Preparatory Schools Boarding: Getting to School


Figure 1.--  

British students have gotten to boarding school in all kinds of different ways. We know from Tom Brown's School Days that the coach was still used in the mid-19th century. This generally limited attendance to schools in one regions. Soon however the expanding railways took over and Britain was connected to an extent undreamed of earlier. This mean that boys could essentially attend schools anywhere in the country, even in the remote north. And boarders for nearly a century generally went to their schools by rail. The schools would meet the children at the stations and arrange for their trunks. This was almost always dine by train rather than coach (bus), probably because the train network developed decades before bus serbice and is still seen as more efficent. After World war II, private automobiles gradually became common and thus the children began to increasingly arrive by private car. This meant that parents were less likely to choose a school located at any great distance. The family car had a lot of advantages as it made it much easier to handle the child's kit and other belongings. It was also safer for the younger children attending boarding school. And because quite a few schools have international students, some children even come to school by plane. Goodbyes used to be said at train stations. Now they are more likely to be said at the car as the parents get ready to leave. There are often some sniffles for the younger childrem especially as the parents get ready to leave, but it all becones rather matter of fact after that first year.

Coach

British students have gotten to boarding school in all kinds of different ways. We know from Tom Brown's School Days that the coach was still used in the mid-19th century. This generally limited attendance to schools in one regions.

Railroad

The expanding railways began to dominate British transportation in the mid-19th century, both for goods and especially passanger service. Britain was connected to an extent undreamed of earlier. This mean that boys could essentially attend schools anywhere in the country, even in the remote north. And boarders for nearly a century generally went to their schools by rail. As the children at any given school all travelled on the same day, this meant that some of the tranmds had w\quite a few students on them. The boys could get a little rowdy so some times a staff member was assigned to supervise them. The schools would meet the children at the stations and arrange for their trunks. A reader writes, "Although the Aperyures Press eBooks photographs comes from a later time, they take me back to the 1950s and early-1960s when I was in school. I moved to a London school to finish 6th-form and had nearly 2 years using main-line train and the tube each day. Before that I was boarding in a provincial city and the beginning and end of each term meant a train journey with overnight bag, a trunk containing most of my clothing and any books etc having been sent in advance by rail. The return to school meant meeting a whole number of fellow-pupils at the London terminal, not always a delight for a loner like myself, but coming away at the end of the term was usually achieved in solitude. On one occasion I had to take a punishment immediately before departure home and chose to stand in the corridor of the railway carriage. A dear old soul could not understand why I would not sit in the compartment, she was occupying, as there were no less than five empty seats. I was far too embarrassed to explain!"

Bus

Traveling to boarding schools was almost always done by train rather than coach (bus), probably because the train network developed decades before bus serbice and is still seen as more efficent.

Cars

After World war II, private automobiles gradually became common and thus the children began to increasingly arrive by private car. This meant that parents were less likely to choose a school located at any great distance. The family car had a lot of advantages as it made it much easier to handle the child's kit and other belongings. It was also safer for the younger children attending boarding school.
>h2>Plane And because quite a few schools have international students, some children even come to school by plane.

Goodbyes

oodbyes used to be said at train stations. Now they are more likely to be said at the car as the parents get ready to leave. There are often some sniffles for the younger childrem especially as the parents get ready to leave, but it all becones rather matter of fact after that first year.



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