Prep School vs Public School: Which Was Harder?

About this episode

The episode explores the contrasting experiences of prep school and public school as reported by former boarders.

One of the questions I hear most often from former boarders is: "Why did I hate prep school but love public school?" Or sometimes: "Why was public school much harder than prep school?" In this solo episode, I explore the different experiences people report and why those differences may exist. Drawing on stories from Roald Dahl, David Cameron, Ranulph Fiennes, Bear Grylls and John Peel, I examine how children adapt to boarding school environments and why the first boarding experience often has...

People in this episode

Host: Piers Cross

Topics covered

• education
• boarding school
• public school
• personal experiences
• adaptation

Keywords

• prep school
• public school
• boarding school experiences
• education differences
• child adaptation

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• Police Chief: From Ego to Emotional Intelligence: Dr. Ron Camacho on Leadership & Trauma | AEM #161 · June 5, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Why Ex-Boarders Struggle With Boundaries | Boarding School Trauma, People Pleasing & Leadership · May 27, 2026 · 19 min
• Why Do We Self Sabotage As Ex-Boarders? · May 20, 2026 · 13 min
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