Boarding
Life as a junior boarder offers a wealth of opportunities.
Living "onsite" means that the children can take full advantage of the school facilities, and there are an abundance of activities after school, in the evenings and at weekends. Within the boarding house there are currently 3 boys’ dormitories and 2 girls’ dormitories sleeping approximately 28 children. There are 4 residential staff - Chris and Vanessa Monks (Houseparents), Rebecca Morgan (Matron) and a resident tutor who care for the boarders, and they are assisted by 2 Gap year students and 2 non-resident matrons. All the staff make every effort to settle the boarders in as quickly as possible and help them to feel comfortable and confident in their new environment.
After school and in the evenings the children can either take part in school activities or return to the boarding house where there are a variety of things for them to get involved in: playing pool, table tennis, table football, computer club, karaoke, sport, craft and cookery are just some of the activities on offer to our junior boarders - or they can just "chill out" in front of Sky TV! When you have friends on hand all the time, it’s not hard to find something to do! Boarders may go home or out with friends at the weekend, but many choose to stay in. This is not surprising when you see what is available to them! A typical Saturday involves a lie-in and a 9am breakfast (very much appreciated by the resident staff!!!), and after breakfast the Year 7 children take part in activities organised in the Senior School, while the younger children are entertained by the Junior School teaching staff, who are incredibly innovative and offer a great variety of wild and whacky activities. After Saturday lunch the children are free to do as they please although there is usually an organised activity available, such as glass-painting, cooking or karaoke, for those who want more structure. The children are also able to use the school swimming pool in the afternoon.
On Sundays, the junior boarders are taken out for the day and recent Sunday trips have included: Woodlands Adventure Park, Ice-skating, Wookey Hole, 10-pin bowling, the cinema, the beach, and water parks. All very exciting stuff! There are very strong friendships between the junior boarders and day pupils and this is confirmed by the speed at which spare beds are booked for day pupils to stay over. Junior boarding offers a very popular facility whereby day pupils may sleep over for the occasional night or longer to allow parents to go off on short business trips or longer Caribbean cruises! It is unusual for there not to be at least one day pupil sleeping over every night!
