I have worked in the UK boarding sector since 1996 and in that time boarding has changed massively, particularly with regard to provision for international students.
There are currently 25,079 non-British pupils in UK boarding schools (ISC census 2022) whose parents live in other countries, which represents 4.6% of the total ISC pupil population. That percentage has remained pretty consistent in the time I have been involved in the sector and in fact, is slightly lower than it was 30 years ago. But what has changed is the proportion of boarders who are international, which has gone from 17% to 45% because the total boarding population has decreased by 34% in the same time period.
The presence of international boarders in our schools is a massive benefit to our children, who are learning how to live and work in a global village. All pupils in UK boarding schools, as well as in boarding schools across the world, have the opportunity to form lifelong friendship networks across the world which will be useful to them as well as giving us all hope for a more peaceful and tolerant future.
Provision for non-native speakers has improved massively in recent years and I am delighted to have been a part of BAISIS since its inception in 1997. BAISIS works to define and share best practice in academic and pastoral provision, by helping teachers with practical strategies to support non-native speakers of English in their classroom learning as well as boarding staff with strategies to integrate all nationalities in the boarding house.
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