much more difficult to adjust to the boarding routein. Even so many schools, especially day schools, may accept children as old as 12 years.
As an American visitor I was struck by the almost make up of the schiils by children of native British ancestry. Almost the entire student population was of European British ancestry. Most schools has a few students of other ancestry. Here there were both foreign children including a few Americans and British children of other etnicity. We saw almost no children of Caribbean ancestry or African ancestry, although there were a few foreign african children. There were a few British children of South asian ancestry. There were also a few oriental children. These children of ethnic minorities, however, were a very small part of the school population. We assume this reflects the overall social economuc trends as for the most part ethnic minorities in Britain have lower income levels than the overall population and the fees at these schools are considerable. While there were only very small numbers of minority children, as best we could tell the minority children felt confortable and were well integrated into school life. The children seem to accept the children without any apparent consideration of etnicity.
The prep school program is fairly standard, in part because the schools are relatively small. The schools do allow, however, opportunities for the children to persue their varied interests. It is a rare child who can not find some aspect of the program where he can persue his special interests. Many schools stress sports and their is ample opportunity for the children to persue a range od sports. The emphsasis is on rugby, football (soccer), and cricket, but other sports are part of the program. Many boys use their spare time to persue these interests. Most schools in recent years have attempted to expand the program and thus there are opprtunities for boys to persue interests in the fine arts. This is especially the case for boys interested in music, but there are other opprtunities as well. Children interested in maths and science can paicipate in a range of competitions. And there are a wide variety of recreational opportunities provide a wide range of play opportunities for children of prep school age.
Another important aspect of the organization of the school are prefects. Some schools have special names for these older children who are given responsibility to help enforce the school rules. Most schools use a prefect system, although some schools use different terms such as “captains” or “monitors.” One school, Beeston Hall, has both prefects and house captains. Farleigh has leaders and deputies. Malsis has heads of houses and school prefects, house prefects, monitors and junior monitors. Streete Court has monitors and dormitory captains. Selected senior students are chosen by the headmaster after consulting the senior staff. They are given this responsibility after proving themselves in the performance of other duties as they rise through the school. The system was adopted from the system of prefects which developed at the public schools. For prep school age children the system had to be adapted to the different age level.
