The British Invasion

Boston Magazine - October 2000
by Gail Freidman

(Part of an article titled " The Ultimate Guide to New England's Private Schools)

It was with typical British self-assurance and reserve that a little bit of Harrow and Eton come this fall to Boston's western suburbs. About 30 children were issued red, white and blue uniforms and politely took their places in the British School of Boston, founded by a U.K. company to sell a little of the famous "public school system" to expats and Americans. Hidden away in Dedham, the school is one of three in the United States, following on the success of the first, in Washington, D.C.; another also opened this fall in Houston.

The British School adheres to Britain's national curriculum and the system is based not on grade levels but on achievement; while students of the same age work together, the brightest are allowed to move ahead more quickly. As a result, "very typically they'd be working two to three grade levels above what you'd expect of their chronological age, because they just haven't had a ceiling imposed," says Julie Saville, head of school.

The academic differences are apparent from the start. Even the program for 3-year olds is different from that in an American preschool, Saville says. While many American schools don't begin to teach reading until the first grade, for example, "we have children 3 to 5 who can read and write," she says.

Almost all the teachers are imported from the United Kingdom, bringing with them a more structured classroom style. "We don't have the children lined up in rows and everyone working in silence," says Bob Findlay, CEO of parent company Education Overseas Limited. "But there are high behavioral expectations."

That was particularly appealing to Andrea Hutton, whose children moved from a school for the gifted in Los Angeles last year to a public school in Wellesley. But even that town's lauded public schools, she says, were limited in the programs for the gifted they provided, and the British model seemed to offer more than even the area's selective private schools, she says.

"We were looking for a traditional, rigorous academic program that is challenging to our kids on their level," Hutton says. "Very good private schools consider their self-selection process enough and their programs enough, but there is still a difference between the brightest and the best and someone who is highly gifted. The British School curriculum is set up so there's no glass ceiling. There's no limit to the level of challenge."

The school has also drawn expatriates who prefer the stricter sense of discipline. One such mother says her children, ages 8 and 5, were overwhelmed at the exclusive private school they formerly attended in the western suburbs. Polite and quiet, "they were swarmed, " she says. " I like it when the teacher enters and the children stand up and say, Good morning. Here (in the United States), you're lucky it they raise their heads."

The Boston School is expected to grow substantially from its initial 30 students. Its Washington counterpart opened three years ago with 25 students and now has 230, more than half of them American or other nationalities. "The idea was to appeal to the British market, but we've found we've been awfully appealing to the American market too," Saville says.