5
should take care to look
after your mobile phone. We
suggest that you keep it in
your lockable drawer or safe
when you don’t need to have
it on you. You should not
bring your mobile phone into
lessons.
Overnight Leave
We believe it is healthy for
our boarders to be allowed
to leave the house. We
do not believe in forcing
you to stay in over the
weekend and in special
circumstances (for example
if your parents are visiting
from abroad) you may be
allowed out during the
week.
However, we have to be very
careful that nothing bad
happens to you while you are
in our care. As a result there
are rules about leaving the
house. If you want to stay
out of the house overnight
then Mr Golding will need
confirmation from your
parents or guardian before
you will be allowed out. If you
are not going to be staying
with your parents or guardian
Mr Golding will also need
confirmation from the adult
you will be staying with (for
example if you are staying
overnight with a friend who
is a dayboy then Mr Golding
would also contact his
parents to check that they are
expecting you).
Town Leave
We are required by law to
know where you are at any
time while you are in our
care. Therefore if you wish
to leave the school site at
any time you need to get
permission from Mr Golding,
the house matron or from
the tutor on duty. After 7pm
you need permission to leave
the boarding house to go
anywhere.
Adjusting to a new life
Everyone who moves into a
new boarding school, from
one country to another or
even from one part of the
UK to Abingdon, will need
time to adjust to their new
life. Before you leave home
it is normal to have very
mixed feelings. One minute
you might be excited about
the opportunities of a new
life, the next minute you
might feel apprehensive
or nervous. You may be
worrying that you have
made the wrong decision.
One thing you can be
sure of, every boy who
is preparing to come to
Abingdon to study is having
the same feelings; they are
normal.
On arrival in the new
country, there is usually a
period where you feel very
excited and thrilled by all
the new people you meet
and things you see. Some
people then start to feel
quite strange. They may
feel sad and homesick,
isolated or that they don’t
fit in. This is normal and
is called Culture Shock. It
takes time to make new
friends and to get used to
the food, music, sport etc.
After about six weeks, you
should be starting to feel
more at home.
If you feel worried, isolated
or sad Mr Golding, your tutor,
the matron and the prefects,
are there to help you. There is
also a school counsellor who
you can contact if you would
like to speak to someone
confidentially. Calling home
is good but it is not helpful if
you spend so much time on
the phone that you do not
make new friends here.
Language shock
It may be that like many
of our boarders, English
is not your first language.
Although your English is
good and you have done
well to get selected to
come to Abingdon, you
will find it a bit of a shock
when you are suddenly
in an environment where
everyone speaks
English 24 hours a day. It
is tiring. At first, you may
feel you do not understand
what is being said because
people speak fast and
have a variety of regional
accents. You need a period
of time to adjust; this
is called ‘tuning in’ and
usually takes about six
weeks. So don’t think you
have suddenly lost all your
vocabulary when you arrive
- it happens to everyone.
Academic shock
You are clever; you have
passed all the tests to
get selected to come to
Abingdon so we know you
are ready for a challenge.
What you may find is that the
way classes are taught is very
different to your last school
or home country. To give you
an idea of what to expect:
How can I cope with the challenges
of boarding in a new school?
