What is everyday life at a British boarding school really like? Emil spent a year in Year 12 at Rossall School on England’s west coast. He tells us about his first impressions, lessons and life in the boarding house, weekends with friends, trips to Manchester and, of course, his football experiences, including training sessions with Manchester City. He also shares the moments that have stayed with him most from his time in England.
Hi Emil, it’s lovely to have you here. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
I’m Emil, I’m 17 years old and I live near Hamburg. I enjoy playing football and I spent the last school year at Rossall School in England.
What made you decide to spend a year at a boarding school in England?
I’d actually always wanted to go to boarding school. And England seemed like the obvious choice, mainly because of the language. I wanted to improve my English because, naturally, you’re not challenged to use it as much at German schools as you are in England. I also think it’s great to make international friends. So I thought: Why not just give it a go? And it really was a lovely experience.
Can you remember your first day? What was it like?
Yes, my dad took me there. We flew to England together. Of course, everything was new at first, but I settled in relatively quickly. I was in a boarding house with really nice houseparents. They showed me around and made it much easier for me to settle in. There were also quite a lot of German students at the school. That made it easy to get to know people quickly and gave you a starting point.
Did you feel homesick?
At the beginning, I was a bit homesick, of course. Especially because the first half term was also the longest. I think it was seven or eight weeks. After that, it was usually only five or six weeks until the next holidays. But after that, I hardly felt homesick at all. As a teenager, it was actually quite nice to get away from home for a while. Of course, I was still always happy to go home again. Because of the food, my mum and everything else.
What was your boarding house like, and what was your room like?
At first, I had a really small single room. But later, someone moved out and I was able to take over his room. That one was actually quite big. Overall, the rooms were fairly simply furnished: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe – nothing extravagant.
Did you have your own bathroom?
No. Some students had their own bathrooms, but not everyone. I think it was organised so that students who had been at the school longer had certain privileges. I had to use the bathrooms in the corridor.
Did you ever wish you could share a room with someone?
No, I actually liked it that way. I was spending time with other people almost all the time anyway. I mainly used my room for sleeping or working during Prep Time (homework time). So it was nice to have somewhere I could enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. The younger students usually shared rooms, while the older students, from Year 12 onwards, were more likely to have single rooms. And in Year 13, everyone had a single room, some of them absolutely huge.
What were your houseparents like?
Really lovely! Mr and Mrs Dixon. Mrs Dixon even had a connection to Germany, which made it a little easier to connect with her. They were both incredibly helpful. You could always go to them if you needed anything. It was all very straightforward. Mr Dixon, for example, also helped me with physics. Whenever I had questions, I could go to him and he would take the time to help me. They really were fantastic.
Did you make friends quickly? And who would you still consider your closest friends today?
That actually worked out really well. I had lots of friends. One of my closest friends was Attiso from South Africa. He also played for the national team in Congo. There weren’t that many Germans in my boarding house, so I mainly spent time with international students there. In the other houses, though, there were lots of Germans, and I usually went to meals with them. My closest friends were from Mexico, China and South Africa.
Those are very different cultures. How did you all get along living together?
It was actually pretty easy. There was one thing that connected us all: we all played football. Also, the others had been at the school longer than me and simply welcomed me into their group. JJ from Mexico, for example, had already been at the school for four years and has now even become House Captain. That’s a Year 13 student who represents the house and takes on responsibilities. We all spoke English and had a lot of fun together. We had so many funny evenings.
And what about humour – does everyone have the same sense of humour?
Yes, pretty much. We all had the same sense of humour. It worked really well.
Were there ever any arguments?
Not many, actually. Of course, sometimes you just wanted to be alone in your room. But personally, I never had any major problems with anyone or anything that really needed sorting out. If there was an argument, the houseparents would deal with it. Or the House Captain, who represents the house within the school. Smaller issues could usually be sorted out between ourselves.
What was the sense of community like between the five boys’ houses and three girls’ houses?
It was actually really good. Especially through football, you had daily contact with students from other houses. Of course, you got along better with some people than others, but overall, the sense of community was really good. There were some strict rules, though. As a Year 12 student, for example, you weren’t allowed to leave the house after 10 pm.
Were there competitions between the houses?
Yes, I think House Singing was the biggest competition. Although we came last in that one! There was also House Football. I can’t remember any other competitions right now.
What were your weekends like?
Towards the end of the year, we went on a trip to Manchester. You needed permission for that, though. It was sometimes quite difficult to get, especially if you wanted to go with a larger group. We took the train to Manchester, explored the city and did a bit of shopping.
