Sarah* had worked as a housemistress in a small English boarding school for four years when she learned the school was closing. In between grieving the loss of her job and searching for a new one she tried to understand why the closure was happening.
There were several factors at play, including the introduction of VAT to independent school fees and declining interest in single-sex education. But what she sees as another crucial reason is an ideological shift in what parents want for their children. “Unless there was a need, like parents being in the military, it was quite a struggle to find parents that felt they wanted to put their children into a boarding school,” she says, “especially at a younger age.”
For many years, the British boarding school loomed large in our cultural imagination. From Mallory Towers to Harry Potter, as well as being the backbone of the British hereditary monarchy (Prince and Princess of Wales’ eldest, George, 13, began at Eton this month), the picture painted was one of jolly hockey sticks, banquet halls, and lifelong friendships. At the other end of the scale was the boarding school as a place of scandal and abuse. As recently as last week, British actor Johnny Flynn said he thinks that private schools “should be burnt to the ground” after his own “traumatic” experience of bullying at boarding school.
How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps
The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.
NHS GP dR RADHA
The science
Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.
- The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
- This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
- We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
- Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.
How can we build gratitude?
Change your words
Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it.
Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.
Express it
This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.
How can we build gratitude?
Notice more
Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?
The basics
By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.
What to do
Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality.
- Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
- Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
- Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.
Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.
Starts at £22,995 for the smaller battery
Available with either a 40kWh battery or a larger 52kWh pack, that offers almost 255 miles, the latest, retro-inspired Renault 5 is both a joy to behold and a hoot to drive.
The interior has been lavished with a level of detail that’s typically reserved for more expensive cars.
4 min read
A champion of EV efficiency
It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.
It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.
Priced from £37,400
2 min read
It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.
The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.
The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.
With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.
It’s fast, goes a long way between stops and charges relatively quickly but the interior is bland, the onboard technology is infuriating and the experience is devoid of emotion.
All of its gadgetry can’t disguise the fact that performance is weak, even for a typically zippy EV, the ride is fussy at slower speeds and it’s not in the least bit enjoyable to drive on a country road.
- While good value (prices start at £17,935) for the 200-mile max range, there are more interesting options from Hyundai, Citroen and Renault for similar money.
- It attempts to wow with tech, much of which hinders, rather than helps.
- There’s no tangible benefit over mounting your phone to the dash.
- Simply an average driving experience, adequate range and slow charging speeds.
2 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Victorinox paring knife
It’s comfortable to hold, with a point sharp enough for scoring pastry.
ProCook cast iron pan
For unbeatable searing and heat-retention, cast iron is the top choice.
Tesco chopping board
Priced at just £22, I’ve yet to find another board that matches it for sheer value and quality.
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Pyrex jug
It is the perfect vessel for blending smooth sauces, melting butter, or warming stock. It won’t stain like plastic and the red measurements never fade.
Salter scales
“I’ve had my slim little set of Salter Disc Scales for over a decade, and I’m delighted to see they are still made to exactly the same reliable design today.”
Microplane grater
It uses photo-etched stainless steel teeth that stay razor-sharp for a decade, something the lookalike copycats simply can’t match.
Braun hand-held blender
It’s an essential for everything from making velvety soup to getting the lumps out of white sauce.
Bodum cafetiere
As well as delivering great results, cafetieres are easy to clean and there’s no ongoing filter paper costs or pod recycling to deal with.
5 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Oxo peeler
What truly sets it apart is the chunky, rubberised handle that absorbs pressure and stays completely non-slip, even if your hands are wet. It is inexpensive and incredibly durable.
Falcon pie dish
Made by fusing porcelain onto heavy-gauge steel for smooth durability, it is dishwasher, freezer, hob, air-fryer and oven-safe.
The golden rules for a happy, secure relationship
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Amir Levine, author of bestselling book , explains why we behave the way we do in love.
Golden rules for happy relationships
Start with your own behaviours
The foundation of a secure, connected life is being what I call CARRP: that means being consistent, available, responsive, reliable and predictable. All of these qualities can be enacted in small gestures every day.
