BOARDING

2020-21 started early in the Boarding House as, due to quarantine and travel restrictions, we welcomed boarders in the middle of August. Mr Rogers and I were supported in the house by a new team of Grads: Miss Holt, Mr Pepper and Miss Shaw. For the first couple of weeks, we were also ably supported by Mr Niblett, and they were all excellent in arranging daily activities to keep the boarders entertained, culminating in a camp fire with Mr Rogers providing the entertainment on his guitar.

Once term started properly, we welcomed back the rest of the boarders and were delighted to see faces old and new. It was lovely seeing the boarders return and hearing what they had been up to during the holidays. Although the continuing presence of Covid-19 meant we had to adjust several processes in the house, there was still a wonderful vibe and energy as reacquaintances were made and new friendships established. We also were joined by a further two Grads: Mr Berry and Mr Goode, who proved to be popular additions to the team.

During the Autumn term, we continued with our regular programme of weekend trips and activities including trampolining, 10-pin bowling, cinema and shopping trips, and our annual visit to Blist Hill. We also held our own bonfire and fireworks event in the school grounds, which proved to be a wonderful evening. We were grateful to our As we entered the Spring term, we were hit by the national lockdown. Many of our UK based boarders remained at home, whilst a number of our oversees boarders were unable to return. The Boarding House became a much quieter place and restrictions meant we were unable to run trips at the weekends. Undeterred, we made the best of the situation and we got to appreciate how lucky we are to be at Lucton, with the boarders having the opportunity to make the most of the facilities we have on site and the wonderful countryside that surrounds us. The Grads were instrumental in organising swimming and game sessions, and we hosted film nights, table tennis competitions, arts and crafts, to name but a few. Miss Holt organised a tie-dye t-shirt event, which proved to be incredibly popular and resulted in some interesting fashion statements being made around the house for the next few weeks.

The Summer term saw the country as a whole starting to open up a little more and we were able to venture out on a few trips including paintballing and a visit to West Midlands Safari Park.

Maintenance team for building a fantastic bonfire and the Catering staff for serving up a delicious barbeque. The weather was cold but clear and we enjoyed Mr Rogers setting off a superb display of fireworks.

The end of the Autumn term was celebrated with the Boarders’ Dinner. Annie and Aaron did a wonderful job organising the event and the dining hall was decorated beautifully. The Grads presented prizes and certificates to the boarders and a great night was had by all.

“We got to appreciate how lucky we are to be at Lucton, with the boarders having the opportunity to make the most of the facilities we have on site and the wonderful countryside that surrounds us. ”

Mrs Webb-Rogers Head of Boarding

The start of term was unusual in some respects, having had boarding students arrive from all over the world over a number of weeks to quarantine before term started. Everyone settled in well and lots of new friends were made. We welcomed our new graduate residential assistants, Mr Pepper, Miss Holt, and Miss Shaw, based in School Cottage and Croft House, who proved invaluable to the running of the houses. We put in place many systems to keep our boarders safe, but school and boarding life remain largely unchanged at Lucton. We had campfires, orchard raiding, and a trip to Shrewsbury, making the most of the last days of summer and getting to know some of our new students.

Ice skating at Malvern

Miss Holt and Mr Pepper took both School Cottage and Croft House ice skating in Malvern. Everyone had a fantastic time; even Elias, with his penguin friend helping him to stay upright on the ice! We did the usual supermarket trips and had our regular fun swim on Sunday, as well as opening the sports hall for those that wanted even more exercise. The boarders really do have boundless energy!

Trampoling at Jump In

The boarders, accompanied by Mr Pepper and Miss Holt, went to “Jump In” in Shrewsbury for an epic trampolining session that had all our boarders worn out by the evening. Miss Quick ran weekly shopping trips to Morrisons for the weekly tuck shop. We also opened up the swimming pool for fun swimming in the afternoon before prep - a great and energetic weekend all round!

Open Mic Night

It’s been a busy week in the boarding houses! The good weather at the weekend meant that some of our younger boarders could get some fresh air on Saturday afternoon, with a run around in the grounds, before settling down to a quiz with a well-earned hot chocolate later on. Eno came top of the brain boxes, demonstrating a particularly excellent general knowledge of science (especially dinosaurs!) and film.

On Saturday evening, we were all entertained by the artistic talent on show in our Boarding House “Open Mic Night”. The boarders rehearsed all week, and there was a plethora of acts, with everyone keen to take part. Mr Rogers kicked off proceedings (any excuse to pull out his guitar and make some noise!), quickly followed by our youngest boarder, Elfine, singing “Let It Go” like a true Disney princess. There were also some fantastic solo performances from School Cottagers Eno and Chloe, an “interesting” performance from the boys on Warwick corridor and some amazing piano recitals from Johanna and John. In fact, every corridor submitted an entry or two. We were thrilled by the enthusiasm, sheer talent and good humour of our boarders. The stand out performances of the evening were a real surprise; the quietest, shyest of our boarders, Aries, Rachel, and Zoe amazed us all with their beautiful piano and guitar performances.

Most of the students from Croft House headed to Gloucester Quays for a spot of retail therapy. They were able to browse a wide selection of shops and restaurants at a venue that is ideal in wet weather, as most of it is under cover. Everyone seemed to enjoy being somewhere new and spending some money. School Cottage, meanwhile, decided to watch the second “Cats and Dogs” movie, which was a lot of fun! As usual we opened up the pool for a fun swim. The sports hall has been used much more by the boarders for badminton, basketball and, of course, football as the nights draw in. In the house, Mr & Mrs Rogers started getting language lessons from the overseas boarders! As a result, boarders now get a ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ in German, Russian, Spanish, Dutch and Chinese.

Snowballs Galore

Some might say that it’s no fun in the boarding house, but we certainly all had “snow fun”! The boarders woke one Saturday to a thick covering of snow, and couldn’t wait to get out and enjoy it. The boarders from School Cottage had built a whole community of snowmen before demolishing a hearty brunch to warm up those cold fingers. It certainly whetted the appetite! Later on, Croft House got involved too. Tim and Howard made a very impressive snowball, almost as big as them, and there were snowball fights galore! It was lovely to get out in the fresh air after a week of online learning and to see everyone, rosy cheeked, tired but happy at the end of the day. Sunday was a more relaxed affair, with a film in the cinema room and a takeaway in the evening. With more snow forecast, it seemed as though more outdoor fun is yet to be had.

Chinese New Year

One weekend we were lucky to have Miss Quick help out in School Cottage. All the pupils spent some time in the school library on Saturday morning, decorating it for Chinese New Year and having a good tidy-up to make this lovely space even more appealing for the pupils in school. Afterwards, the pupils all enjoyed a breath of fresh air with a good walk out to see Jamie, Miss Quick’s house rabbit! Sunday saw the boarders having fun in the pool, burning off some energy before dinner, whilst some of our older ones had a fiercely fought game of Monopoly against Mr Berry and Miss Holt.

Great Lucton Bake Off

After a few busy weekends and with slightly fewer students we were able to try some different activities. Mr Berry and Miss Holt ran a very successful “Great Lucton Bake Off” in Croft House, which was lots of fun, particularly for the hungry judges! School Cottage had a games night of scavenger hunts, Pictionary and Charades, run by Mr Pepper and Miss Shaw, and we celebrated Chinese New Year and the last week of the half term (admittedly a few days early!) with a delicious evening meal together.