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Boarding Life and Weekends
Supportive and Nurturing
Boarding is the experience of a lifetime for those who live too far from Christ’s Hospital to undertake the daily commute. For day students who live closer to CH, the energy that emanates from a 24/7 school, one of the foremost boarding schools in the country, makes the experience just as rich and enjoyable.
Whether you are a boarder or day student, you will adapt quickly. Like boarders, day students are allocated to a boarding house where they have their own space. And like boarders, day students benefit from the facilities, and the friendships, long after the obligatory school day has ended.
Students live in 18 boarding houses, two of which are for the upper sixth. CH takes enormous pride in its commitment to providing exceptional pastoral care, ensuring that students feel safe, cared for and supported throughout their educational journey. The close-knit boarding houses are a fundamental aspect of day-to-day life at CH and play a crucial role in providing a supportive and nurturing environment.
The houses create a sense of community and act as ‘home away from home’. Within the houses, students find a supportive network of peers and house staff who are dedicated to their wellbeing and welfare.
Pastoral Care
The House structure provides students with long term stability. Each house has a Houseparent who has overall responsibility for the students in their house. They live in accommodation attached to their boarding house, many with families of their own, and are assisted by an Assistant Houseparent and a team of three other tutors who, in most cases, will be a member of the teaching staff.
There is always a member of staff on duty in each boarding house, who is clearly visible and easily accessible to the students.
In addition, each boarding house has a resident Matron who looks after students’ laundry and cleanliness. Matron is someone the students can talk to and seek advice from, and also deals with students’ day-to-day medical issues, supported by our Health Centre, which is staffed 24 hours a day with a team of trained nurses. Doctors from a local practice hold surgeries at the school five mornings a week and regular dental and orthodontic surgeries are held at the School. Specialist clinics are also held, e.g. for asthmatics.
Staff are very accessible to students, supervising their prep, eating meals with them and socialising in the boarding house. This helps the staff get to know students and pick up very quickly when something is worrying a student.
House events are an important aspect of boarding life. Houseparents take students out on trips to the theatre, cinema and bowling, and give them treats, just as a parent would. House-based activities take place every Wednesday evening and most Saturday evenings and staff support students when they are performing in concerts or plays or in sporting events.
Boarding Houses
Some ninety boys and girls enter Christ’s Hospital each September into the Second Form (Year 7), with a smaller entry into Little Erasmus (Year 9) and Deps (Year 12).
There are eight boarding houses for girls and eight for boys, from the ages of 11 to 17 years. Our final year students (Year 13) live in separate, mixed boarding houses called Grecians houses.
Approximately forty-five to fifty students live in each house. Typically, nine or ten children join each house at the start of the new academic year, seven in Year 7 and two or three in Years 9 or 12. Everyone quickly gets to know each other.
The Houses create a sense of community and act as a ‘home away from home’ for all students.
Through the Houses, students have access to a wide range of help and guidance, including academic support, extracurricular involvement, and personal development opportunities. The Houses foster a sense of belonging, friendship, and camaraderie among students, creating a supportive and inclusive community.
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pastoral care