Editing Boarding school (section)

====House system====
[[File: Croydon Shubra Hall PLC.JPG|thumb|right|Boarding house of the [[Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]]]
[[File:TASdorm1898.jpg|thumb|Dormitory at [[The Armidale School]], Australia, 1898]]
{{Main|House system}}

A typical boarding school has several separate residential houses, either within the school grounds or in the surrounding area.

A number of senior teaching staff are appointed as housemasters, housemistresses, dorm parents, [[prefect]]s, or residential advisors, each of whom takes quasi-parental responsibility (''[[in loco parentis]]'') for anywhere from 5 to 50 students resident in their ''house'' or dormitory at all times but particularly outside school hours. Each may be assisted in the domestic management of the house by a housekeeper often known in U.K. or [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries as ''[[matron]]'', and by a ''house tutor'' for academic matters, often providing staff of each gender. In the U.S., boarding schools often have a resident family that lives in the dorm, known as dorm parents. They often have janitorial staff for maintenance and housekeeping, but typically do not have tutors associated with an individual dorm. Nevertheless, older students are often less supervised by staff, and a system of monitors or prefects gives limited authority to senior students. Houses readily develop distinctive characters, and a healthy rivalry between houses is often encouraged in sport.

Houses or dorms usually include study-bedrooms or [[Dormitory|dormitories]], a dining room or [[refectory]] where students take meals at fixed times, a library and possibly [[Carrel desk|study carrels]] where students can do their homework. Houses may also have common rooms for television and relaxation and kitchens for snacks, and occasionally storage facilities for bicycles or other sports equipment. Some facilities may be shared between several houses or dorms.

In some schools, each house has students of all ages, in which case there is usually a prefect system, which gives older students some privileges and some responsibility for the welfare of the younger ones. In others, separate houses accommodate the needs of different years or classes. In some schools, day students are assigned to a dorm or house for social activities and sports purposes.

Most school dormitories have an "in your room by" and a "lights out" time, depending on their age when the students are required to prepare for bed, after which no talking is permitted. Such rules may be difficult to enforce; students may often try to break them, for example by using their laptop computers or going to another student's room to talk or play computer games. International students may take advantage of the time difference between countries (e.g. 7&nbsp;hours between China and the U.K.) to contact friends or family. Students sharing study rooms are less likely to disturb others and may be given more latitude.