MIRI R (7W) Boarding in Stamp House

Last night I spent my first night boarding at Queenswood and I really enjoyed it! Here is what to expect if you are starting boarding at Stamp for the first time.

Firstly, after your club, you would go to Stamp to relax for a few minutes, and you would go to dinner. Dinner is always really good and everyone enjoys it. After dinner, all year 7 and 8 boarders go back to Stamp to change into home clothes. Then all boarders go to study in the Library. There you will either be given a task to do or you will do some homework.

After study, you will go back to Stamp and hang out with your friends. Some nights you will have fun activities like arts and crafts. In this time you will also get to choose from your tuck box (if you brought one in). Next, you will put all your tech in the tech lockers - this includes Chromebooks.

Then, you will get ready for bed (have showers, brush teeth, etc.) After that, you will go into your rooms and have little light on (the small lights on the wall). Fifteen minutes later, it will be lights out. The next morning the bell rings at 7am to wake you up. You will get ready for the day and go to the Dining Hall for breakfast. Then go back to the Common Room ready for the school day.

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LILY S (7N) Treat Night in Stamp!

On Wednesday 11 September, Stamp boarders had a very enjoyable Treat Night! Treat Night is one night when the boarders have a very fun activity planned for them - and them only. It doesn’t come every day of the week so the pupils who are experiencing Treat Night have to make the most of it and cannot take it for granted, as we never know when the next one is going to come along.

This night we were given cups and we got to choose the colour of our lids and straws. Students can match their friends, they can do their favourite colour or even do more than one colour. After this we went to a table full of stickers and we got to pick out a maximum of three stickers, we were also given letter stickers to make our name so that we didn’t lose them. There was a wide variety of colours on offer for the stickers, they were all the same as the lids and the straws, so that people could match the colours.

The purpose of these cups is that when we need water we can just take our cups from our bedside table instead of going downstairs and waking everyone up. We have a water refill station right next to our rooms so that we can refill our cups instead of going downstairs. The cups can only hold cold drinks, we are not allowed to use them for hot drinks like coffee or hot chocolate.

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ELISKA B (12N) My boarding experience at Queenswood

The 3rd of September was the day I first set foot in the land of what seemed like never-ending rainy days – England! It feels like ages have passed since I left my home, family, and friends behind to come and study here at Queenswood. Although very nervous, I courageously began a new chapter of my life at just 16. As a Full Boarder, I was completely immersed in a sea of daily cultural shocks, meeting new people at every turn and slowly learning how everything worked, day by day. To be honest, it was scary at first! Will I make it? Will I make friends? Will people understand me with my accent?

After deciding to persevere even when things felt scary, everything started to improve. I went on a trip to the theatre (which I greatly enjoyed), made friends over our shared obsession with The Lord of the Rings, and began to truly enjoy my subjects and engage in class. The boarding staff made Queenswood feel warm and homely, and teachers always made time for my endless questions at the end of lessons. Life finally started to make a bit more sense.

So, to all the new students—whether you're coming from abroad or just down the road—don’t be afraid to start boarding. The initial rocky path might be the first challenge you encounter, but it will also be your first small victory, one you’ll be incredibly proud of in just a few weeks. Allow yourself to make mistakes, ask for help, and try your hand at everything this school has to offer. And remember to have fun as you embark on this journey of education here at Queenswood.