The Pupils

We have again included a ‘Pupils and Parents’ section, which we believe provides some of the most compelling reading in the guide. In the pupils’ part we have covered virtually the whole age range across a range of schools. In the parents’ part there is a spread of perspectives from past and present Servicemen and wives from different backgrounds and circumstances, but all focusing on how best as individuals they could educate their children. In many ways we think it is the most interesting and valuable part of this guide. For those with reservations about boarding, it is a marvellously positive advert for one of the real beacons of British education and a great credit to the whole of the boarding sector.

Pupils boarding in the twenty-first century – just a small cross-section of the many contributions we have received from those currently boarding in the UK
We thank all those who contributed and we believe they are a great credit, not only to their schools, but to boarding in all schools.

James McCran, aged 13 (Year 8), Lockers Park Prep School, Hemel Hempstead: the highs and lows of boarding

My time at Lockers Park Prep School has been incredible. I am so happy that I have gone there and to think I have been there for nearly four years now pleases me because I know that if I hadn’t gone there I would have probably been to about three more schools by now. It was obviously difficult at the start. It was quite … well, to be honest, scary knowing that my family were in Germany at the time and that I was in England. It only took me about a week to get over it though because I was having so much fun; even on the first weekend I had been invited to another boy’s house. My time at Lockers Park has been fun filled and, all in all, a great experience.

A lot of people have asked me ‘How do you feel about leaving Lockers?’ or ‘Are you sad about leaving your school?’ and my answer to that would be no, not really. I know that I am getting a bit too old for my school because it is a preparatory school. I am in my final year there (Year 8) and feel that I am ready to go on to a new school. To do that, though, I have to pass Common Entrance (CE) which, yes, in a way I am worried about because it is such a big thing. The teachers at Lockers Park have prepared me very well though, and I know that if I try my best I can pass the exams.

If I pass my Common Entrance exams I am going to go to Felsted, which I think is going to be a great school to go to. Felsted, like most boarding schools, is big on sport and has fantastic facilities. Rugby and cricket are my two favourite sports and I am looking forward to playing them at Felsted, and hope I make a team. Another reason why I like it is because of its technology and art departments. Felsted has one of the country’s oldest Combined Cadet Forces and I am looking forward to joining that in Year 10. Once my parents and I had made a decision about which senior school I wanted to go to, I felt that I had something to really focus on and it gave me an incentive to work harder.

CE will last a whole week. After CE there are lots of activities for all the Year 8 boys that are leaving. We are going on a leavers’ trip to an activity centre in Wiltshire (PGL). I can’t wait for that because we are doing things like abseiling, raft building, zip wire, mountain biking and other really good activities.
To sum all of that up, I feel that leaving Lockers Park isn’t that bad because, hopefully, I will be going on to Felsted. The only sad thing is that I will miss all of the friends I have made at Lockers, but I am sure that I will stay in contact with them.

Ed Welch, aged 13 years, Clayesmore School

A few months ago, I was in Year 8 at the top of my prep school, so I can look back at my time there and remember all the fun I have had. I joined Clayesmore Prep in Year 5, straight from my primary school in London, and right away I felt at home because everyone was so friendly. I have so many happy memories of spending time with my friends and what is so brilliant about being able to transfer straight to Clayesmore Senior School is that all my friends are coming with me! It means we can still be together in the same environment, but I am also looking forward to meeting some new people because lots of other pupils join the Senior School from other prep schools.

When the time came to make a decision about which senior school to attend, we visited Clayesmore senior and both myself and my parents were so impressed with the facilities and the teachers that it seem to be the best and most logical move for me.

I have been awarded an academic scholarship to the Senior School. History and English are my best subjects, so my mum and dad were particularly pleased to tour round all the new academic facilities and buildings. I am also in the swimming team – the Prep School has really accelerated my swimming – and so I am looking forward to carrying on with my swimming training and perhaps joining the early-morning sports development squad. Rugby is my preferred team game and I really like the idea of playing for a whole term at a time in the Senior School.

Our family – my father is a Brigadier in the Desert Rats, 7th Armoured Brigade – lives in Germany at the moment, so one of the most important things for my parents is that my brother, sister and I can stay together and go to school in one place. My brother is in the Prep School in Year 6 and sometimes needs his family, so I am really happy that even though I will have moved to another school, I am actually on the same campus and can spend time with him and see him each day. I know my mum really loves that idea. My sister will be joining the Prep School next year. Also, I do have some friends in other years in the Prep School and it has been great to see them from time to time and tell them all the stories of the Senior School and what it is like.

So, when the time came for me to leave the Prep School, all I had was happy memories to take with me into the Senior School. I had no real worries or concerns about what it might be like because I knew it would be like staying with one big family – but there was all the excitement of a new beginning, new friends and lots more new opportunities.

