Giving vulnerable children a boarding school place can dramatically improve their future, a Government study has found.

Out of a cohort of youngsters who were previously in care and then sent to a boarding school, the majority were subsequently taken off their local council’s risk register, the research is expected to show.

The study, which is due to be published this summer, follows the progress of 52 children who looked after by Norfolk Council Council and sent to boarding schools.

Martin Reader, who is chair of the Boarding School Association (BSA), said that the study shows how boarding has a “transformative benefit” for children.

The research was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Boarding Schools Partnership, a scheme which will see children from vulnerable families enroll at some of Britain's top boarding schools including Harrow, Rugby, Benenden and Eton College.

Under the initiative, school fees will be covered by local councils. It is intended to save public money in the long-run by avoiding the costs of expensive local authority care.

Mr Reader, headmaster of the £37,000-a-year Cranleigh School in Surrey, said that boarding schools are “genuinely thrilled” when “one of our pupils from a disadvantaged background has prospects transformed”.