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The Boarding Alphabet

A is for?

Arrival at school

Full boarders should arrive between 7.00pm and 8.00pm at the beginning of term and at the end of exeats and half terms.
Weekly boarders should arrive between 7.00pm and 8.00pm on the evening before the beginning of term and at the end of half term, but may return on the first morning of school (by 8.30am) at the end of exeats.
At the beginning of term, children should arrive wearing their school uniform. At the end of exeats or half term, children arriving the night before school may wear freetime clothes.

B is for?

Batteries

Children should bring their own batteries (for torches, walkmans etc.) to school.

Bedtimes

The children come up to dorm between 7.30pm and 8.00pm and go to bed between 8.30pm and 9.00pm, according to their age. (These times are 15 minutes later in the summer term).

Birthdays

Generally, children have a cake for tea on the day. You may either bring one in, or the school can provide one. To arrange this, please contact the Domestic Bursar on (01280) 846485 at least one week beforehand - you will need to specify: chocolate, vanilla or strawberry! Presents and cards can be sent or hand delivered. The Housemaster and The Housemistress, or any other member of the boarding staff, are happy to look after presents to ensure delivery on the correct day. Parents are, of course, welcome to visit with cards and presents on the day.

Boarding

which is fab

Climbing the Bouncy Pyramid

C is for?

Challenge

The full boarders have a series of 'Challenge' weekends during the course of the year. Details of these are displayed around the school. They include: expeditions to the Peak District, camping, cooking, walking, climbing, skiing, mountain biking, orienteering and many other activities. These are all designed to promote leadership skills and team building.

 

Chapel

There is a chapel service every Sunday at either 10:00am or 6.00pm There is always an address by a member of staff or a visiting preacher and the children help in the service. Parents are very welcome and coffee is served after morning chapel.

 

Communication

The school calendar and fixture lists are key sources of information, as are half term and exeat mailings from the Headmaster.

Please do feel that you can contact the school at any time (see Telephone Numbers). It is especially important that you let us know if you are concerned about anything (see Worries).
Do let us know if we have not given you details about something you need to know, and we will endeavour to do better in the future.

D is for?

See Occasional Boarding.

Most boarders tend to be already registered with a dentist at home. The school does not have a NHS dentist, however we can arrange for your child to see a dentist privately in an emergency.
We will phone you if your child needs emergency dental treatment. Sometimes parents are able to make an immediate appointment with their own dentist, if not we will take the child to a local dentist.

Special diets can be catered for at school. Talk to Sister about this.

The school doctor is Dr Rathborne, who is based at Springfield Surgery in Brackley. The Sister registers all boarders with him.
The doctor holds a weekly surgery at school every Wednesday morning. WHS boarders also have a priority slot every morning at Springfield Surgery, so it is easy to get appointments. The Sister generally arranges for children to see the doctor as she thinks necessary. Do phone her if you would like your child to see the doctor. Parents are, of course, quite welcome to accompany their children to the doctor's, or to meet with him on Wednesday mornings at school.

Girls in Drayton

Dorms

Boarders sleep in dormitories! These vary in size. Each dorm has a "dorm captain" (a final year boarder). These are carefully chosen and are there in a caring capacity, not a disciplinary one! The Housemaster and the Housemistress allocate children into particular dorms.

This is the girls boarding house, run by the Housemistress, who lives in the adjoining cottage with her family.

Each child has an e-mail address and can receive and send messages. If you would like to know your child's e-mail address, please ring the school secretary.

After activities, the children have some freetime, during which they may do music practice, swim, play tennis or squash, use the Sports Hall, use the ICT room, play indoor games or simply play with their friends.
Once in their houses, the children have use of the kitchen, have help with their learning work, play games, read books and listen to stories.
On Wednesday, there is tuck shop and the children are allowed to watch television.

The exeat dates are published with the term dates in the school calendar. Generally children are free to leave at 1:00pm on the Friday and return to school on the Sunday evening between 7.00pm and 8.00pm (weekly boarders may return the next morning). If you would like your child to have lunch on the Friday, this is no problem -  phone the school secretary to request this. Lunch ends at 1.35pm. Exeats are compulsory - the school closes completely over the weekend.