Express your needs
People need consistency and connection to feel safe. This is not, ‘You hurt my feelings by never replying to me’, it’s more ‘this is the kind of contact that helps me feel secure’.
Golden rules for happy relationships
The appendix ‘inflammation’ rule
If a relationship repeatedly inflames your nervous system, you need to disengage and deprioritise it.
Lean on community
You don’t need hundreds of friends. You need people and places that regularly remind you that you belong.
Stop blaming childhood
Humans are much more complicated than: ‘this happened to you, therefore you are doomed to be anxious’.
Reach for a
secure script
When something unsettles you in a relationship, your first reaction is not always the most accurate one.
If you’re anxious, your brain may jump very quickly to: ‘this is the beginning of the end’. If you’re avoidant, your brain may say: ‘this person wants too much from me, I need to get away’. So one very practical thing you can always do is pause and ask: ‘What would a secure person do here?’
Loneliness elsewhere
When people talk about loneliness, they often assume it means you don’t have enough people in your life. But you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely if those relationships leave you feeling excluded, ignored or disconnected.
What to do
- Build a community that works for your temperament and gives you regular, reliable moments of connection.
- You can still be kind to people while not treating them as someone who belongs in your inner circle.
- Explain what you need. Sometimes people simply don’t realise how you are experiencing them.
- Check in with people: does this person actually feel that I’m reliable? Do they experience me as predictable? That’s the only way that you can start to become more secure.
Do some foods leave
you feeling hungry rather than satiated? Experts say there are…
Foods that leave you hungrier
A bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice
More refined cereals are digested quickly, and fruit juice, whilst one of your five-a-day, contains less fibre than whole fruit. This might mean you find yourself hungry again within 1-2 hours of eating this breakfast.
Swap the orange juice for a whole orange, the cereal for oats and milk or serve it with Greek yoghurt or a boiled egg. This would increase the fibre and protein content; two nutrients strongly linked with fullness.
Foods that leave you hungrier
These pastries are made primarily from refined flour and butter, and are relatively low in protein and fibre.
Toast and jam
Shop-bought packs can contain a lot of white rice, which is digested quickly, and the protein content is often modest.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Vegetable soup
On its own, it is often very low in protein and calories, so hunger can return quickly.
Unless it’s loaded with veggies, it’s probably pretty low in fibre.
Liquids are generally less filling as they require little chewing which may not trigger satiety signals.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Snack bars
They are ideal for a quick pick-me-up, but if reducing hunger is what you’re after, it’d be better to swap it out.
Low-fat yoghurt
A full-fat plain Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds tends to be much more filling due to the protein, fat and fibre.
On an empty stomach, it can actually increase your appetite.
What to eat instead
Instead of thinking about avoiding foods, think about what you can add to them.
- Add beans, lentils or shredded chicken to your vegetable soup and pasta.
- Thicken your smoothies with Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oats.
- Apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries and hummus with oat biscuits are better snack options than a pre-made snack bar.
- Have alcohol alongside a balanced meal containing protein and fibre.
How to age well
without pain
Will Harlow, a physiotherapist
for the over-50s and author of Independence for Life, shares
the key signs you’re ageing
badly – and what to do about it.
How to know
Ageing well is maintaining the ability to do what you want you want for as long as you want without needing help. Everyone is talking about longevity but what’s the point in living longer if the last decade is painful and you’re [totally] reliant on people?”
The signs to look out for
- The most obvious early warning sign of bad ageing is pain says Harlow.
- Another is losing confidence in doing daily tasks, which can quickly lead to a lack of independence.
- One call Harlow often receives is people calling after having a fall and struggling to get up.
4 min read
How to age without pain
Not just stopping
When people retire, they often put their feet up and stop. Your body really is use it or lose it.
Throughout our entire lives, Harlow says we need between seven and nine hours of sleep.
Social isolation
The lack of connection can increase the risk of premature death by
as much as 29 per cent.
Strength training
It really is the proxy for
overall independence.
The more muscle mass you have, the less chance of heart disease, diabetes, falls and even anxiety, depression and dementia.
