Independent Canadian boarding schools can teach children to 'think outside the box' and compete on a global scale, according to the chairman of Appleby College Malcolm Butterfield.

Mr. Butterfield, a partner at KPMG, whose two eldest children went to Appleby College, said the institutions had a proven track record for success and were being considered by a larger number of families.

"More and more people are asking about them because education is becoming a high priority item for families.

"It is becoming more important that your child is well educated if they are going to compete even in Bermuda, because Bermuda is no longer an environment where you can have a basic education.

"Everything is going toward certification, even the trades now are geared towards getting your education," he said.

Mr. Butterfield spoke to local families at the Canadian Independent Boarding School Fair at Fairmont Hamilton Princess last week.

Despite being Chairman of Appleby College, in Oakville, Ontario, he spoke on behalf of all boarding schools at the fair including Ridley College, Pickering College, Havergal College, Albert College and UCC.

According to Mr. Butterfield, one of the reasons people struggle today is because of a lack of education. Boarding schools, however, have a good record for educating students, he said.

"If you look at the statistics most children that come out of an independent Canadian school experience are ready for any university in the world if they apply themselves. That's not to say that you can't coming out of Bermuda and nowhere in my speech did I say that.

"Some students do very well coming out of Bermuda, but it's about what's your objective, what do you want to achieve. Some students are ready for an out of box experience sooner than others."

Mr. Butterfield said there were four things each family must do before determining if a Canadian boarding school was right for them, including their objectives, research the facts and findings of the school such as costs, plan ahead and then make the "ultimate decision" he said.

These boarding schools allow children to move from a dependent lifestyle to an independent lifestyle. And while the young person will not have their parents in their immediate support system, "there is a support system at all of these schools", he said.

"Each school has the will, ability, skill and infrastructure to ensure your children have a stable, safe and all encompassing experience," he added.

"It's a good quality of life experience, all the schools can provide that. But find out the facts about all schools that you look at. I recommend you should look at more than one, you should look at a few so you get a feel of the different dynamic at each school, the environment, size of school, type of residence, health care, where it is located."

According to Mr. Butterfield, location plays a key role in determining what school a family will send their child to, as it is important to have a guardian nearby. Nonetheless, costs are sometimes the deciding factor for many people. He said costs for schooling and residence could be as much as $30,000. "When you put all your personal living costs, what I call lifestyle costs on top of that it's an annual investment of about $50,000 a year.

"So you have to allow for contingencies and how expensive taste your children will have when they go away."

Mr. Butterfield said "a winning strategy" was to plan one or two years in advance and establish a timeline for when payments and applications are due.

He also "highly recommends" physical tours rather than going on word of mouth, or what it says in a brochure.

"Ask key questions and speak to the students. All those schools will offer your child an overnight experience to spend time in the classroom and spend a few nights to get a taste of what it is like, three or four nights to see what the living environment is like.

"Determine what is important to you as a family and as children. What is going to give you the confidence your child will be happy in that environment."

Mr. Butterfield added: "My message to the parents is let them go and expand their horizons. This is time to cut the strings a little bit and let your children which you have nurtured for the past 14, 15 or 16 years commence their independent lifestyle that each of those schools are capable of doing."

He added: "It brings me down to the ultimate decision, you can steer them but the child must make their own choices.

"That is extremely critical because that child needs to belong to the decision, belong to the choice, because they need to buy into it."