Over the first few weeks in June, day students in Years 8-9 were invited to spend a week with our junior boarding students. After checking into their rooms, boys met with the Housemother on duty who introduced them to the other boys on their floor. The boarding house rules were discussed along with all the activities for the week.

After spending a few days in boarding, we caught up with some of the boys to find out how their week had gone. Below, you can find some of the answers to a range of questions we posed. A lot of the boys either have friends in boarding or have challenging travel routines and so wanted to give boarding a try.

What interested you in spending a week in boarding?

I have friends who are in boarding. It sounds like a lot of fun so when I heard that I could stay for a week I was excited to join them.

I have a long commute to school and so I thought it would be easier to have a week in boarding. It definitely made my mornings a lot easier! I could sleep an hour longer and I didn’t feel so tired in my morning classes.

I will be joining boarding in the next school year so I thought this would be a great chance to try it out before I start school in August.

I have a long journey to get to school and need to take two buses to get here. It was a lot less hassle in the morning and I didn’t feel so tired as I didn’t need to get up at 6am. The afternoons were better too as I could get my homework done and then hang out with my friends.

What did you expect coming into boarding?

I thought it was going to be very strict. It’s actually really fun and there are rules but they are fair.

I thought I would be spending a lot of time in my room but it has been really good fun. There is time set aside for homework and then there are some activities to do.

I knew from my friends that it would be a lot of fun, so I was expecting there would be a lot to do and there was.

What surprised you about being in boarding?

I really enjoyed being able to come back at break time and have time out. I liked sitting around the table eating toast in a quieter environment with my friends. It was a nice break before going back to class for the rest of the day.

I really enjoyed being able to keep my things in my room so that I didn’t have to carry such a heavy bag around all day. I also liked that I could get my homework done and then spend time with my friends out on the grounds. At home I wouldn’t be able to meet up with my friends so I would just watch TV.

You get to know different teachers each day as they come and supervise the activities. They make sure we have a lot of fun, they are very friendly.

There is a lot to do here. I would be in my room more at home whereas here I am out playing football or tennis or one of the activities that is available that night. I also loved going to Tesco with my friends, I felt a bit more independent.

Would you recommend this again next year?

Absolutely!

100% give it a go, this has been so much fun!

We took a few photos from some of the activities which you will find in the media gallery. Please note you must be logged in to see our community photos.