i have a universe containing two stories that take place at boarding schools– one school is for girls only and the other is for boys only
unfortunately, i've never even seen a boarding school irl, so all my knowledge of it comes from a separate peace, catcher in the rye, and another book that i keep forgetting the name of lol
so if any of you can help me have accurate details, that would be amazing!! a couple main questions i have are:
-how far are the dorms from the classrooms?
-what are the meals like?
-what are the classes like (size, subject, etc)?
-where is the school itself? near a small town, in the countryside, a short drive from the city?
-what's the general school culture like?
these are just the big things i wanna know but i'll take literally anything you can give me lol
and if any of you need help writing about private/christian schools, i have years of experience to share :))))
thank you!!
My mum used to work at a boarding school that I visited a lot (it was quite expensive, was a private school, was Roman Catholic, was all-girls, and was in England if that changes what you use from this).
- Dorms: They differed for each year.
Years 7 to 8 (Ages 11 - 13) shared dorms from 6 to 8 people. They were organised by house. Each house had 2 of these dorms, and each set of 2 had a common room attached to them. They were in the same building as the year 11s. Lights out is 9:00.
Years 9 to 10 (Ages 13 - 15) shared dorms of about 4. They were still organised by house. Each house had 4 of these dorms, and they all went to the same common room. They were in the same building as the canteen. Lights out is 10:00.
Year 11 (Ages 15 - 16) shared dorms of 2 to 3 (they got a choice about who they'd be with, but it switches each term). Each house had 8 of these, and they all went to the same common room. They were in the same block as year 7/8, but on the higher floors. There is no lights out.
6th Form/ Years 12 and 14 (Ages 16 - 18) shared dorms of 2 or were on their own (they got to say their preferences for each, and each person typically got to be in their own bedroom for 1 term per year). They are all in a separate block, next to the theatre (yes, a full sized one for school productions). Each room has an en suite, and the beds are single.
- Meals: Very good. For breakfast, there is cereal and toast, as well as Full English, scrambled eggs, croissants, pan au chocolat, waffles, etc. For lunch and dinner each day, there are 3 non-vegetarian options, and 2 vegetarian options. There is also a salad bar and a dessert table. Each girl can have as much or as little as they like for each meal. They must turn up for all meals, or they are considered missing and get punished.
- Classes: 55 minutes long, about 20 girls in Year 7 - 11 classes, about 10 in Sixth Form classes. There are 6 classes in a day. (2 before break, 2 before lunch, 2 after lunch). Assembly/Prayer is at 8:00, Period 1 is 8:30, Period 2 is 9:35, Break is 10:30 to 11:00. Period 3 is 11:05, Period 4 is 12:05. Lunch is 1:00 to 2:00. Period 5 is 2:05, Period 6 is 3:05. End of classes is at 4:05.
- Location: It is about a 10 minute drive to get to a medium-sized town.
- Culture: Not too sure what you're asking there, sorry.
Extra info:
There are 4 houses. About 15 per year per house.
Each year has around 60 girls, and new girls tend to show up in year 9 (when GCSE courses start), and Lower Sixth (the start of A-Levels).
There is a system of cards for rewards and punishments: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Blue is for very good behaviour; 1 blue card can get a small bar of chocolate, 5 blue cards (very rare for someone to get that many) means you get to order up to £10 of pizza. Green is for good behaviour; 2 cards is for a small bar of chocolate, 5 is for a large bar of chocolate. Yellow is for bad behaviour; 2 cards mean a half-hour detention at lunch, 3 cards in a week mean an hour detention after classes, 5 cards in a week mean 2 hour-detentions after classes, and any more than that means you're talking to adults about your issues. Orange is for quite bad behaviour; 1 means a half-hour detention, 2 means an hour detention, 3 means two hour-detentions, 4 means talking to people. Red is for extremely bad behavour; 1 is for hour detentions after class for a week and talking to people, any more than 2 in a term means that the child is probably going to be suspended.
Aside from the cards, the punishment for not signing in/out at meals or when going to/from town is having detentions each lunchtime for a week, and having to check in each hour on Saturday and Sunday.
There is a shop on school site, which is open from 10:30 - 11:00, and 4:30 to 8:00.
Girls can go to town on the weekends in groups. Year 7 have to be in groups of 5 or more. Year 8 is 4 or more. Year 9 and 10 is 3 or more. Year 11 and Sixth Form have to be in pairs or more. Years 7 to 9 can go to the nearest medium-sized town, but 10 to 13 can go to a larger one that's bit further away.
Every 3 weeks there's an exeat weekend, where girls can go home with their parents (or a friend's parents if they're given permission).
And… That's all I can think of. Hope this helped!
ahhh this is so helpful tysm!!