The House and Drayton are equipped with smoke and heat detectors. We hold at least two "night time" fire drills each term, one in daylight, and one at night. We take these very seriously.

Food

Each of the boarding houses has a kitchen, which the children can use in the evenings. Cereal, bread, fruit and drinks are provided by the school and available every evening. On Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, they can also cook themselves some pasta with a sauce or enjoy a toastie. Tuck is not allowed in the dormitories but they are welcome to keep it in the kitchens or a tuck box. We do not allow the children to bring in chocolate or sweets, as these are provided through the tuck shop but they can bring in healthy snacks, cakes, biscuits etc.

Fun

We aim to give the children lots of this!

Fun in the snow!

The children are woken at 7.20am. Breakfast is at 8.00am, by which time the children are dressed and ready for the day. The children are free to shower in the mornings if they wish (and many do), and in the summer, "early morning swims" take place at 7.15am (voluntary, but popular!).

Most children tend to have their hair cut when at home. However, we can arrange for children to have their haircut at school, if necessary.
Girls with long hair must have it tied back in class.

This is our top priority with the boarding children.

All boarding children are checked weekly for head lice, and treated as necessary.
Please check your children's hair at home as well.

Holiday dates are published in the school calendar.

Parents occasionally need to take children out of school for these. Please phone the school secretary to arrange this. We are happy to make appointments for children and to accompany them as necessary - please phone Sister to organise this.

The children must have a shower three evenings of the week. In addition to this, they are free to shower whenever they wish.
On their shower nights, the children's nails are checked and clipped as necessary!
They clean their teeth every morning after breakfast and every evening. Our monitoring of this varies according to their age (and reliability!).
All children shower or swim after games in the afternoons.
 

Please do phone your child's housemaster or housemistress should you need any information! The school calendar, web site and fixture card are good sources of information as regards forthcoming events. Exeat and half term letters also contain details of past and future events.

(Pupils Personal Effects Insurance)
All pupils hold this unless parents ask otherwise. It provides up to £1000 worth of cover for approximately £7 a term.

The children are not allowed to wear jewellery when in school uniform. Girls may wear simple jewellery when in freetime clothes - no expensive items and no earrings, please!

K is for ...

Kitchen

Both boarding houses have kitchens and the children are welcome to make themselves snacks in the evenings.

L is for?

The school has an in-house laundry facility. The clothing requirements, as laid out in the clothes list, ensure that all children have enough clothes to cope with the complexities of the system! All clothing brought to school (including freetime clothes) must be machine washable, machine dryable, and named.

Full boarders write a letter every Sunday. Generally they write home, but if they have seen their parents the day before, they often write to grandparents etc. They need to have their own writing paper and envelopes. The school provides stamps as necessary. When away on a weekend expedition, the children generally send a postcard. The children are of course allowed to write letters to anyone at any time!

The rule is "Name it!"
There is a much better chance of finding an item of clothing, if it is clearly named

M is for?

Parents are of course very welcome to come and watch school matches. The details of these are in the school calendar, on the web site and on the fixture card. Team lists are published the day before a match. Do ring the school secretary to check whether or not your child is playing, and for directions to away matches.

There are a Head Matron, Assistant Head Matron and 'Gap' girls all working in this department. Their primary responsibilities revolve around the children's welfare. They are supported in the evenings by a resident member of staff and work under the supervision of the Housemaster and the Housemistress.

Parents of all new children fill in various forms. In addition to these, boarding parents need to fill in a medical form and to send in their child's medical card.

The school surgery, "manned" by Sister, is open at all times. Sister or a deputy is always on call (24 hours a day). Children who arrive at school on any medication should give it to Sister - parents who deliver children on any medication must let Sister know!

Money

There is no need for the children to carry any money in school (see Pocket Money).

All clothing and possessions must be named. Clothes should be named with nametapes (available from Sand W). The school has an engraver and a UV pen for naming watches stereos, walkmans etc.

