Meridian in Uppal for 11 and 12 or a residential school, how did you weigh it

Daughter is 16 and we're deciding where she does 11 and 12. One option is Meridian School in Uppal which is close to home, the other is a residential school outside the city that she is quite keen on Day school means she's home every evening but also a lot of time in traffic for classes and everything else. Boarding means none of that but we see her at weekends at best. Her grandmother lives with us and is already upset at the idea 🥲 If you weighed commute vs boarding for the last two years of school what tipped it. Most interested in what your kid said after the first term, not the brochure version