Frances Rose, Year 10 Pupil at the Duke of York’s Royal Military School, An Academy with Military Traditions

I am enjoying my time in Marlborough House and even though we are in temporary accommodation due to damage to our main house, I feel at home and am thrilled to have my own bedroom all to myself. Normally I would share with another girl. I am enjoying the extra responsibilities that have come my way, and I help out with the tidying and kitchen duties. My friends have been very supportive and we have plenty of time to watch films and TV on our large communal television. It’s like being in a cinema! Our house has a new Housemaster and he is very keen to get all the girls involved in house activities. It was sad that our previous Housemistress retired at the end of the last academic year. Our tutors are as supportive as ever.

Although our school is now an Academy, I have not noticed any real change in what we do and I have little time to be idle. I am very keen on drama and I have been given the lead female role, Audrey, in the play Little Shop of Horrors. Drama practice is very intense, but I am enjoying the challenge and look forward to acting in the school production. I expect it will be a bit scary acting in front of so many people.

I am also involved in the Naval CCF and I get the opportunity to go sailing, which I really like. My sport is netball and I am in the school team.

I feel that I have made a good start to my GCSEs and am working towards getting the best grades that I can. Being in a boarding school means that all pupils do prep time and I have a tutor who helps me if I need assistance. We all do our prep time together, so no one feels that they are doing more than the next and it means that perhaps we are more focused on our work. I am determined to do the best that I can.

Hannah Bateman (18) and her brother Oliver Bateman (16) are boarders at Sutton Valence School, Kent

Hannah
Our dad is a Royal Navy commander stationed with NATO in Virginia Beach, USA. We used to live in Dubai, and attended an English school there for four years, but as I was about to start studying for my GCSEs, our parents decided to send us to school in England rather than America, because of the different education systems. Five years ago, mum looked at about ten schools in Kent, but chose Sutton Valence because she was particularly impressed by the warmth of the community and its fantastic setting within the village. She felt that we would be well cared for and supported here and it’s also close to where some of our relatives live.

I joined Sutton, the senior girls’ boarding house, and although it took a little time to adjust to being away from our parents, I soon felt at home. Everyone was really friendly, and there’s always someone to talk to and staff to help you with homework.

I have worked hard – the teachers set high standards here – and, having sat English, psychology, religious studies and art for A-level I am really pleased that I have received an offer to read English literature at Surrey University.

I’ve had an amazing time at Sutton Valence. I’ve played hockey for the 2nd XI, am in the chapel choir and the girls’ choir, and have gained Grade 5 flute. I did my training for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, including a four-day walk in the Lake District. I also love Community Service – I have worked in a care home for the disabled and now help out at a local nursery school. But my most proud achievement was to be selected to be Head of School for spring term this year.
I will be sorry to leave this summer – Sutton Valence has been my home for five years – but I am ready now to move on to university, and my friends will always be my friends.

Oliver
When I first came here, I didn’t know anyone. It was a bit scary, because the longest we had been away from our parents was six weeks. But the junior boarding house is like a big family and within a few days I had loads of friends.

Since then I’ve moved to a senior boys’ house, played for the U16s at rugby, enjoy cricket and swimming (the new indoor pool is fantastic!), have gained my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and am now going for Silver.

I’ve also joined the CCF because I think I want to join the Army when I leave school – Dad doesn’t seem to mind!
This summer I’ve sat 11 GCSEs, including my favourite subject, biology, and am hoping for good results so that I can take biology, physics, business studies and geography through to A-level.

I have loved boarding and although there have been times when I’ve missed home, there has always been a friend or a teacher who has made me feel better. Anyway, in the school holidays we fly over to America, and mum comes to the UK for half-terms, which we spend with relatives.
I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to be at Sutton Valence, I think it’s made me quite independent and responsible, and there’s so much going on here that three years has felt more like two weeks.

Alexander ‘Monty’ Beaton, Year 13 pupil, aged 17, at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook – final reflections

As I approach my final year at the Royal Hospital School I thought it necessary to reflect on my time at boarding school. I started boarding at a small preparatory school in Suffolk when I was just seven years old. When my parents told me that I was going to boarding school I was quite excited by the prospect of a life away from home and my annoying parents forever telling me to put the Lego and the toy cars away!

And so the long anticipated day came when I was to pack my bags and head off to Hogwarts, or so I thought. Unfortunately, when I arrived I realised that it was not much like Hogwarts at all. There was no castle-like building, no Hagrid to greet me at the car and, worst of all, no quidditch pitch! Instead just a small playing field with two rugby pitches and a hockey pitch. Despite these three minor disappointments I spent five very happy years there building friendships that still remain strong now, despite the 500 miles that separate us! Time flew by and, before I knew it, I was saying my goodbyes knowing that next term I would be starting at RHS.

