Hi Jon, his parents maybe had connections and jumped at the chance of the boy getting an education perhaps they couldn;t afford.  it'd be seen as a good opportunity.  I came across a similar happening while researching possible links in distant twig.  The kid was left in the 'educating facility' while his parents and siblings hoofed it to the other side of the planet!  Can't see me doing that, however, he followed some years later.  In another, the wee eldest 4yo dau was sent off to an RC convent on the other side of England while her siblings remained at home with mum and dad.  were they planning her as an offering to the church? i don't know.  she eventually left, married and created our line of descent but it's a puzzle. You may find a relative who did do well and could speak for the boy.   I'm sure that happened. le durachd Fionnghal > --- On Mon, 25/7/11, Jon's FH <[email protected]> wrote: > I still can't quite grasp why the child would have been sent there. He was not from an upper class family who had found themselves in financial difficulty, also, he had a younger brother and sister (8 and 6) who were at home with a couple of older sibblings and their parents at Marylebone, and an elder sister who was a teacher in Leicestershire. The web links did make very interesting reading as I said, but I still can't seem to fit that family in to the requirements for sending a child there in the first place. Then again I suppose I don't know the entire situation with regards the family.