9
Austin House staff
Living with you in Austin House will
be several members of staff. Mr James
Golding, his wife, Mrs Beccy Golding,
their children, Henry, Oliver and Emily,
and their dog, Max live in one section of
the house. There are two resident tutors
who also live in the house. and two
further tutors who live on the school site
and do evening duty in Austin House.
Austin Prefects and pupils
Austin has a great community of
pupils who are all here to develop their
academic understanding but also their
broader social skills and to educate
themselves in the broadest sense.
They all have their own interests and
work hard to pursue them and make
the most of the opportunities offered
by the school. Austin boarders come
from all over the world and they get to
know each other really well very quickly.
Although there are times when they
disagree they learn to compromise and
work out their differences. A key element
in the relationships between the pupils
is that they are all thoughtful about
each other and kind and considerate
when dealing with other pupils and also
other people’s possessions. The house
prefects are some of the leaders in the
house and they have learnt to get the
best from life as a boarder. In addition
there are dayboys who spend time in
the house between 8.30 am and 5.15
pm during the week. Like the boarders
they are friendly and work hard to be
respectful of everyone else in the house.
Boarders and dayboys share classes and
tutor groups so they are quick to get to
know each other and to make friends.
Boarders and dayboys
Most boys at Abingdon School are
dayboys. This means that they arrive
at school in time for 8.35am and leave
at 5.00pm every day. There are nine
houses in the school but only three
of them are boarding houses where
boarders live. All three of the boarding
houses have dayboys as well as
boarders in them.
There are parts of Austin House that
dayboys can access and other parts
that they can’t. You will also find that in
Who will I be
living with?
your tutor group there will be a mix of
dayboys and boarders. This means that
you get lots of opportunity to get to
know and befriend the dayboys.
Housemaster
Your housemaster is Mr Golding he runs
the boarding house. He is responsible
for making sure that you are happy and
successful while at Abingdon. He is also
also responsible for discipline in the
house. He will work with you to sort out
your evening and weekend activities. He
is in charge of all of the house staff. If you
have any problems Mr Golding is there
to help you sort them out.
Tutors
Austin House has a number of tutors.
These are teachers who help the
housemaster run the house. They help
supervise the house in the evening
and at weekends. You will be in a tutor
group that will be made up of some
dayboys and some boarders. Your tutor
is responsible for making sure you and
the other boys in your tutor group are
happy and successful at school. Your
tutor will work with Mr Golding to look
after you. Your tutor will be there to help
you sort out any difficulties you have.
You should make sure you work hard
to develop a positive relationship with
your tutor. You will also meet your tutor
for registration every morning. On a
Wednesday you will have a lesson with
your tutor and tutor group, which will
be aimed at giving you support, making
you think about things outside school,
and helping you establish friendships
with the other pupils.
House Matron
One of the most important people in
your life in the boarding house will
be the house matron. The matron is
responsible for running the team of
cleaners. She also makes sure that
your clothes and bed linen are washed
regularly. Most importantly she is some
one you can go to for help if you need
help. She will be happy to talk with you,
to help sort out any medical problems
you have, mend your clothes and many
other things. It is really important that
you are friendly and polite to the matron
so make sure you always say hello and
ask how her day has been and say please
and thank you when you ask for help.
Support Staff
Running a school and a boarding
house is a difficult job. As a result there
are lots of support staff who are not
teachers at the school but who help
us. These include the cleaners and the
maintenance team who you will meet
occasionally and who help keep your
boarding house and the school running
smoothly.
