Abingdon News No. 52

24 January 2020 Comfortable Spaces Equally, the houserooms themselves are important. They provide a space for different year groups to mix, and for boundaries to break down over a game of pool or table tennis, or by discussing work, or even by the collective activity of moaning about the hardships of being a teenager. These dedicated spaces to unwind are accompanied by break out spaces in all of the other buildings on the campus, whether it’s the Science Centre or the Sports Centre, or any of the Courts - Greening, Beech or Mercers’. Openness Finally, if life does become tough, it is important that pupils don’t shy away from that and pretend everything is ok. It is at times of difficulty that it takes the most courage to speak, and when strong relationships are most needed. We work hard to encourage openness about going to our team of adolescent specialist counsellors, or encourage pupils to ask for help from staff. It is for this reason that we have a rolling programme of professional development for staff with the goal of everyone being trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Building Relationships by Mark Hindley, Deputy Head (Pastoral) Crucial to education and pastoral care are the relationships that boys build. They all need a role model to which to aspire: sometimes this is another pupil, sometimes it is a subject teacher, or a teacher who takes them for an Other Half activity; most often it is the person who has a pastoral role in that boy’s school life. Given this, at Abingdon we feel it is really important to create a system that allows for boys to interact with different people to build these relationships. To that end, we have a pupil teacher ratio of about 1:9, and 96 tutor groups in the school. Our 150 Other Half activities are not only about finding something you love, but also about meeting different staff and peers so that you build a range of relationships. We are a big school, and that provides awesome opportunities, but within the school we ensure each individual feels known, valued, and cared for.