‘I think you are having more fun than the boarders…’ said Mrs Batchelor as I returned from evening activities eulogising about my sporting prowess in Kan Jam – a hybrid of ultimate frisbee and basketball. She may be right, but I promise the boarders are having a great time too!
Despite bubbles, social distancing and sanitising regimes, the boarders have been able to have plenty of fun and really relish the extra time they spend at school. In order to limit risk, we have not had any outside companies come in to run large events and so the Prep School boarding community has had to be inventive and has done so with great success.
So far this term we have set up our own football golf course around the school grounds; run a scavenger hunt; offered stone-masonry, Airfix modelling, photography and cross stitch classes; held speed cup stacking tournaments; done some gardening; competed in Xbox Kinect Olympics, as well as played lots of football, kwik cricket, dodgeball, spikeball, badminton and not forgetting Kan Jam!
In the calmer moments both myself and Mrs Schutte have read to the boarders and we have all encouraged them to read more too. There has also been the weekly tuck and movie night and we have still found time to run both bingo and quiz nights – the ‘whose poo’ section of the latter being a particular favourite…the children are now all expert animal trackers!
At this point I must mention that the boarders do have time to do their prep and the new timetable has given them the opportunity to start to become a little more independent with their decision making (albeit with the boarding team in the background to ensure right choices are made).
The second half of term has a number of surprises for the boarders. The first of these being that each dorm will be given their own ‘pet’ to look after. The children originally started by asking for donkeys, Shetland ponies and goats but, after much negotiation, the boys have agreed on Venus fly traps and the girls have chosen sea monkeys! We are going to run a competition to see which dorm can keep theirs alive the longest…
Finally, I would just like to add that the only reason why boarding has been such a success this term is because of the energy and enthusiasm with which the children have embraced it. They have been wonderful. The boarding community is the heart of the school and it is a huge pleasure to be a part of it.
Mr Batchelor and the boarding team
