The culture and atmosphere of each house is one of friendliness, honesty and mutual respect - we hope that these remain constant irrespective of the differing personnel in the houses. These values are reinforced by staff, prefects and the majority of boys.
The boys' lives are organised to give them the time, supervision and help to achieve a number of aims:
- Maintain a consistent level of effort and achievement in their academic work. We believe that it is crucial for boys to develop habits of organisation and concentration which will serve them through the successive examination years of GCSE, AS Levels and A2 Levels.
- Enjoy living with their friends and learn to live with everyone as best they can. The ability to balance one's own interests with those of the broader community is a life skill which we hope boys at Abingdon will acquire and develop.
Specific aspects of pastoral care for boarders
- Resident boarding staff: a ratio of twelve boarders per resident member of staff means that there is plenty of adult supervision and support available.
- A housemaster responsible for the boarders' overall welfare.
- Resident and non-resident tutors responsible for overseeing the welfare of their tutees and for specific duty evenings in the boarding houses. The first point of contact for parents.
- Housematrons responsible for managing the domestic arrangements of the boarding houses and for administering First Aid.
- A Health Centre staffed by trained nurses to provide 24 hour medical care and broader education on health matters. Boarders register with the school GP, Dr Khan, who holds surgeries twice a week in school and practices in the town centre.
- The laundry cleans the boys clothes twice a week and bed linen once a week.
- A prefect training system and mentoring for new boys which helps senior boys realise their responsibilities to offer help and guidance, and helps junior boys to settle in.
Boarders' Council and activities
Boarders are encouraged to have their say on their lives at school in house meetings and through official councils such as the Boarders' Council and the Food Committee. As well as giving feedback on their experiences in the school the boys on the Boarders' Council are invited to help organise the programme of activities for the term.
Apart from the weekly programme of activities there are occasional special events such as talks by outside speakers, house trips to the theatre/cinema/bowling, and socials with local girls' schools. There are also annual house concerts and comedy reviews.
Health Centre Opening Times
- Monday-Friday: 8.00am-9.00pm
- Saturday: 8.00am-7.00pm
- Sunday: 6.00pm-8.00pm