SCHOOL DAYS:THEY’RE BROADER FOR A BOARDER

Head of Boarding at Godstowe Preparatory School, MicheleWesternKaye talks about the benefits of the Prep School boarding experience.

Boarding is at the very heart of Godstowe. It is what keeps the school ticking over 24-hours a day, seven days a week, give or take the odd Exeat weekend! Boarding is not just for those who need it. At Godstowe we strongly believe our boarding experience is valuable, exciting and best of all good fun with an appropriate amount of hard work. Boarding develops independence, self-confidence and maturity – and nothing can be better than friends on tap, staff on tap and facilities on tap. Godstowe boarders make friends for life.

Our aim at Godstowe is to ensure our girls leave us as confident young women who are ready to flourish at the Senior School of their choice, equipped with skills to learn from failures and build on successes, and above all to embody our core values of kindness, courtesy and respect for others. The independence, adaptability and social skills developed from the prep-age boarding experience are extremely valuable preparation for 13+ education.

Our boarding staff are made up of qualified teachers, nurses, graduates and gap students. Senior boarding staff are dedicated professionals committed to the pastoral and holistic aspects of education; they have no classroom teaching commitment, but do take an active part in the cocurricular programme in order to maintain a connection with both the boarding community and day girls. The staff really know and understand how each and every girl ticks. Boarders live in three detached houses; younger girls board in the junior house, designed to suit their specific needs, they then graduate to one of two senior houses for their final three years at Godstowe (years 6-8).

WELL-BEING AND DOWNTIME

As a prep school, we want children to be children. In a world where young people are over-stimulated, and screen-time is an essential part of the school day and beyond, we believe in the importance of scheduled time away from the screen, downtime to relax in the house with their friends and in the great outdoors.

We are a smartphone free school. Girls are relieved of the pressure and wasted time these phones can bring. Instead, they are given a Nokia ‘brick’ , taught how to use it (a brand-new skill in today’s world ‘Nothing happens when I swipe the screen!”) with which they can phone their parents, family and friends. For most, and in particular the older girls, they have plenty of time to catch up with social media...in the holidays! Parents love it and the girls don’t mind - after all they have real friends, in real life, in real time!

Each weekday morning, girls are woken up with gentle music for five minutes, followed by upbeat happy music for ten minutes while they are getting ready. Each dorm puts forward its favourite songs for this and an eclectic mix of pop songs from the chart, classical and cultural music is pumped through to each dorm via its own bespoke Amazon Echo Ariana Grande and the theme from Star Wars - like we said, eclectic! Girls tend to dance along to breakfast with big smiles with their friends, ready to start the day on a positive and happy note.

Each night in the junior house the girls are read a bedtime story when they are snuggled up ready to sleep. This year, staff designed a ‘Quiet Room’ as a sensory calm room, with a tropical fish tank, soothing lights and quiet music. Girls are always welcome to go and sit in the calm room for some downtime either by themselves or with their friends for a story, or a relaxing chat about their day.

In the two senior houses after prep and music practice are completed girls take part in evening activities ranging from the ever-popular Krashmat Kricket (a wide game cribbed from another prep school) and old-fashioned games such as pom-pom, forty-forty and sardines. Lively ‘newspaper groups’ discuss current events and letter writing has become a ‘thing’!

Girls enjoy short meditation sessions where they are encouraged to be mindful and bring their attention to the present moment. In the context of a busy and exciting boarding school environment boarders are given the skills to manage any anxiety about their week and to calm their minds.

KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE

Not all children come with the same background and we are mindful of this. Knowing what is expected of our boarders is important, so there are clear notices around the houses and visual prompts for everything, from where to put their dirty washing to what time dinner is. Age-appropriate role-play is used in a fun and educational way to go through things such as etiquette at meal-times and to work out friendship worries.

Our aim is to provide an environment that is just cosseting and cosy enough to help our pupils become robust and confident! We want our boarders to learn to take responsibility, manage their time, be resilient, have a balanced nutritious diet, have adequate sleep and to take pleasure exploring the great outdoors. They need to take part in creative play, have social interaction and learn how to live in a community of people from all over the world. Sometimes, it is necessary for children to be bored in order for them to become inventive. This weekend, for instance, the theme has been ‘Flower Power’; older girls have painted flowers on miniature easels whilst the youngest girls made fairy gardens, colourful tie-dye tshirts, socks and masks have been made, a bee hotel constructed as well as bird houses and seeded fat balls made - enough to last until next winter!

HOME FROM HOME

We try to foster a home-from-home environment in all our houses. In the junior house this includes things such as reading on a one to one; help with prep and spelling practice; soft supervision for the girls to skype their parents on a Sunday; ‘Our first day at school’ photos are taken and sent home; a ‘Boarder of the Week’ bear is awarded; Special birthday ‘tables’ and tea and cake; a tooth fairy glitter pot (£1 per tooth in case you are wondering!)

The girls are picked up / met at the end of the school day, as they would be by their families, followed by 20 minutes of downtime with a snack and chat about their day with staff. In the senior houses there is always someone ‘at home’ for the girls to talk to about their worries, be they the joys of growing up, to fussing mums, to exam fears. They come ‘home’ from school and can change into their home clothes, have tea, then return to school to do their prep and take part in the extensive enrichment programme with day girls. Bed extensions, classic movie nights, tuck and pizza party treat nights punctuate the term and can all be earned by helping out around the house and by winning the hotly contested weekly dorm scores competition (most parents cannot believe how tidy their daughters can be!)

We are all looking forward to returning to a freer lifestyle and for Godstowe boarders that will include weekend trips to Brighton, with iceskating at Canary Wharf and Guildford, day trips to the South of England and Newbury Shows, Windsor Castle, Chessington World of Adventures, local National Trust properties, sailing/SUP boarding/kayaking at Bray Lake, cinema and bowling trips as well as activities on site such as skateboarding and skipping workshops, falconry displays and themed dance events.

“For full time boarders the weekend activities are a lot of fun and extremely varied. Speakers and Event Managers are on site offering unique insights into activities such as Falconry, Skipping Workshops with Double Dutch and Zumba sessions, to name but a few. And, of course, an amazing plus “being able to use the pool whenever they like!”

Godstowe Parent, March 2021