Boarding Life: Old Girls, New Memories and National Boarding Week Fun

We've had a lot on for our boarders for the last part of summer term. 

The students had a wonderful opportunity to lead tours for St George's Old Girls during their recent reunion gathering at the Summer Lunch. It was a delightful surprise when our tour guests discovered that a photograph of their 1959 boarding class still hangs proudly in the Houldsworth House entrance hall! The Alumnae thoroughly enjoyed sharing stories with our current boarders about what life at Houldsworth was like "back in the day," pointing out their younger selves in the black and white photograph and regaling us with tales of Bingo, the beloved boarding dog.

The excitement continued throughout the week as our boarders celebrated #NationalBoardingWeek with a series of fun activities. The 5 O'clock Club was hard at work preparing materials and decorating chain links for a special Whole Art Project. Boarders were challenged to link together as many pieces of paper as possible in just 10 minutes, creating a giant chain link heart to celebrate #ILoveBoarding.

Thursday evening brought even more energy to the house when a group of our incredible S1 students joined us for a taster night. They threw themselves wholeheartedly into all the #NationalBoardingWeek activities we had planned. The competitive spirit was fierce as teams attempted to throw teabags into cups from increasingly distant positions!

Our boarders also tackled three Taskmaster challenges throughout the week, with the biscuit photograph challenge where they ended up a lot of unusual places with their biscuits. Rest assured, we checked thoroughly to ensure no biscuits were accidentally left in the laundry machines!

As summer solstice approached, everyone in Houldsworth made the most of the longest day by bringing outdoor games onto the grounds. Boarders enjoyed spirited games of tug-of-war with the 5 O'clock Club and ended the hottest day of the year perfectly by roasting marshmallows around the fire in the evening (feature image pictured above).