Boarding School Questions

[The Observer]

Hey all! I'm TO, and I was wondering if you guys could possibly help me out on a few questions I had for the novel I'm writing.

It's set in a boarding school, which has gotten a reputation for "the place rich people send their problem children" in Massachusetts. The only problem is, I've never actually attended a boarding school, and while I have a good enough idea about how they work, I feel like I'm going to slip up on the little things and that drives me crazy.

So I was wondering - have any of you ever attended a boarding school? And are there any little experiences, rules, quirks, that you would mind sharing with me, so that i can make the school in my novel as realistic as possible? That would be a huge help to me, and I'd really appreciate it.

My main concern is my need to justify a large, "high school party" early on in the narrative. You know the type, where the music's a little too loud and there are several not quite completely legal substances circling amongst the minors. Unfortunately...it's a boarding school, and I know that that kind of party would be difficult to pull off in that environment. So if somebody could help me with that I'd be beyond thankful.

Thanks so much for your time!

[roteral]

I think they have curfews on the weekdays, but they could probably pull off a party on the weekends

[LizW65]

Could it be a supposedly respectable "mixer" type dance with another boarding school, into which illegal substances are surreptitiously introduced?

[trboturtle]

Here's something useful.....
https://sites.google.com/site/dbsboarding/Home/boarding-school-rules-and-policies/boarding-school-rules-and-policies

http://www.himalischool.org/rules-regulations-general-school-rules.php

I just goggled "boarding school rules" and fund a bunch of schools that have posted their rules on-line. I think you could go through, and mix and match them to suit your story....

Craig