The brain can be linked to muscle mass too, Harlow says. It’s not just about being able to lift things. It gives you more energy, better sleep and you’ll look and feel better.
How to age without pain
Daily habits
Do short bursts of exercise, between 30 and 60 seconds, in otherwise dead time during the day.
Stretch in bed
Take joints through a full range of motion for five minutes to loosen it before getting up.
Don’t crash diet
How to age without pain
Harlow advises 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight to stop muscle loss alongside resistance training.
Don’t wait
Harlow finds that many patients put off making a change to their lifestyle until their lives are consumed by pain.
For most people, it’s about reducing the number of times per week you’re exercising, not reducing intensity.
The three ageing tests to do
- Lie completely flat on the floor and get back up to a standing position using any technique. This should take less than 10 seconds.
See how many times you can sit on the chair and stand back up again in 30 seconds. Men should be aiming for more than 14 times and women 12.
The single-leg stand, which involves standing on one leg and balancing for 10 seconds. Everyone should be able to do that and for those under 65, Harlow asks them to do it with their eyes closed.
Despite the job market hiring fewer entry-level roles, employers are still looking for grads…
But you should be prepared to keep an open mind.
We’ve compiled the sectors hiring graduate roles, what degree is required, and what they pay.
The degrees to choose for a career
Hiring in the UK could
finally be on the up
47%
of employers offered entry-level
positions from July.
That is up nearly 15 per cent from the same period last year.
700,000
But graduate unemployment rose to six per cent in 2025 and 700,000 jobless graduates were claiming benefits.
Finance and insurance
- Around 42 per cent of UK finance and insurance employers say they will be open to graduate roles this summer.
- Business loan company Portman Finance Group has taken on 50 graduates over the past four years.
Portman graduates start on £36,000 for the two-year programme and the education you need to apply is a minimum “ABB” of A-levels, and a 2:1 or above university degree. But not in a specific subject.
Trade and logistics
What makes it particularly rewarding is that there’s always something to learn.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of trade and logistics companies will be giving graduates a go this year.
Salaries start at £30,000 with an uncapped bonus, rising to £50,000 plus a company car as a senior account partner.
Technology and IT
More than half (52 per cent) of UK tech and IT firms are actively looking for graduates.
Successful entry-level candidates can earn a basic salary of up to £35,000, with the opportunity to triple that within their first three years of working.
4 min read
Public sector, health
and social services
46 per cent of public sector, health and social services organisations are also ready to take graduates, according to a survey by Manpower.
- For example, Police Now runs a graduate programme into policing. They recruit graduates from any degree field, as long as they achieve a 2:2 or above. Starting salaries range from £31,164 to £42,210 depending on location and rising each year.
Can we treat guests without blowing our budget?
According to Waitrose, a dinner party revival is underway led by younger people trying to reduce the cost of getting together.
Always have bread
People will feast on the
ELLA RISBRIDGER, AUTHOR OF THE KITCHEN BOOK – GOOD FOOD FOR EVERY DAY
bread, and then need less fish/steak/expensive whatever. All small plates restaurants know this: this is why the first thing on the menu is always artisan bread and butter.
Use vegetables as centrepieces
Add pantry items
Graham’s recipes include a braised cabbage with a preserved lemon sauce, a roast cauliflower with saffron, and harrisa roast carrots with mango labneh.
How to host on a budget
Improve the everyday
Guests will always appreciate a stellar interpretation of the ordinary. Think lasagna or curry.
Cooking dinner for your guests is spoiling them – you’re being generous with your time, your effort, and your home. So don’t feel the need to go overboard elsewhere.
Ask for help
Ask friends to bring a contribution, be it a nibble or a pudding.
Big platter energy
[Presentation] can be the key to elevating something . Spaghetti and tomato sauce suddenly looks like a feast when tumbled on a lovely big plate, dressed with olive oil and parmesan and placed in the middle of the table.
Food writer and editor Eleanor Steafel
How to host on a budget
Taco party
Have one expensive filling, like shredded chicken, and two cheaper options, like refried beans, says Ella Risbridger.
