Boarding Blog

Posted Monday, 16 January 2012  /  Written by Ben Purkiss

Wow …… how time flies when you’re having fun!  I can’t believe that as I write this we are already at the beginning of week three in the calendar and that we are approaching the first long weekend! 

It was lovely to welcome the boarders back on a strangely balmy January afternoon two weeks ago and to hear stories of their holidays and of what wonderful Christmases they had enjoyed. 

A buzz of excitement was in the air too to find out what this year’s GAP students would be like and it struck me – as the four of them stood there awaiting the first of the boarders to return – how similar they are to our own boarders:  a long way from home in unfamiliar surroundings, full of nervous excitement and anticipation, but knowing that, just like our boarders, they have an excellent year ahead and that they would enjoy every moment.  They have settled well, and on the subject of ‘what they were like’ one boarder last week was heard to say “so far so good”…high praise indeed!

It doesn’t take long to get back into the swing of things at the start of a new term and the children have been as busy as ever: study, games, hobbies, play rehearsals, swimming, activities and outings have all contributed to a very busy start to the term.  Last week’s annual trip to the pantomime was a great day out, if not a touch surreal!  The traditional Cinderella story in true panto style, woven with Julian Clary, Keith Harris, Chuckles and Orville, made an ‘interesting’ adaptation of a classic story and a huge amount of fun. 

The weeks ahead look to be equally action packed as we look forward to skiing and snowboarding, tobogganing and tubing and caving amongst a range of other activities; we hope too to be able to head back down to King’s College for some more rifle shooting and I know that the boarders have recently received invitations to supper at the Headmaster’s house and are anticipating these evenings over the next few weeks.

There is lots to look forward to…I’ll keep you posted.

Posted Monday, 10 October 2011  /  Written by Ben Purkiss

This week in the boarding house has been action packed.  In addition to the normal hustle and bustle of evening activities and GAPtivities there have been a couple of special events to add to the buzz around the house.

On Thursday evening eight seniors were invited to the King’s College range to shoot .22 rifles under the watchful eye and tuition of Deputy Headmaster, Mr Currie.  Because of the limited number we could take and the huge interest shown by the senior boarders, names were drawn ‘out of a hat’ and the lucky few were chosen.  The evening was fantastic and all of the boys shot brilliantly.  Sam, Pablo and Henri ran one another very close with some excellent shooting on the fixed targets, but Sam just edged it on the ‘snap’ competition scoring 30 out of a possible 35.  We hope to be back there very soon with another group of keen marksmen and women.

On Saturday evening the girls had a wonderful time at their slumber party.  Hair was straightened, curled and straightened again; faces were mud packed; eyes were ‘cucumbered’ and nails were painted, and all of this whilst eating popcorn, drinking gallons of hot chocolate (with squirty cream and marshmallows) and watching movies …heaven!

After all of the self-indulgence of last night, today has been the perfect antidote.  Much of the morning was spent preparing camps and dens in the woods in preparation for the afternoon’s ‘Water Wars’!  Camo paint applied and armed with literally hundreds of water bombs the two teams battled it out all afternoon; no one knows if there was a winning team or not but frankly no one cared – it was brilliant fun!

Posted Monday, 10 October 2011  /  Written by Ben Purkiss

It’s hard to comprehend that we are already half way through the first half of term; so much has happened over the last few weeks, one barely knows where to begin in order to paint a true picture of life in the house so far this term.   

We welcomed ten new boarders at the start of September and all have settled in very well into their respective areas of the house.  It’s great to have so many new boarders; each one bringing something new into the community and adding to the buzz around school.  Living away from home for the first time can be a daunting experience but we are immensely proud of the way our new arrivals have settled, together with the way in which the more experienced boarders have welcomed them to their new home away from home. 

Occasional boarding too has proven to be as popular as ever so far this term.  Last Friday night there were no available beds in the front of house and we seemed to be ‘bursting at the seams’.  Looking ahead, the rest of the term promises to be equally as busy. 

Some wonderful weather so far this term has meant that we have been able to make the most of our surroundings.  Wide games, capture the flag and den building in the woods have supplemented the evening activities programme and Sunday outings including quad biking and team building at an assault course have been brilliant fun for all of the boarders.  Tomorrow we are looking forward to raft building, which promises to be a fantastic day out…bagsy not to be the one to tell matron about all the soggy shoes that will need drying out!

Posted Thursday, 9 June 2011  /  Written by Ben Purkiss

The second half of term is under way and if this week is anything to go by it promises to be exceptionally busy.  The year eight boarders are relaxing after a very busy three days of exams; planning their Oakhampton packing and chatting through the next few weeks.  Inevitably the talk turns to future school and new boarding houses at this stage of the year and it’s great to hear such excitement about what lies ahead. 

The year seven’s too are packing bags and are full of anticipation about their Swiss trip, as they also depart on Friday.  The boarding house will be slightly quieter this weekend, however the remaining boarders have an action packed few days ahead.  The remaining girls are off to the Ballet on Friday evening, we are all going to the cinema on Saturday evening followed by Splashdown on Sunday!

The boarding house is as busy as ever and we have quite a number of additional boarders who are staying with us until the end of term.  It’s great to have such a buzz about boarding, not just in the house, but around the school in general; and lovely to see lots of juniors taking the opportunity to board once or twice a week – especially girls!

We look forward to hearing the stories of the seniors once they return from their trips next week and to the busy weekend that lies ahead..

Posted Thursday, 12 May 2011  /  Written by Ben Purkiss

As I write, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and I cant help thinking that there can be no better place to be on a warm summers evening than messing about with your mates on the field or in the pool.  Evenings like this are the best thing about being a boarder in the summer term; freedom, room to roam and an almost endless choice of things to do and people to do them with.

So far the summer term has lived up to expectations – the weather has played its part of course, but the boarders have returned in great spirits and have made the most of the past few weeks.  Mountain and snowboarding on Sunday will go down as one of the best outings this year; the children had a fantastic time and are desperate to return for another go.  This weekend we head off to Crealy for more thrills and spills before the long weekend the week after.  Although the term is relatively short we still have a huge amount to pack in and I know the boarders and staff are excited about what lies ahead.