Borstal

thumb|270px|Entrance to HM Prison Portland|The Grove Prison. Built in 1848, it operated as an adult prison from 1848, a borstal from 1921, and a young offenders institution from 1988. A borstal is a type of youth detention centre, commonly known as a borstal school in India, where they remain in use. Until the late 20th century, borstals existed in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland.

Borstals were run by HM Prison Service and were intended to reform young offenders. The word derived from the first such institution established in 1902 near the English village of Borstal in Kent, and is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institutions and reformatories, such as approved schools and youth detention centres. The court sentence was officially called "borstal training". Borstals were originally for offenders under 21, but in the 1930s the maximum age was increased to 23. The Criminal Justice Act 1982 abolished the borstal system in the UK, replacing borstals with youth custody centres.