This week, for instance, Douai School in Berkshire, set up in 1615 by Benedictine monks, announced its closure.

ECONOMIST: Private education

But on Wednesday, a court in Douai ruled the charges will stand, said Guillaume Maigret, general secretary of the court.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In 1918 the German army confiscated that painting and others from the Musee de Douai in the city of Douai and transported them to Belgium.

CNN: French get back famous painting stolen during World War I

Just down the road from Douai, in Oxfordshire, another boarding school, Shiplake College, offers an example of a successful attempt to market boarding to a new generation of parents.

ECONOMIST: Education: The snowman goeth | The