Shop-bought ice cream is so easily zhuzhed up with the help of handy toppings, says Eleanor Steafel.
Somewhere between those two extremes are Britain’s ever shrinking fleet of boarding schools. While many independent schools have cited a rough few years since the VAT rule change, the overall number has increased from 973 in 2024 to 1,032 in 2026. By contrast, the total number of boarding schools registered with the Independent Schools’ Council (ISC) has decreased from 438 to 423 (3.4 per cent), with 11 closing in 2025 alone according to their latest census.
Since that publication in January, there have been several other closure announcements. And the schools that aren’t closing are struggling to bring in enough boarders to keep dorms running. Earlier this year, Salisbury Cathedral School in Wiltshire, founded 930 years ago, announced this would be the last year of boarding, only taking in day pupils from 2027.
The number of pupils at boarding schools has been declining since the 80s into the Noughties where numbers remained steady around 70,000 until the pandemic. But the most dramatic drop in the number of pupils was in the most recently published data, the ISC Census 2026, which found an 8.2 per cent drop in the number of boarding pupils.
Mike*, who was head of year at a boarding school that closed this year, put it bluntly: “The business model [required] we have a set number of full-time boarders to bring in enough income to cover everything. But we could never get enough. The people who were doing the job day-to-day, the housemasters, the teachers, they knew it was unsustainable, but nobody was prepared to accept that the actual boarding model was dying – until it was too late.”
Parental demands
There are parents for whom boarding is the best choice, giving a level of stability when the parents cannot provide it such as military members who move around regularly. Then there are the international students who want to buy into the prestige of the British boarding experience.
But both these groups are being somewhat reduced by the fees increase. Insiders have warned of a worsening armed forces recruitment crisis due to VAT, while the increase in international satellite schools launched by British schools has inadvertently siphoned off a chunk of reliable income. “Why would you send your child from Nigeria to Britain, paying £50,000 a year plus VAT, when there are British boarding schools set up now in Nigeria?” Mike says.
There are, of course, benefits to boarding that any parent may still find appealing irrespective of circumstance: immersive living, fewer distractions, a focus on independence and forging community. But historically, boarding has also relied, to an extent, on intergenerational enrolment – my children go because I went – something that more modern parents are rejecting.
Charlotte Sharpe, 60, was first sent away to boarding school aged eight. She assumed that, like the rest of her peers, she would then send her two children to boarding school at 13. “I used to say it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. So why wouldn’t I give that to my child too?” That was right up until the point they were viewing potential boarding schools.
“When we went to look, I had a visceral response. I literally felt sick and I said to my husband, ‘I can’t do this, I don’t want them to go to boarding school.'”
The strength of her reaction prompted a re-examination of what she previously called “the best years of her life”. In the years since (her children are now 30, 28 and 24, having attended day schools) she retrained as a psychotherapeutic counsellor, has specialised in working with ex-boarders, and works for an organisation called Boarding School Concern on a voluntary basis. She now believes that boarding is fundamentally harmful for early child development.
“In my view, there is definitely a potential harm to boarding. It’s really the cost. You have to adapt to being away from home and it’s really the cost of that adaptation down the line. If you’re sending a child below 11 (and I would almost take that up to 13) it’s an attachment trauma. We should be with our primary caregiver, and so you will have to adapt to being taken away from them.” The result of this separation, she says, fosters an inappropriate and unhealthy independence and can manifest later in life as difficulty with intimate relationships, a lack of trust, and not allowing yourself to be vulnerable.
It’s certainly true that parents are more likely to send older children now, than younger. Across ISC schools 12 per cent total are registered as boarders vs day schoolers. That rises to 30 per cent for sixth form (age 16 to 18) and drops to 3 per cent for junior pupils (age seven to 13).
But Sharpe argues that even after 13, boarding can exacerbate difficulties children face at any school. “Post 13, other things come into play: your previous attachment with your parents, how far you are from home, how often you see them, whether you’re good at sport, whether you’re clever, whether you’re tall, whether you’re short, the colour of your skin, your sexuality.”
