"Although it wasn't entirely a surprise, I was still a bit taken abackto see it in black and white," he says. "But I was very pleased becauseI think it was the first time that any political party has recognisedthat boarding schools have a value to the overall system of educationand social care in the country."
Roffe is headmaster of Old Swinford Hospital, a state school nearBirmingham where more than 50 per cent of the pupils board. He is alsochair of the State Boarding Association and in this role he is enjoyingan ever-closer relationship with ministers and education officials.
The association represents the interests of the 35 state boardingschools in England and Wales and for the last few years it has beentrying to persuade the Department for Education and Skills to raisetheir profile and to make them accessible to a broader range ofchildren. In particular, Roffe has been calling on the Government toopen the state boarding sector to vulnerable children whose parentscan't afford the hefty accommodation fees.
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