And what else did you do at weekends?
On Saturdays, we were always allowed to order takeaway food. That was actually the highlight! Officially, we weren’t allowed to do that during the week. But our house was pretty relaxed about it. The houseparents weren’t too strict about students coming through the door with food deliveries. So we often ordered food during the week as well.
That makes it sound as though the school food wasn’t exactly the highlight.
Well, it was okay. There were good days and bad days.
Were you allowed to leave the campus at weekends and visit the nearby towns?
Yes, we could get “Town Leave”. There were two towns nearby, Fleetwood and Cleveleys. They’re not exactly major cities, but you could get something to eat and do a bit of shopping there. English small towns are quite something, of course. There wasn’t an awful lot to do there.
And what if you wanted to go away for the whole weekend?
That was possible too, but you had to apply for permission. You could fly home, for example, or have your family visit and go away with them for the weekend, staying somewhere overnight. I did that once when my family came to visit. I only flew home myself during the school holidays.
Were there any traditions at Rossall School that made you think, “Wow, what’s going on here?”
Yes, definitely Chapel. We had Chapel twice a week, which was a service or assembly in the school chapel. When I experienced it for the first time, I found it a bit strange. To me, it almost felt a bit cult-like. Suddenly everyone stood up, then we sang, and afterwards the Headmaster said a few words. It was really unusual at first. But eventually, you got used to it.
Were there any other traditions that particularly stood out to you?
Every now and then, we had moments of silence. For example, when something political had happened, like a terrorist attack or something like that. There was a central square on campus where the whole school would gather, and we’d stand together in silence for one or several minutes.
Let’s talk about the differences between Germany and England. What was different about everyday life at Rossall School?
Here in Germany, I hardly ever have breakfast before school. I usually don’t have time for it. In England, it was different. You’d go downstairs in the morning, meet up with the others and go to breakfast together. I think that was always around 7:30 or 7:45 am. We also had a proper lunch break. I think it was from 12:40 to 1:40 pm. You had to go to lunch during that time, but you had about an hour’s break altogether. We don’t have anything like that at my school in Germany.
What else was different?
You definitely had to be much more independent. Although our laundry was done for us. There was a Matron, a member of staff in the boarding house who took care of things like that, among other responsibilities. But apart from that, you had to organise quite a lot of things yourself.
What surprised you most about boarding school life?
How much school we had! I really hadn’t expected that. Lessons started at 8:30 am and went on until 4:15 pm. And then we had Prep Time in the evenings, which was supervised study time, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. That was quite a lot of school. Especially towards the end, when exams were coming up, it got pretty exhausting.
What was your timetable like, and which subjects did you choose?
It was different every day. I took Business Management, German, Higher Level Mathematics, Design Technology, Physics and English. I also had to take German and Maths, as they were compulsory. With the other subjects, I deliberately wanted to try something that I wouldn’t normally have at school in Germany. That’s why I chose Design Technology, for example.
Design Technology is a subject that many German students aren’t familiar with. What exactly do you do in it?
You look at things like why a particular product has been designed the way it has. Take a handle, for example: Why does it have that particular shape? Why was it designed like that? For our IA, which is an internal assessment, we had to analyse a product and think about how it could be improved. If you’re looking at a cupboard, for example, you have to think about how to make it more functional. Ergonomics also plays a role. You look at different body heights, for example, and consider how high a door or handle should be positioned so that as many people as possible can use it comfortably. I found that really interesting.
How big were your classes?
That was actually what surprised me most: how small the classes were! Design Technology was by far my smallest class. There were only two of us. That was intense!
That’s a different way of learning compared to Germany, isn’t it?
Yes, the teachers pay much more attention to each individual student. That’s obviously a good thing. But for people who don’t like putting their hands up or aren’t particularly active in class discussions, it might not always be that easy.
There’s nowhere to hide.
No, not at all!
Did you have a favourite subject?
Yes, Business Management. That was the subject I was most interested in, and the teacher explained everything really well. I think there were six or eight students in the class. I also found the topics interesting, like the basics of business administration, cash flow and things like that. Basically, everything you need to run a business.
You also mentioned Physics. What did you think of that subject?
Physics was really difficult. The sciences were generally quite demanding at the school. I don’t know whether that’s the case everywhere in England. There was a lot of maths involved in Physics in particular. I wasn’t used to that at all from Germany. We hadn’t done nearly as much maths in Physics there. It was pretty challenging.
