Boarding
Why Boarding? Boarding offers a complete educational experience. It combines the academic with the extra-curricular and the social in a way no other format can.
With so much more time available at weekends and in the evenings, a boy is free to pursue to the full the activities he finds fun and can enjoy them with his friends. Great and lasting friendships are developed that can only come from sharing in these experiences. Boys mature and become responsible in surroundings where they are able to organise their own free time constructively, using the full extent of the school’s facilities. A loyal and committed staff, most of whom live on site, are fully involved seven days a week, encouraging and overseeing a wide range of activities.
Boarders and day boys
As boarders, the youngest boys are under the direct supervision and care of the Headmaster and his wife, living on the top floor of the Private Side of the main building. We are fortunate to host a number of overseas Gap students each year who become fully involved in the boarding life of the school. A young assistant matron has her own room in the dormitory area, so help is readily to hand at night. Evenings are filled with games, stories and reading with television or videos once or twice a week.
After a year or so the boys move in to the main building under the care of a Housemaster who has an assistant and a matron to help him. In the evening, boys continue to enjoy games and quizzes; good reading habits are encouraged and music is played throughout the dormitories (some nights classical, some nights pop) to promote relaxation before going to sleep.
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For their last year or two the boys move into one of the two senior houses in the grounds – Horris Wood and Horris Bank. Each is run by a resident Housemaster, whose wife is fully involved, together with an assistant.
Contact with parents
Each boarding area has its own telephone and mobile phone for ease of contact with home whenever required. Additionally, there is a downstairs telephone entirely for boys’ use during the day. All boys also have access to e-mail facilities. But more importantly we encourage parents to visit the school whenever possible – for matches, Chapel, concerts, lectures and functions. A calendar is produced each term and, with a regular newsletter and updates on the school website, parents need never feel cut off. We appreciate that the best education comes from a partnership between home and school.
We have a flexible leave-out system built around the fixed exeats each term. For the exeats, lasting two/three days, and half terms, up to ten days, no boys remain at school. In addition to these exeats, boys may have as many leave-outs (from Saturday, normally 1pm, until Sunday 7pm) as they like. Many boys choose to stay in at weekends and a full programme of attractive activities and outings is arranged each weekend. These are covered in more detail in the Extra Curricular section of the website.