This is our list of children out of school for any reason. If your child needs to be out of school, please contact the school secretary.

Day children often spend the odd night (or longer!) at school. We do charge for this (ask secretary for current rate), except on those occasions when it simply makes sense for your child to stay (a late play rehearsal, for example), or if your child is trying out boarding (each child may have a free week). Ring the school secretary if you need information about this.

Generally overseas children do not take their trunks home. We are happy to look after all their clothing requirements, using the second-hand clothes shop and S and W, as appropriate.

The clothes list doubles as a packing list. Please fill it in and enclose it in your child's trunk at the beginning of term. We do likewise at the end of term.

Children should bring a padlock to school for their locker. Spare keys should be handed in to their tutor. (See Spare Keys) 

There are many opportunities to visit the school and to see your child in action. Generally speaking, parents are welcome to attend all matches, plays, chapel and concerts - but this is by no means an exhaustive list.
Special events to which you are welcome are shown in the school calendar (printed in italics and bold) and are generally highlighted in exeat letters (see Communication). If you are unsure, or would like to know if your child is involved, do phone and ask.

The full boarders can spend pocket money at the tuck shop on a Saturday evening or a Wednesday evening. The weekly boarders can spend some money in tuck shop on a Wednesday. The amount they can spend is closely controlled.
There are odd occasions when full boarders need pocket money (e.g. bonfire night). We give them some money for such trips and this is put on the bill. We try to keep this to less than £25 per term.
The children should not bring their own money into school unless instructed to do so.

Some peace and quiet!

Posters/Photographs

The children are allowed to bring posters and photographs etc. to school - in fact, they are encouraged to do so!

Q is for... 

Quiet 

We insist on this after 'shutdown'.

R is for...

Reading

The children are encouraged to read in the evening before lights out and they all love to have a bedtime story from time to time.

S is for?

The six-bedded San is in the House. Sister looks after children suffering from minor illnesses here. Parents are, of course, telephoned if their child is ill and are welcome to visit as they wish.

Boarding Suppers on Saturday night

Saturday Supper

At 7.00pm on a Saturday evening the full boarders have a formal supper. There are tablecloths and candles and we all sit down at the same time. The menu varies from Indian to Chinese to Mexican and we even had French (frog legs and snails!).

(See Hygiene) 

Sister is resident in the House. She is an RGN and is responsible for all medical matters. She holds surgeries three times a day and is on call 24 hours a day.

Spare Keys

Spare keys for tuck boxes, trunks and padlocks should be handed in to The Housemaster or The Housemistress as appropriate. (See Padlocks)

Staff

The Housemaster runs the House (boys), whilst The Housemistress is in charge of Drayton (girls).
The Assistant Housemistress in the House is particularly responsible for the junior boy boarders and shares duties with the Housemaster.
The Assistant Housemistress in Drayton shares duties with the Housemistress.
The Sister ("Sister") is an RGN and is resident in the House.
Our 'Gap' students all play an active role in the boarding houses.
Other resident staff also play a part in boarding, doing dormitory duties in the House and in Drayton.
The Head of Boarding has overall responsibility for the boarding children.

Stereos

The children are allowed to bring stereos and walkmans into school. See Insurance and Batteries! There are electrical sockets in the dorms. 

Sunday mornings are very relaxed. The children eat breakfast and watch TV in the morning, in their pyjamas. By 9:30am everyone is dressed and ready for the day. Every other week, chapel is at 10.00am. Parents are invited to join us for morning chapel and coffee is served afterwards. On alternate weeks, there is an evening service at 6.00pm. The children write letters home in the morning.
We expect full boarders to remain in school for weekends during term time. We feel that this commitment is important. There are many varied activities laid on at the weekends (see Weekend Activities and Expeditions). Obviously we are prepared for children to go home in certain circumstances. Our reasons for this are laid out in the school's Boarding Policy (copy available on request!).

Surgery
(See Medication) 

The boarders love using the pool and during the Summer term there are regular evening swims for the boarders. On some mornings, there are swims before breakfast and these are also hugely popular.
 