How did you cope with English in lessons?
Of course, it was difficult at first, especially in the sciences. There were lots of technical terms I didn’t know. But over time, you got used to them and it became easier and easier to follow.
How long did it take before you felt comfortable with the language in lessons?
Maybe two or three weeks. Some teachers also had quite strong accents, of course, which sometimes made them harder to understand. But overall, it happened pretty quickly.
Were there any subjects you struggled with so much that you needed extra help?
Not really. If there was something I didn’t understand, I’d ask JJ, for example. He was really good at school and would help me. Physics was particularly difficult because there was so much maths involved. But apart from that, I managed pretty well.
Did you have a favourite teacher?
Yes, my Business Management teacher. He was just really good at explaining things. He also had quite a strong accent, but that wasn’t a problem. Whenever you had questions, he was always happy to help. So he was definitely my favourite teacher.
Let’s move on to one of your favourite topics: football. That was also one of the reasons you chose Rossall School, wasn’t it?
Yes, definitely. The programme with Manchester City looked particularly appealing, of course.
And what was the partnership with Manchester City actually like?
The partnership with Manchester City really appealed to me and played a big part in my decision to go to Rossall. In the end, though, I would have liked a bit more involvement with Manchester City. The two or three training sessions with them and the chance to attend a match against Leverkusen were really cool, but I would have liked to have done more.
And what was the actual football training at Rossall School like?
It was really good. Very good, actually. We did something football-related almost every day. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we had regular training sessions. On Tuesdays, we had gym sessions before school, so strength and fitness training, and on Thursdays, we had gym after school. So there was something going on pretty much every day.
And what about matches? Who did you play against?
We always played against other schools. That was usually quite funny because sometimes there were German students at the other schools too. When they started swearing in German, it was pretty amusing. But the matches were also played at quite a high level. The other schools obviously wanted to win too, so they were just as competitive. We certainly didn’t win every match.
Did you take part in any other extracurricular activities besides football?
No, not really. I didn’t have much time for anything else. School finished at 4:15 pm, and sometimes training started as early as 4:30 pm. After that, we’d go for dinner, and then it was already time for Prep. So there wasn’t much free time left during the week.
Looking back now, what was your best experience? What stands out most in your memory?
It was actually my Business Management exam. It was a mock exam, and I got the best result in the entire year group! There were lots of students who had already been at the school for several years. So getting the best result was a real ego boost. Of course, I told my parents straight away. That was definitely a moment when I thought: Wow!
And what was your worst moment?
I was really ill once. I was out of action for about a week and a half. At first, I’d actually just wanted to catch up on some sleep. But then I suddenly became really ill. I felt like I had every symptom imaginable. There was a Medical Centre at the school, but it was quite a long way from our boarding house. Our campus was really big, after all. I probably had to walk 500 to 700 metres to get there. And when you’re really ill, that’s no fun at all. Especially in the wind and rain. That was definitely the worst time I had there.
How were you supported during that time?
Well, the Matron came to check on me. The houseparents also kept asking how I was feeling and whether I needed anything. But if I needed medication, I had to go to the Medical Centre. We weren’t allowed to keep medication in our rooms. At the Medical Centre, they then took care of me.
If you could start all over again tomorrow, would you do anything differently, or would you repeat the year exactly as it was?
I think I’d do pretty much the same thing again. Maybe I should have tried to get to know more students from the other boarding houses earlier on. But apart from that, it really was a great time.
Has your year in England influenced your ideas about your future?
I’d definitely like to do something international. My English is obviously much better now, and I can easily imagine using it in my future career. But I don’t have a specific direction in mind yet. I didn’t have one before either, and the year in England hasn’t really changed that. We’ll see what happens.
Would you say you’ve also developed personally during the year?
Yes, definitely. My parents have told me that I’ve become more mature. When you’re away from home for a year, you simply have to do a lot of things yourself. At home, quite a few things are taken care of for you. At boarding school, you have to look after a lot of things yourself and ask for help when you need it. So I’d say I’ve become more mature and more independent. Those are the two biggest changes for me.
What would you say to young people who are thinking about going to a British boarding school?
I’d definitely recommend it. You don’t have to commit to a whole year straight away if you don’t feel ready for that. You can start with half a year and then extend your stay. Or you can plan to go for a whole year and shorten your stay if you realise it’s not quite right for you. We had all of those situations at our school.
Emil, thank you so much for sharing these fascinating insights into your time at Rossall School with us. We wish you all the very best for the future!