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Welcome from Mr Golding
Welcome to Austin House. I am very
much looking forward to meeting
you!
I am Mr Golding. I am the
Housemaster of Austin house and
it is my job to look after you while
you are at Abingdon School. I live in
the boarding house with my wife,
Beccy, our children, Henry, Oliver
and Emily, and our dog, Max. I will
be spending some time getting
to know you when you first arrive.
I will also be helping you get to
know your new surroundings. I am
very fortunate to have the help of
a number of other teachers, called
tutors, who look after smaller
groups of pupils within the house.
You will meet themwhen you arrive
and you will be introduced to your
tutor.
I know that you will be feeling
excited but also nervous about
arriving at Abingdon School and
joining Austin House. I am here to
help you get to understand the life
of the school and the house. You
will have many questions and you
should ask me, or any one of the
tutors, for help whenever you need
it.
You may be wondering what Austin
House is! It is actually a home, a
physical building, whereyouwill live
with 25 other boarders while you
are at Abingdon School. However,
it is also a small community within
the school. Austin House has a
mixture of boarders and dayboys.
The house community is there
to help each other through the
challenges of school life. We have
teams that compete with other
houses in the school, and social
events that bring different groups
together. The other pupils in the
house will quickly become your
friends and will probably be
the people who share your best
moments at Abingdon with. To find
out more you should read through
this handbook carefully. I look
forward to meeting you in person
in September.
Mr Golding
Hello new housemates! Welcome to
Austin house.
Some of you might be boarding
novices, others boarding veterans.
No matter your level of boarding
school experience, we the prefects
of Austin House are here to help.
Learning the ropes in a new school,
new town, and with new people is
always challenging. Luckily for you
we are here to make that challenge
easier to tackle.
As
mentioned
before,
your
primary challenge is adaptation
and organisation. But don’t worry
because when you start school you
can find out anything about your
personal schedule and directions
from us, the prefects from Austin,
or a member of staff. Boarding
isn’t all about following a schedule,
telling you when you are meant to
sleep, eat and work. It is also about
gaining new experiences, making
friends from different cultural
backgrounds, trying things outside
of your comfort zone. There are a
range of activities you can try your
hands on e.g. cooking, paintballing,
live rugby matches. Despite the
word of the boarding critics it is
actually an exciting adventure.
Forgive me for the use of a cliché in
the previous sentence and also for
the use of another in the following.
The Boarding community is like
a home away from home. Here in
Austin we consider ourselves as
family. Long lasting friendships
are waiting to be discovered and
understanding how to cooperate,
with a different variety of people, is
one skill you gain within Austin.
For those parents reading this.
Don’t worry Boarding isn’t a giant
playground. We do get a lot of work
done. Working with serious minded
people will help your child achieve
best grades he possibly can.
Without further ado, Welcome to
Austin House.
Welcome fromboardingprefects
