15
“Other Half”
Like all members of the school you
will be required to participate in the
“Other Half” (co-curricular) program
at Abingdon. We believe that it is
very important. If you have decided
to come to our school then you have
also decided to join in the “Other
Half” program with enthusiasm and
energy. You are required to participate
in a minimum of two sports sessions
per week. You must also do an activity
on a Wednesday afternoon. In the 3rd
form you must do a service activity on
a Tuesday during period 8.
There is a vast array of sports available
so you have plenty to choose from.
There are also a great many other
activities including science projects,
music, drama, academic societies,
debating, CCF, Duke of Edinburgh
Award and much more. It is a good
idea to do as many of these as you
can and we recommend that you try
something new each term. However,
it is important that you take care to
manage your time. You should also
know that not all activities are available
to all year groups. Sometimes it might
be that two activities you want to do
take place at the same time. In this
situation you need to decide which
one to do. You can’t do both!
You will choose your “Other Half”
activities in your first days at school.
Food
All boarders’ meals take place in the
school dining hall (breakfast, lunch
and dinner). We are always trying to
improve the quality of our food so we
are very happy to listen your views.
If you come from another country
you may be worried about English
food. However, you should make sure
you always go to meals and try our
food. It may be different but it is very
nice and food is an important part of
experiencing a new culture.
Each house has a kitchen where you
can make snacks and cook your own
food. There are also often cooking
lessons on a Saturday morning.
Sometimes in the summer the
houses have a BBQ in their gardens.
Laundry
You need to be organised with your
laundry if you are a boarder. You will
need to make sure that everything
that goes into the wash has your
name clearly on it. Either a label of
written on clearly with marker pen on
a prominent label.
You put your laundry into the wash on
a Tuesday morning before school. You
need to put all your dirty clothes into
the baskets that you are given and
take them to the laundry collection
point in your house. In addition, you
need to strip your beds on a Tuesday
morning and put your sheets, duvet
cover and pillow covers in the wash
too. You will also be given two sock
bags with your name on it: one for
black and coloured socks and another
for white socks. You need to put your
socks in the bags and then put the
bags in the wash to stop your socks
getting mixed up with everyone
else’s! You can imagine how difficult it
is to work out who owns which sock
from a loose pile of black and white
socks!
If you need a couple of items washed
in a hurry you should speak to the
house matron. If you are very nice
and polite she will be able to wash
them more quickly for you.
Rubbish
At Abingdon we believe in recycling.
If you decide to come to our school it
is important that you also accept that
you need to organise your rubbish so
that it can be recycled. As a result
there are three types of bins in the
boarding house: one for recycling, one
for food and one for non-recyclable.
There are many of these different
types of bins all over the house. You
will be told what can/cannot go in
each bin when you arrive. It is very
important that you listen to this.
Leaving the house
We are required by law to know where
you are at all times. Therefore if you wish
to leave the school site at any time you
need to get permission from your house
matron, Mr Golding (your housemaster)
or the tutor on duty. After 7pm in the
evening you need permission from one
of those people if you would like to leave
the grounds of the boarding house.
If you wish to leave the house overnight
(permission to do this will not normally
be granted on a week night) then Mr
Golding will need permission from your
parents/guardian and (if you are not
staying with your parents/guardian) the
responsible adult you are staying with.
It is possible that Mr Golding will not let
you out (but this is only likely if you are
in trouble or there is a compulsory event
that you need to attend).
If you wish to leave the house and miss
school for any other reason (for example
work experience or important family
occasions) then you should request
permission from Mr Golding who is able
to grant permission for up to a day off
school. For periods of time longer than
this, then your parents will need to write
to/email Mr David Dawswell, the Second
