Girls’ Boarding Blog

I’m thrilled to hear the sounds of girls laughing, chatting and catching up on the events of the past three months echoing along the corridors to the office. I have thoroughly enjoyed having the “Fab Five” to myself during my lockdown duties, but I am certain that Hattie, Jess, Leora, Angie (and Evie) are pleased to have some familiar faces back.

The weekend started with a celebration of St Piran’s Day. St. Piran is the patron saint of tin miners and is generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall. The story goes that he was exiled by the Kings of Ireland back in the early 6th century and floated across the Irish sea, somehow managing to wash up on the shore of a beach near Newquay – now called Perran Sands (Perran being Piran in Cornish). Anyway, after our supper we completed our prep time and showers and met back downstairs to eat Cornish treats and play games. We enjoyed some Cornish Brie and crackers, mini Cornish rolls, scones with jam and clotted cream and Cornish fudge. Delicious! Once we had eaten our goodies we played a few games. One of our new games from the Head and his family involves throwing a ball around and completing forfeits which hinder your ability to throw and catch.

Saturday morning dawned and after our obligatory lie-in and yummy brunch the girls and I headed back to the boarding house for a chilled-out Saturday. The girls went for walks, popped to the shops, and completed a few activities. We also celebrated International Women’s Day by showing our support for #choosetochallenge gender inequality by raising our right hand.

Our evening activity this week was an Escape Room. We had a blast reading the evidence, solving the clues and working out who the murderer was and why he killed Max Cobbler! For 2.5 hours the girls worked well together and really honed their logic and problem-solving skills.

Sunday morning arrived cold but beautifully sunny. After brunch the girls headed back to the boarding house to start getting ready for the return to school and to welcome back another 10 Malvern and Pentreve girls back into the boarding house. Whilst they waited, Hattie and Jess made some jewellery shrink art into earrings!

After a lasagne supper this evening we headed back for a quick Malvern/Pentreve meeting where we reminded each other of some of the considerations for communal living and the new all-important roll call times. No excuses for oversleeping tomorrow morning!
Now, as I begin the five different bedtime routines, I can hear the sounds of final bits of unpacking and preparations for school tomorrow. All that remains to be said is that I wish all the girls a gentle and successful return to face to face lessons and until next time… goodnight.

Mrs Joanna Wood, Malvern Resident Tutor