A warm welcome to this term’s edition of our Boarders’ newsletter! I do hope you enjoy reading about everything our boarders have done this term. It has certainly been a busy one and thank you to our boarders for their article contributions!

It was a delight to return to quasi normal boarding routines in September. After months of depleted boarding houses last academic year, due to a large number of students remote learning, we welcomed back all our existing boarders, together with a very healthy intake of new boarders.

The buzz around school on the first day back and when the houses were full was incredible. It was heart-warming to see the Dining Room full at mealtimes and boarders enjoying the school grounds of an evening. The houses carried out their first face to face House Meetings in a long while and this made such a difference to the atmosphere of the boarding community. We reinstated our weekend trips, including trips to Chessington World of Adventure, the V&A in London, Go Ape, Cambridge and Ice-skating and you will be able to read up on these in the boarders’ write-ups.

We are saying farewell to Miss Sollars this term and thank her for her work in the boarding houses and wish her all the best. However, we are delighted to announce that Miss Hunter has been appointed Assistant Housemistress in Centre and will be working very closely with Miss Phillips and the Centre team. We are also looking forward to welcoming Miss Chelsea Hill who has been appointed Resident Tutor in Centre from January.

We have also had to say goodbye to a number of our one term boarders. The impact they have had on our boarding community has been huge and I am not exaggerating when I say that they have been one of the best cohorts we have had in many years. We hope that they will stay in touch and, who knows, might even come back for a second visit some day.

It goes without saying that we have continued to face the challenges that COVID presents and the boarding team has worked unfailingly to keep the houses running smoothly. I am hugely indebted to those members of staff who gave up so much of their time off in the last few weeks of term to cover absences and to ensure that the pastoral care of our boarders did not falter. They are the most incredible team and I am very proud to work alongside them. As we know, sadly the school had to end early and a number of our planned activities did not happen, but this did not stop us from enjoying a fabulous Christmas dinner on the last night of term. On that note, I would also like to thank the catering team for preparing fabulous meals for us day in day out! They have certainly looked after us very well!

All that remains now is for me to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing everyone back in 2022!