Figure 1.--The boy at this boarding school is using some of his free time to practice the instrument he is learning. Many of the day boys find they are spending a good bit of time traveling back and forth to and rfom school each day.
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Figure 1.--The boy at this boarding school is using some of his free time to practice the instrument he is learning. Many of the day boys find they are spending a good bit of time traveling back and forth to and rfom school each day. |
If you have any questions about British preparatory schools, do not hesitate to send us an e-mail. We will be glad to post your queries here and attempt to answer your questions about this exciting new Apertures Press project in the innovative E-book format. Our British readers will have a better knowledge of the British school system than readers from America and other countries. We will try to find photographs to illustrate the issues you raise and our answers to them.
Are there many boarding schools anymore? There seemed to be, at least at that time you took these photographs. I find it hard to believe a parent could send a pre-adolecent off to school and only get to see them on holidays. Aperatures Press answer: Boarding children beginning about age 8 years was an established English tradition. By the time we visited many parents had begun to question this tradition. Of course there were many children that were boarding because of family circumstances such as parents posted overseas or a range of family situations. Many parents, however chose boarding because they believed the children would get the full bebefit of the program only as boarders. There were at most schools more day childre than would have been found earlier. Also some parents had the children begin as day children and when they were older switch to boarding.
The children all seem so happy in the photographs. Are children really that happy at a boarding school? Aperatures Press answer: Having read many terrible school accounts in English books, I was somewhat surprised to find that the children were indeed, with exceptions, happy at their schools. We think this is in part because thaere have been major changes at these schools. If we had visited before the 1970s we believe that we would have found very different atmospheres at these schools. Earlier the schools were more austere with much more severe duscipline. These schools are small businesses and because parents by the 1980s were listening to their children;s opinions, the schools were making a much more concerted effprt to create friendly, often homey environments.
Do the children like to board? Aperatures Press answer: This answers varies greatly from child to child and school to school. It is fair to say that when thd children first arrive at age 8 years, they are very apprehensive about leaving home, often for the first time. Most sdchools have programs in place to deal with their concerns. There is a great variation. Some children find it very difficult. Others take to it straight away. It os probably also fair to say that most would prefer to be home with their parents and friends. Certainly home leaves and weekend visits by parents are greatly looked to by the children. At about age 11 many children's focus begins to change. The center of their universe begins to shift from their parents. They begin to take a much greater interest in their friends. Most schools strongly suggest that day children at this age begin to board. Seveeral children told them that they asked their parents to board because they were missingout on activities by not being at school with the other children. One boy even told us that his birthday presemt was being allowed to board for a term. (His parents could afford to board hom permanently.
The school buildings are beautiful. They really blow away the ones in the United States. Aperatures Press answer: Remember that the buidings in the photographs here are not purpose built schools. Most prep boarding schools are set in rural or once rural areas around a former manor house. The houses were built by families with considerable wealth. Not only did they build lovely buildings, but many have impressive formal gardens and landscaping. After World War I it became increasingly difficult to maintain these homes. Just employing the staff meant major outlays. After World War II the Lanoir Government brought a new tax policy that made it even more difficult for families to afford such luxurios suroundings. Thus many of these himes were sold. Quite a number were acquired by individuals or foundations to operate as schools. Often the school was named after the manor house acquired.
Did the school facilities seem resonably modern and up to date despite the fact that many looked to have been around for some time? Aperatures Press answer:
I am a photgraphy nut and find kids to be wonderful subjects, as long as they don't start makeing faces, etc. They don't seem to object to being photographed at all. Aperatures Press answer: First of all the children were very well behaved and cooperative. It's not really quite right to say the children didn't mind. In fact they were enthusiastic participants in the project. They loved having their photographes taken. The children were about 8-13 years old and the kids in the pre-prep a bit younger. Most children this age loved to be photographed. We like to think that we helped make the children be comfortable by chatting with them. But basically this age group it is very easy age to photograph, because they delight in the attention. We noted that some of the older children by 12 or 13 were a bnit more self conscious, but for the most part the children were delighted to be photographed. Here interestingly the girls were a bot more of a challenge than the boys. Their hair kept falling in their face, spoiling many photographs. Also the giurls had a tendency to giggle when being photographed.
I really liked your individual and pair photos. How did you get the children to pose like that? Aperatures Press answer: Well many of the photographs are not posed. When photographing classroom activities and games we ask the teachers and children just to ignore us. Surpringly they did. After a few flashes the children for the most part stoped paying any attention to us. This was especially true in the pre-prep. The children there were usually engrossed in their activities and often couldn't have been interupted if we had shot off fire works. Some are semi-posed in that we might have the children move so there was a better background or so that we were not shooting in the sun. Some of the individual and paired photographs are posed. Here we would often give the children a book or some other prop. Perhaps the most useful method to put them at ease was to photograph them with a friend. They liked being photographed being photographed with a friend and thus were relaxed and at ease. Actually we posed more shots than we would have liked to. This was vecause of time constraints. We sccheduled each school visit for one day. This meant that we had a very limited amount of time. If we had more time we would have tried not to do any posing at all.
When were the photographs taken? They look like they were mostly taken in the Spring or summer. Aperatures Press answer: We scheduled the photographic sessions so that we would have images from each school term. Yo may think that the images are mostly taken during the Summer term because many of the boys wear short pants. Actually shorts were part of the school uniform all year round. Some schools had seasonal uniforms, but only a few had seasonal uniforms that shidted from shorts to long pants during the Winter.
The photos of the kids with the teddys are especially cute. I was surprised to see the older boys with stuffed animals. We would have been trased if we had brought teddys to school in the 1950s. Aperatures Press answer: Yes often even the older boys have a stiffed animal on their beds. This varied a bit from school to school, but was quite common. I think this is a good example of the chanhing atmosphere at the schools. It also shows that there is less teasing and bullying than was the case in the past.
Did the children mind wearing uniforms? Did the boys seem bugged about having to wear uniforms or did they seem kind of proud of them? Did they seem to be bothered having to wear them, when other kids in state r schools didn't? That used to be a big bone of contention for kids in the United States during the 1970s and 80s, but not so much anymore. Aperatures Press answer: First of all, it is not accurate to say that British children in state schools do not wear uniforms. Just the opposite of the United states, most secondary schools do have uniforms. While it is true that many primary schools do not have uniforms. Vurtually all of the Anglican and Catholic schools have uniforms and many state schools as well. The issue of wearing uniforms was not one as far as we can tell that was important tp prep school children. They were all used to it and saw it as the natural circumstance. Some had ideas as to what the uniform should be, but few objected to wearing one. I don't recall many children mentioning to us that they were proud of their uniforms. I think most viewed then as more a practical matter.
Did the children boys tell you what they though of the uniforms? Aperatures Press answer: Some did. I remember one group that complained about having to wear shorts during the Winter. The boys at another school complained about their pink caps and blazers. Most schools had discontinued caps, but a few still had them. They were not very popular, especially with the older boys. Some of the older boys did not like wearing shorts. I remember one boy who proudly pointed out go us that the next day was jhis 13th birthday and he could begin wearing long trouswers. Some of the older boys also did not like wearing sandals. There were variations from school to school. I remember in the Spring Term at one school that the children were looking forward to the date that they could stop wearing kneesocks and shoes and begin wearing sandals.
