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What are Some Different Types of Boarding School?

Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth

An academic setting that provides not only classroom instruction but also room and board for at least some of the students is called a boarding school. A boarding school may have both students who live at home and attend the school for classes, called “day students,” as well as students who make their home at the school during school terms.

If we were to group schools by their instructional focus, we might say that there are three types of boarding school. One of the types of boarding school is an academic boarding school. The goal of the academic boarding school is to prepare students for experiences in higher education. It is sometimes called a prep school, prep being short for preparatory.

Sports boarding schools might prepare highly qualified athletes for ice hockey.
Sports boarding schools might prepare highly qualified athletes for ice hockey.

Another of the types of boarding school, a specialty boarding school, has a special focus over and above the college preparatory curriculum, in one of several categories. All-girls and all-boys schools focus on the needs exhibited by children of each gender as they grow and develop. Military academies are a long-standing type of specialty boarding school with a focus on preparing students for a military career and/or for civilian service and leadership.

Boarding schools may have a specialized focus for college preparatory academics, religious focus, or specialized therapy.
Boarding schools may have a specialized focus for college preparatory academics, religious focus, or specialized therapy.

Sectarian schools are another of the types of boarding school with a special focus. These school are generally funded by and integrated with a religious community, whether Quaker, Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, and present academics in the light of the religious values espoused. Performing arts schools supplement academic training with pre-professional training in singing, theater, and/or dance. Performance opportunities are also provided. Sports school prepare highly qualified athletes in sports as varied as ice hockey and whitewater rapid racing.

Boarding schools are often specific to gender.
Boarding schools are often specific to gender.

Another type of specialty school adapts material for children in special circumstances. At the cusp between the specialty boarding school and the therapeutic boarding school you can find schools for students who are blind, Deaf, or hospitalized for long-term treatment.

The third of the types of boarding school, the therapeutic boarding school proper, may allow academics to take a back seat to a behavioral or emotional therapy provided mainly for troubled teens. These schools have a variety of names besides therapeutic boarding school, including emotional growth school and boarding school and wilderness program.

Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth

Mary Elizabeth is passionate about reading, writing, and research, and has a penchant for correcting misinformation on the Internet. In addition to contributing articles to WiseGEEK about art, literature, and music, Mary Elizabeth is a teacher, composer, and author. She has a B.A. from the University of Chicago’s writing program and an M.A. from the University of Vermont, and she has written books, study guides, and teacher materials on language and literature, as well as music composition content for Sibelius Software.

Learn more...
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth

Mary Elizabeth is passionate about reading, writing, and research, and has a penchant for correcting misinformation on the Internet. In addition to contributing articles to WiseGEEK about art, literature, and music, Mary Elizabeth is a teacher, composer, and author. She has a B.A. from the University of Chicago’s writing program and an M.A. from the University of Vermont, and she has written books, study guides, and teacher materials on language and literature, as well as music composition content for Sibelius Software.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon302242

This is a great article to get the information about the different types of boarding schools. Thanks for providing the helpful information about the services and facilities are offered by boarding schools. These schools are helpful in dealing with behavioral emotional and mental health issues of teens.

markfilose

Types of boarding schools have been discussed in this site.

Some boarding schools focus only on academics while others emphasizes on character-building along with educational qualification. Some teen boarding schools provide the military style environment and they help their students in building military-careers.

Sectarian schools are connected with religious communities for the financial-support. There are some schools that provide professional training, as well.

Therapeutic boarding schools offer therapies for the behavior modification. Few schools are designed to help out handicapped students.

stteen

Informative article on various types of boarding schools. This will help most of the parents to find more information on types of schools and plan accordingly.

Jack209

This article is amazing as it provides so much information about various types of boarding schools. Parents looking for a boarding school must be aware of this information. It is a must read article for everyone.

anon9683

Boarding Schools! It Seems very easy to get your troubled teen in some boarding school and then he/she would be come out as a thoroughly changed person. But sorry to say, this idea may not work if you do not choose a proper boarding school according to your child’s need. This information given here is good and can help parents of struggling teens.

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    • Sports boarding schools might prepare highly qualified athletes for ice hockey.
      By: Lorraine Swanson
      Sports boarding schools might prepare highly qualified athletes for ice hockey.
    • Boarding schools may have a specialized focus for college preparatory academics, religious focus, or specialized therapy.
      By: Elena Blokhina
      Boarding schools may have a specialized focus for college preparatory academics, religious focus, or specialized therapy.
    • Boarding schools are often specific to gender.
      By: Rob Byron
      Boarding schools are often specific to gender.
    • Troubled teens may be sent to a boarding school for discipline reasons.
      By: Gina Sanders
      Troubled teens may be sent to a boarding school for discipline reasons.
    • Boarding schools provide not only classroom instruction but also room and board for at least some of their students.
      By: Sergey Nivens
      Boarding schools provide not only classroom instruction but also room and board for at least some of their students.