To some, boarding school is a concept that doesn’t cross the mind. For sophomore Max Bates, boarding school was an experience to remember.
“I went to boarding school in New Zealand halfway through seventh grade and then I returned back [after] eighth grade finished.” Bates said.
While being a New Zealand citizen and having grandparents living, there were great reasons to attend this school. Bates discussed the other benefits of boarding school.
“[I enjoyed] the sense of community. Boarding school is basically a massive sleepover with all your friends and a little bit more structure,” said Bates. “You get a lot of time to do stuff [with your friends].”
Being so far away from home can be emotionally taxing, but for Bates, there was not a heavy issue of homesickness.
“[I left] during the middle of COVID so it wasn’t necessarily difficult being away from home. I have a lot of connections in New Zealand. I have [old] friends and [I still talk to them]. Bates said. “I went to New Zealand last summer and I got in contact with people who have a beach house next to ours.”
Bates explained how the education and curriculum differed from Blue Valley to his boarding school.
“To some extent [the education there was better], they had seven classes [or levels] for different groups of people. For the smartest kids, there were higher level classes and then the seventh was the lowest class in our grade for the kids that needed extra help,” said Bates.
While he enjoys Blue Valley, Bates misses the friends and culture of boarding school.
“If I could go back [to boarding school] I would. It just gives you the community and more time to spend with friends than you would in normal school,” Bates said. “You’re with them 24/7, you go away sometimes on the weekends, but you build amazing connections because you’re with them for a majority of the day.”
One piece of advice Bates gives to anyone going to boarding school is to make as many friends as you can.
Bates said, “Just be nice and be friends with everybody because they’ll just make school more fun.”