There are two card phones, which the children can use freely during the day (from morning break onwards) and there are phones in both boarding houses. The children can obtain phone cards from the Bursar, which are charged to the school bill. Some parents give their children BT chargecards, which enable their children to dial certain numbers only and charges your home account for the call. If you would like to get a message to your child, please do phone The Housemistress or The Housemaster.

Telephone Numbers

Staff telephone numbers are published in the school calendar. The following may be particularly useful for boarding parents
The Headmaster 01280 702483
Head of Boarding 01280 846469
The Housemaster 01280 846467
The Housemistress 01280 700564
The Sister 01280 846464
Assistant Housemistress (boys) 01280 846486
The matrons are best contacted through Sister.
When phoning the above numbers, you will sometimes encounter voicemail. Do leave a message.

Television

The boarders are allowed to watch the television on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, and occasionally on a Sunday. Of course when there is something special on, we are all glued!

Torches

A torch is a useful boarding accessory 

Tuck is allowed in school for boarders only.
Outside of the normal school day, boarders are allowed to eat tuck but no sweets are allowed.
The boarders are allowed to go to the school tuck shop to buy sweets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. 

Every child at school has a tutor. Tutors and their tutees are listed in each term's calendar. Tutor groups meet for 20 minutes at the beginning of each school day except on assembly days (currently Monday and Saturday). Your child's tutor will have an overview of your child's academic progress, in particular, and children often talk through any problems with their tutor.
In the same way, parents often use tutors as a first port of call instead of The Housemistress or The Housemaster. Please feel free to contact the tutor, Matron, Sister, or Headmaster, as you feel necessary.

U is for...

Up early

In the Summer term, many of the boarders like to get up early for a swim before breakfast. 
 

V is for?

Often we show a video on Saturday evenings - an evening eagerly anticipated by the children!

W is for?

There is no afternoon school on a Wednesday and the boarding children consequently have more free time. The children often cook pasta based dishes, microwave popcorn etc., after matches - so your children may need stocking up!

Weekend Activities and Expeditions

The weekends are a busy time, both on and off the school grounds. The cost of expeditions is not covered by the basic school fee, unless the trip is wholly educational. Such costs are charged as an extra on to the school bill. We endeavour to keep the cost of trips to a minimum. Each term, there will be a couple more expensive trips (camping in the Peak District, a trip to Stratford or a theme park) and some cheaper or even free trips. In-house weekends are fun and the children gain a lot of enjoyment from a picnic on Dunstable Downs or a walk in the woods. We do try to keep the overall cost of weekend trips to a reasonable limit. If an expedition involves some degree of risk (e.g. caving in the Brecon Beacons), we will seek your permission beforehand.
Recent activities in school over the weekends have included: a Saturday night BBQ, a disco, five a side soccer, old boys/old girls match, mountain biking, challenge activities, a shooting competition, a circus workshop, as well as numerous art and design activities and ICT activities.

At Alton Towers

On a ride at Thorpe Park

Recent expeditions out of school have included trips to Alton Towers, Woburn Safari Park, Bracknell Planetarium, Coral Reef, Warwick Castle, walking in the Peak District, Dunstable Downs, the theatre at Stratford, Stowe Landscape Gardens, bowling etc.

Weekly Boarding

Generally weekly boarders go home on Saturday (at 12.30pm or after matches) and return to school on the Sunday night or Monday morning. Please let The Housemistress or The Housemaster know when your child will be returning. Occasionally, weekly boarders choose to spend a weekend at school. We must have at least a week notice of this, so please phone the School Secretary early to book your bed.

Worries

If you or your child is worried about the slightest thing, please do phone. Parents often do not feel that they can phone over something which may appear trivial. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Very often a slight adjustment can make all the difference and remedy a situation. So, please let us know.

X is for...

eXciting
Boarding is exciting and the children particularly enjoy the many activities on offer at the weekends.

Xmas Dorm

Y is for...

Yes
We do like to be able to say 'yes' to boarding requests but please try to give us as much notice as possible.
 

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (see Bedtimes!)