I see American boarding schools being discussed a lot in this community but not much related those that we have in England.
So my question is the same as the title. How do the top British boarding schools like Eton, Sevenoaks and Winchester compare to top American schools such as Exeter, Andover and Choate in terms of academics, campus facilities and extracurricular activity offerings?
Would be great if the specific examples that I mentioned be used in the comparison, as these are the options that I am considering at present for myself. Thanks.
Similar across the board. Obviously the UK schools follow the Cambridge curriculum and the US schools do not. The UK schools have a formal dress code; the US schools - at least the ones mentioned - do not.
Would guess that theres a cultural difference in that the US schools are very oriented to (trying to) increasing access to kids from a wide spectrum of financial resources. Do people still put kids down at birth for some UK schools? Only 20 years ago this was the case. Financial aid is just less of a thing in the UK.
This is pretty much as far as I got when my D30 became interested in boarding schools. Her vision for her secondary school curriculum was not compatible with the UK model. More specifically, it seemed potentially workable through the GSCE level, but the AS/A-Level part was sort of the opposite of what she was looking for at that stage.
I wasn’t too surprised, though, because this is sort of what killed my S24’s interest in UK universities for undergrad (although we did get as far as a post-offer visit to St Andrews). If you are looking forward to the more exploratory US approach that basically continues through the first couple years of undergrad, the UK approach is probably not going to be very appealing.
Anyway, my two cents is this is really the first thing people need to be thinking about, academically at least. Once you know what curriculum model you prefer–which really extends all the way through undergrad–you can figure out which schools with that model are otherwise the best fits for you.
But I would personally never advise trying to pick based on which school was “better” in some abstract sense. Because in my view, a school being very good at doing something that is not right for you is not actually helpful.
I attended a British boarding (“Public”) school many years ago and my kids now attend a US one. I’d say there are more similarities than differences - academic rigor, demographics, etc. Main differences are, as some people have already pointed out, dress codes and the fact that everyone is preparing for A levels, which really aren’t comparable to APs. Other big thing is alcohol. As an American, I was kind of shocked that you could drink on campus (in certain settings) in your final year.
While promoting his 2023 film The Holdovers, actor Paul Giamatti described American boarding schools as “fake” British schools. He explained that these institutions use an affected routine and style to copy classical British models of learning.
He stated that American prep schools try to replicate old British boarding school traditions and classical education methods
But at this point, I really don’t think you can say that. Some US boarding schools have been around for more than 100 years, plenty of time to evolve their own rituals and pedagogy, no matter their origins. Perhaps, however with the exception of the newly opened Harrow in the US with their boaters.
Paul Giamatti attended Choate in the '80’s. I can’t speak for that school specifically, but many schools started to evolve in the late 60’s; Choate started evolving in the 70’s with the merger with Rosemary Hall. Outside the architecture, I doubt he’d recognize the school today.
I can’t say the same for the Eton, Harrow, and Winchester.
Our D30 visited five boarding schools (and just started at one). None struck me as remotely British, they all seemed similar to US colleges we knew. That said, none were in New England, although I don’t know if that would make a difference.
