Senior Girls’ Boarding Blog

It is the last weekend for some of our international boarders before they fly home for Christmas. There has been excitement from some of our upper sixth girls as they receive university offers and some nerves starting to show as the 5th year get ready to start their GCSE mocks in earnest this week. But, they are in a great place with lots of support from the boarding staff and the tutors and are approaching the deadlines with dedication and determination. The week progressed with our usual school night routines, although on Thursday morning we did take time for Jess and Thanksgiving. I asked all the girls to think about what they were thankful for which, despite being in lockdown and in the middle of a pandemic, are still plentiful.

Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful over the city and as the house gently awoke from its extended slumber, we headed up the hill to brunch. The rest of the daytime included prep time, essential trips to town, laundry, secret Santa wrapping and room decorating ready for the Sunday night reveal.

We did have an extended roll call at lunchtime to chat about internet safety and, with a great deal of maturity, about the use of inappropriate apps such as Cunch-Line Chronicles which Mrs Ellison, Deputy Head Pastoral, had made us all aware of earlier in the week.

Saturday evening was such a great time. The girls broke off into teams and decorated/put together gingerbread house kits. When Phoebe asked me at the start of the evening if I could be the judge, I of course said yes. An hour in and I regretted that decision. As you can see from the photos, the standard was so high there was no way I could pick a winner. They were all amazing. The detailing was exquisite. Charlotte, Hattie and Jess had a whole story with their gingerbread house. Look out for the children having a snowball fight (one has snow in their face), the little camp fire, the pie cooling on the window sill. Amy, Carlotta and Stephanie created a Snowy Cottage with little cinnamon stick logs, rosemary trees and a star anise house decoration – how inventive. Isabella & Aim and Kristina & Phoebe went for a more traditional Hansel and Gretel themed house made of sweets with a cat stuck in the chimney! So cute. Lisa and Emily focused on the snow on their house and it was so pretty. You may not believe this, but this kept the girl’s creative juices flowing for 3 ½ hours. Phoebe and I did manage to get everyone to stop for a few minutes to enjoy our cheese fondue.

Sunday morning was another lazy start. Brunch at 11am followed by an early roll call so that we could utilise the swimming pool in the early afternoon. We usually have a slot at 4.30pm but given our boarding Christmas supper for which we needed to dress up, I knew the girls would need longer than 30 minutes to complete the process.

At 6pm we walked up the hill to our Christmas supper cooked by our lovely chef Kath and her team. Delicious roast turkey, beef and pork with all the trimmings followed by Christmas pudding or mince pies. The girls were all dressed up and although it was a Covid-safe affair, it was still a lovely part of the Boarding community Christmas calendar.