I have seen that, @MAandMEmom, and frankly, those are the cases that surprise me the most. One, because you can leave junior boarding school after 8th, applying for 9th grade admission. Many do. Two, because if ANYONE should be well prepared for boarding school it should be those kids attending junior boarding school - students who’ve had some academic rigor and who have lived away from home before. It’s a lot of $ to tack on an extra year of private school if its not needed. From my experience, the kids who repeat are seldom the public school students where one could argue that they might not be as well prepared due to the relative rigor of their previous schooling. Many times, I think the decision to repeat is less driven by athletics and more driven by a family’s desire to attend a more prestigious school and being a little older/further along in coursework either does provide an edge or is perceived to provide an edge in admissions.