Rachel Bailey, headmistress at Benenden School, an all-girls boarding school in Kent attended by Princess Anne, says that they have seen a marked change in parents’ involvement in their children’s lives. “We’ve always liked it when parents came to visit us and we encouraged them to do so, but we’ve also become more flexible on the weekends. The days of every weekend being a closed weekend where pupils had to stay in school are pretty much gone.”
Matthew Judd, head and CEO of Christ’s Hospital in Sussex agrees. Founded in 1552, the school is most famous for their Tudor uniforms and marching into lunch, as well as the fact 80 per cent of students are on fee-assisted places. He explains that “parents want the weekend to be family time, it’s more important than ever, so we now no longer have lessons on a Saturday”. Both schools have also introduced day students to broaden their appeal and further integrate into the local community, with Christ’s Hospital extending fee assistance to locals this year.
Then there are the “flexi-boarders”. Robin Fletcher, CEO of Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA), says: “Parents haven’t necessarily rejected boarding, they’ve changed what they want from it.”
Will Dixon is the COO of Lord Wandsworth College, a co-ed boarding school in Hampshire. The school was an early adopter of a more flexible model – back in 2013, they introduced both weekly boarding (where students return home on weekends) and flexi-boarding (where students board three nights a week). In recent years, many others have followed suit.
Dixon says that as a result, “we’ve not seen a drop in the number of boarders. What we have seen a change in is the make-up of what those boarders look like.” He says that flexi-boarders now make up about 45 per cent of their student body and it appeals to parents (who like the flexibility and reduced expense) and children (who like that bit more time with their friends).
“I think, as in any sector that goes through change, it depends on our ability to adapt to match what our customer, our parent body and pupils, wants. Actually, over that time our school has grown significantly, and a huge amount of that has been fuelled by that flexi boarding market.”
Part of the parental reservation to boarding school centres around pastoral care. Sharpe says that the best time she ever learned anything about her children – and got to the heart of what they were facing – was in the car on the way home from school. “You can ask questions and when they get home you can see they’re not being themselves, so you keep asking until you hopefully get to the bottom of it.”
She says that there is no one doing that for you at boarding school on an individual basis. “You’re in a house with maybe 20 to 40 children and a house parent and a matron. These are lovely people doing their best but they cannot properly ‘parent’ that many children.”
Dixon says that parents have found flexi-boarding has countered that. “What we’ve found from parents is that when they’re at home, they’re really at home and it’s quality time between parent and child. They can even sometimes get a proper conversation out of their teenager which is a rare thing. And then when they’re at school they can really engage and have that social element.”
Of course, parenting isn’t just about the level of contact with a child – it’s also about the relationship that you develop. Many modern parents have adopted a more “gentle parenting” approach that focuses on empathy, respect, understanding and boundaries that runs counter to the traditional strict rigidity of many boarding schools. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sarah says: “I think the gentle parenting parents aren’t the kind to be sending their child to boarding school.”
But Bailey, head at Benenden, sees their success in part down to the fact they have adapted to a gentle parenting framework. “We go out of our way to make sure that the students feel heard. The old school view of boarding: that you come in and do what you’re told and there’s no give at all, that’s not the case.” The boundaries that the school sets, she says, are clear and communicated both with parents and the children, and it is precisely because of this they continue to thrive.
The schools spoken to for this story all emphasise the importance of options. “One of the joys of the British education system is choice,” Bailey says. “And the reason that is so good is because children are individuals and what suits one does not necessarily suit another.”
Simultaneously, organisations like Boarding School Concern continue to push for more interrogation into what the choice to board, made by well-meaning parents, can mean for their children – in the short and long term. “I wouldn’t want to be critical of anyone else’s [parenting] choice, because I think these choices are being made without all the information,” Sharpe says. “Until the potential harmful impact of boarding is more widely out there and accepted, parents will continue to make choices without all the information.”
In the meantime, the British boarding schools that remain open are fighting for the business of a shrinking pool of parents who still believe in the benefits of their model – and have to have ever deeper pockets to afford to pay for it.
*Name changed for privacy reasons