BOARDING LIFE

from The Dragon Magazine 2019-2020

CONNECTED

Markham

The new girls joining St George’s in the First, Second, Third and Fourth Years always receive a very warm welcome. This year, we were also delighted to welcome new Housemistress, Sue Harmon, and Resident Tutor, Natalie Conde.

Natalie later took up the role of Assistant Housemistress in January 2020, as we said farewell to the much loved Olga Kellaris, who moved on to pastures new after four happy years looking after the girls as Assistant Housemistress and acting Housemistress. Kezia Tomsett joined us as the new Resident Tutor, bringing a musical flair to the house and many fun evenings of impromptu singing.

Throughout the Autumn and Spring Terms, the boarders enjoyed a wonderful range of weekend activities including trampolining, ice skating, trips to Thorpe Park, The London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds as well as visiting the cinema, having evening meals at Nandos and making shopping excursions to Bracknell, Windsor and the large Westfield shopping centre. Closer to home, the girls enjoyed pamper sessions and afternoon tea as well as crafts events

Alison Kennedy - the Head Librarian and resident member of Markham staff - organised an excellent Harry Potter Evening, which brought all year groups together to explore imagination in magic.

The Fourth Years were lively participants in a Come Dine with Me-style supper, in which the group were split into teams to make a starter, main course and dessert for each other. A photography competition was run with the theme of Something Blue, and many of the competitors now have their stunning photographs on display in the house.

Girls were also encouraged to join the new initiative, Girl Up, where they learnt about the ways girls grow up across the world and started thinking about how they could influence School life for the better. In support of ‘Girl Up’, a number of our boarders organised a cake sale, where they raised funds to buy underwear as well as sanitary pads to support those in need.

Knatchbull

Boarding at St George’s is all about striking a balance in life: balancing work with play, taking time to focus on academic life, developing skills and interests outside of the classroom, spending time in community with others and also having space to find yourself and rest. In Knatchbull, we try to achieve that balance.

Weekend life in the house is a mix of downtime, with cinema trips, shopping, and opportunities to swim and go to the gym alongside some more unusual events.

One of the most popular events of the last year was the Cultural Mash Up! which showcased community life in the house. This took place soon after the beginning of the Autumn term. All the girls in the House made or brought food based on a happy memory, their own culture or childhood. We had a wonderful feast that included fish and chips, Yorkshire puddings, sticky chicken, noodles, fried rice and cinnamon buns.

The event encouraged the girls to talk to each other about their cultures and backgrounds.

Other highlights of the year included Bonfire Night, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and Christmas celebrations which the girls helped to organise.

Chinese New Year was celebrated in style with Lower Sixth pupil, Jennie, cooking Coca Cola chicken and egg fried rice along with her team for the rest of the House. Jennie also showed everyone how to make red window flowers and to write using Chinese characters.

Loveday

Once the girls reach the Upper Sixth, they are given increased opportunities to make independent decisions about their free time. Wonderfully, the bonds formed at Loveday this year were such that they often choose to spend time together.

Towards the end of the Autumn term, everyone thoroughly enjoyed a night out at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland, which spread Christmas cheer throughout the house.

The girls also relished the two pamper nights hosted by GloPamper, in which they were able to choose from a manicure, pedicure or massage as a post-exam treat. Most of the girls opted for the massage - which was a fantastic stress reliever - alongside some delicious pizza and homemade smoothies.

The girls also enjoyed celebrating annual events such as Valentines Day, Chinese New Year and St Patrick’s Day.

To celebrate Valentine’s day, the girls were treated to an in-house breakfast of eggs benedict and for St Patrick’s day, the girls turned the common room into the setting of an Irish pub ready for a quiz!

Obviously, the Upper Sixth is a year of more focused study and, from the very start of the Autumn term, the girls supported one another superbly as they worked towards their A-levels. We were proud of the excellent balance they achieved.