When I arrived at RHS I was absolutely overwhelmed. It being the school that my father and grandfather had once attended, I had visited many times before, however the knowledge that this was now my school just seemed slightly overwhelming, especially as the entire grounds of my last school would probably have sat quite comfortably on the parade square! Due to the fact that I was joining in Year 9 I was worried initially that I would not be able to break into the friendship bonds that had been formed over the past two years, however this was no problem at all as, being a Services child, I was able to relate to lots of children and had numerous discussions with friends-to-be about where we had lived in the world, JHQ Germany being one of the most common it seemed!

By the end of the first couple of weeks I was on the phone to mum and dad completely full of it. It was non-stop. I was in the CCF playing soldiers every Friday afternoon and on the rugby team playing matches nearly every weekend. To be totally honest I don’t really think I had much time to be homesick! I made myself as busy as possible so I had little time to think about home, which worked a treat for me. However I still found time to email home every day and phone up once or twice a week.

I thought then that I could get no busier – but, oh, how wrong I was! In Year 10 I discovered the wonders of the multi-gym and Year 11 was when I developed my love for kayaking. I competed in the 125-mile paddle of hell that is the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race. The CCF then allowed me to follow my passion and I have now got to the stage where I am going on school trips during my holidays – something I thought I would never do! This summer I am doing a week’s kayaking on the Tweed in Northumberland and then a further two weeks in Scotland, all organised through the school and CCF.

I made some amazing friends during my time here – friends I know I will have for life – and I thoroughly look forward to spending my final school year with them in the sixth form house, Nelson, next year. RHS has put me in really good stead for university next year, hopefully, and then the Army after that. Typical Army child, I know, following in dad’s footsteps. Sending me to boarding school is one of the greatest things my parents ever did. It provided an island in the middle of a rough sea in that I was no longer moving school and leaving my friends every other year.

Rhiannon Brooks, Year 13 pupil at Christ College Brecon, who completed her A2 exams this summer

I have been at Christ College for the past five years and sat my A2 exams this summer. I’ve been reflecting on my time in the sixth form compared to my earlier years. It’s fair to say that life in the sixth form is a completely different experience to the middle school years (Years 9, 10 and 11). For starters, in the sixth form I was able to focus on the subjects I really enjoy! As a science scholar at Christ College, these included biology, chemistry and maths. Last year I was also able to study AS-level history as it is something I am interested in. Second, I also enjoyed dealing with new teachers. During my A-level studies I was taught by more than one teacher for each subject, which meant that I was being taught by teachers I had never encountered in Years 9, 10 and 11. Something that I immediately noticed was that, as a sixth former, the teachers really began to treat you differently – it’s difficult to explain but they began to communicate with us as young adults.

As I entered the sixth form, I also felt there was a new sense of responsibility and respect around the boarding house, as the younger pupils were now looking to me for guidance or to set an example; a few years ago it was me looking up to my sixth formers for similar guidance and advice! Every day, during our allocated time in which we did our homework (known as ‘prep’), one member of sixth form would undertake a supervisory role with the younger pupils. This enabled us to develop our leadership skills as we were required to supervise the younger pupils and make sure they completed their prep, so that they understood what they must do when they progress into their GCSE years. Sometimes, some of the younger girls came to me to clarify their own understanding on something that they’d learned during the day. I really enjoyed helping them as I remember being in their shoes!

As a sixth former, we are also given more freedom. In my house, every sixth form boarder was allowed a single study-bedroom to themselves. This also gave us our own space. We were allowed to go into Brecon every day after school and at lunchtimes; in the early years, ‘uptown time’ is restricted to certain days a week. Sixth formers have more free periods, therefore the timetable is a bit more flexible … however this means more self-organisation to ensure that tasks are completed and deadlines are met. At Christ College we have our own Sixth Form Centre where we can go to socialise with members of the other houses, do some light studying, relax or watch TV. Throughout the term we had some great parties there, too, often with a fancy dress theme. There were also quiz and bingo nights, so it’s not all work, work, work! It’s great fun!!

Another plus side to sixth form life is the arrival of new pupils into the year group as joining the sixth form at Christ College is a very popular option. I enjoyed getting to know the new pupils. These included pupils not just from the UK but from a variety of different countries, such as Germany, China and Ukraine. I ensured that the new pupils knew that they could come to me when they didn’t understand an aspect of life in Christ College. Given that so many new pupils arrive in Year 12, the first weekend of term for sixth form at Christ College is spent on a leadership course in St David’s in Pembrokeshire, where we all get to know one another. The course includes coasteering (jumping off cliffs into the sea and surfing waves) and kayaking. This enables the year group to integrate and I certainly felt I was able to make lasting friendships very quickly!

In conclusion, I recommend sixth form life in any school like Christ College as it prepares you for life away from home, and for the outside world. It leaves you with so many memories and experiences that will remain with you for life. I know I will miss it, but I will always be able to draw on the experiences!