Pastoral Care of Boarders

Truro School has a long history of boarding and believes that the community atmosphere of the school is greatly enhanced by the presence of boarders.

There are three boarding houses at Truro School: two for girls; Malvern for senior girls and Pentreve for junior girls, and one boys’ house; Trennick. Each house has a dedicated team of boarding staff, which includes a Housemaster or Housemistress and a team of tutors, whose pastoral work is essential to maintain the smooth running of the boarding community and to enhance the quality of life of the pupils whilst they are in school.

Housemaster and Housemistress

The Housemaster and Housemistress coordinate the pastoral care of boarders and are keen to help and support with the many challenges teenagers face. They are passionate about encouraging boarders to take positive action which enables them to have the best academic, co-curricular, social and personal outcomes.

The Housemaster/mistress is supported by a team of Resident Tutors who help run the house during the evenings and at weekends. There are also Non-resident House Tutors who help during one weekday evening each. All tutors assist with the pastoral care of the boarders and any boarder in any house can turn to any of the tutors for help, advice or support.

Tutors and Heads of Year

In addition to being in the care of a Housemaster or Housemistress, every student is in a Form, and the Form Tutor is an important person with whom pupils will have daily contact. He or she will be responsible for registering pupils every day and is there to help, guide and monitor students in conjunction with house staff as they progress in the School. Heads of Year manage the tutor system and work closely with Housemasters and Housemistresses with pastoral and academic care of boarders.

Chaplain

The Chaplain, Rev Helen Byrne, plays a key role in the pastoral care of boarders. She regularly spends time in the boarding houses during the evening, and she enjoys helping support boarders – especially new boarders during their transition into boarding.

The Chaplain also leads boarders’ chapel services which happen once every half-term. She has an office near the Chapel, and her door is always open for boarders. Helen adopts a very non-judgemental and supportive approach, and she works tirelessly to promote effective and positive mental health for all pupils in the school.

Prefects and Buddies

There is a Head of House, Deputy Head of House, and House Prefects for girls and boys boarding who are in the Upper Sixth and live in Trennick and Malvern. Most of them have boarded in the junior houses and are keen to keep strong links with the junior boarders.

Each boarder has a school buddy, who is a day student, and a house buddy, who is a boarder to help them settle in. There are also house prefects whose responsibilities include helping guide and support new boarders as they settle in.

Food and Drink

Pupils are provided with three very good meals each day when boarding and the Sixth Form also have access to the informal environment of the school’s café. Drinks and snacks are also readily available in all of the houses.

Medical Centre

The school has a modern, well-equipped Medical Centre run by Nurse Costa who is a  Registered Nurse in Child Health. Out of medical centre hours, the boarding house uses the 111 NHS service if a pupil becomes unwell during this time.