For one day a week at least, you'll find him standing at the gates of the school he's run for 20 years - Seven Kings High School in Redbridge, Essex - making sure his pupils are well mannered as they arrive. Peter Symonds College in Winchester, for example, is the only sixth-form college to offer boarding (the college is also unique in that it is the official sixth form of the Falkland Islands). It has 80 boarders in a student population of 2,700 and is always oversubscribed for boarding places.. "This year our Year 11s achieved a 100 per cent five A*-C GCSE pass rate Boarders performed on a par with day students. And at A-level both male and female boarders outperformed their day student counterparts."The school plans a major expansion of boarding facilities with the building of a discrete Year 12 boarding house, which will expand boarding availability throughout the years.There is something for everyone in the state boarding sector: primary and secondary provision, single sex and co-ed schools, comprehensives and grammar schools.
"Our calendar lists 90 different clubs and activities held during a normal week at lunchtime and after school," says Boorman Education standards are also very high. "Ten years ago, how would a parent in London get to know about a state boarding school in Keswick?"Even parents who live near a school are opting to board their children. At Wymondham College in Norfolk more than 50 per cent of the 1,037 pupils are boarders. The school's acting director Andrew Boorman says that boarding is flourishing, with many of the boarders coming from a far closer geographical area than they did even a decade ago.This isn't just busy parents being practical: many believe boarding offers a life-enriching experience. This ranges from £4,000 to £9,000 per year (compared with a similar sum per term in the independent sector), making it a viable option for many families.David Brown, head of boarding at Keswick School, a comprehensive in Cumbria, which takes just under 50 boarders out of 1,000 pupils, says parents, who may live hundreds of miles outside the catchment area, are attracted by the school's academic performance."There's so much more information for parents now, in terms of league tables, Ofsted reports and the internet," says Brown.
Parents are also waking up to its attractions (though many, many more have never even heard of the apparent oxymoron of a state boarding school).For time-pressed parents, juggling demanding jobs and long commutes, boarding is an attractive and practical solution but one that is usually beyond the family budget. At a state boarding school, education is free but there is a fee to cover boarding costs. Schools can now bid for funds from a £5m central pot, due for release in 2006. A second funding round is expected to at least match this.The Government isn't alone in finding plenty to recommend in this low-profile sector. There used to be many times this number before boarding became politically unfashionable.
