- Children who are sent away by their parents to boarding
school risk severe psychological damage, according to a leading psychotherapist.
So bad is the problem that Nick Duffell, who has counselled former boarding
school pupils, has now set up a support group.
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- Boarding School Survivors (BSS) will run workshops for
sufferers of "boarding school syndrome" whose symptoms include
a hatred of the opposite sex, intimacy problems and obsession with work.
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- This week, Mr Duffell will tell a health conference in
London that boarders cope with the trauma of separation from their families
in the same way as victims of child sexual abuse do, by burying their emotions
so they are unable to form fulfilling relationships as adults. Successive
writers including George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh have portrayed boarding
school life as being filled with freezing showers and cold porridge. But
J K Rowling has helped to fuel a recent increase in inquiries from parents
of prospective pupils through the cosy picture she presents in her Harry
Potter books.
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- This is an alien image to boarding school "survivors".
James, 40, has spent the past two years in therapy to help him to come
to terms with the trauma he suffered after being sent to boarding school
at the age of eight. Bullied and sexually abused by pupils as well as the
school doctor, the computer technician said he is still unsure about his
sexuality as a result of his experiences and has nightmares about school.
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- "My parents would not allow me to take my teddy
bear with me and even now I can't walk into a toy shop and look at bears
without getting upset," he said. "There was this conspiracy about
not showing emotions, not crying." Many schools still accept boarders
as young as five but Mr Duffell said children should not be sent away before
puberty. "Boarding school pupils have to develop strategic survival
strategies," the former boarding school pupil added. "Children
develop a false self which is brittle but outwardly confident. As a result,
we are breeding emotionally constipated people."
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- However, some mental health experts think the case against
boarding schools is unproven. Peter Wilson is the head of a young people's
mental health charity called Young Minds. "There are casualties but
there are casualties in other schools as well," he said. "Boarding
schools have a responsibility to be aware of those who struggle but some
young people positively thrive on it."
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- The Independent Schools Council which represents more
than 1,000 private schools in Britain said great efforts had been made
to improve the relationship between adults and children in boarding schools.
"The people seeking help are those who have gone through bad experiences
a long time ago - boarding schools have changed enormously since then,"
said Dick Davison, a spokesman.
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