During the spring of 1973 we were able to visit the Soviet Union for 14 days to study mathematical education. Our visit was arranged by the British Council under the Anglo/Soviet cultural agreement. One of the most interesting features of the Soviet system which we hoped to study during our short tour was the specialised boarding school. Accounts of some of these have appeared already (for example, Bryan Thwaites’ article in the Gazette for December 1968) and it was intersting to compare our impressions with those which had been recorded by others.