The 14-year-old son of Datin Meera Sen shares his experience as a student at Eton College, UK
Datin Meera, why do you want to send Kayden to boarding school, and what do you hope for him to gain from his experience there?
Sending my only son to boarding school was never in my plans when he was born. Growing up, Kayden had many close friends at primary school who left every year and moved schools when their parents were posted overseas.
When he lost both his paternal grandparents in the same year around the age of 5, we realised the importance of instilling independence and responsibility, especially for an only child. At the age of 10, we explored the assessment process for boarding schools in Australia and UK and Kayden received some good offers for 13+ entry into senior schools.
He entered Eton College in September 2020. Although it was not the most ideal time to start boarding during Covid, the school has been excellent in providing them as close a boarding experience as possible while keeping safe within the government’s education guidelines.
I think it has been emotionally harder for us as parents letting our only child go, but we are happy to see that he has settled into boarding life well and is gaining experience in new areas, as the school has a breadth of extracurricular activities and unusual sports (such as Fives, Field Game and Rowing) which he did not have the opportunity to pursue at his previous school.
See also: 14 Boarding Schools Favoured By Members Of Royal Families
Kayden, how do you find boarding school life, what is your favourite subject, and what is the school doing to cope with the pandemic?
Boarding school life is definitely different, for a number of reasons. I find it fun as you get to see your friends more often, and the fact that you are living by yourself gives you the responsibility to take control of your own life, compared to a normal day school.
I do not have a favourite subject currently, however I find that I enjoy new subjects that were offered to me, such as Latin and Japanese!
During the pandemic, the school tried its best to keep its doors open and revert back to normal boarding life and sports fixtures, where possible. Early last year, we had one term on Zoom, which I sat for the entire duration in Malaysia. However, since May 2021, the school has continued to do face-to-face lessons with some hybrid Zoom occasions, as the rules started to loosen.
From February 21, masks are no longer required to be worn, however we still have the option of taking lateral flow tests twice a week
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