6
At Abingdon, teachers enjoy
interaction in class. They judge
their students’ understanding and
involvement by the questions they
ask and answer. It is considered
good to be curious and even critical.
Having an opinion and being able
to give reasons to support your
thoughts is very important. This
may seem odd to you at first. The
teacher will not always tell you the
right answer, you will be expected
to decide what you think is right and
then explain why.
Sometimes students work in groups.
This is not easy, especially when
not everyone comes from the same
country. Many people have had
different experiences of school in
the past, making group work even
more of a challenge. The purpose of
group work is to learn to work in a
team and to collaborate. This is a skill
you will need in your working life in
the future. Being in a group allows
you to practice skills like leading,
negotiating, encouraging, motivating,
organizing and co-operating.
Sometimes there are conflicts in
groups; learning to deal with these is
also part of becoming a socially adept
adult.
You may not be used to reading or
writing extendedpassages.
Your teachers know this and will
guide you to the skills you need. The
EFL and SEN departments are also
there to help you learn to write in an
academic style.
Teachers at Abingdon know that you
are making probably the biggest
change in your life by coming here to
board. It is important not to be silent
if you are finding things difficult; tell
your tutor or housemaster. They can
arrange extra support for you.
School House
School House aims to provide you
with the opportunity, support and
encouragement necessary for you to
achieve academic success, develop
self-confidence and independence
and become a concerned and
responsible member of society. The
house is a community that will help
you through the challenges you will
face in your time at Abingdon School
and that will celebrate you successes
and achievements. Crucially it is a
place where you will form friendships
and learn social skills that will last
you for the rest of your life.
School House combines boarders
and day pupils aged 14-18 years
old. The house, therefore, offers
opportunities for day pupils and
boarders to get to know one another,
for pupils to convert to boarding
in the sixth form and for pupils to
experience a range of cultures.
You should make sure you make
the most of this. Day boys in the
house in in its life and are expected
to follow its rules. They are also
expected to recognise that the house
is the boarders’ home, and to treat it
with appropriate respect.
You will benefit from recreational
facilities in the games room, the
workspace provided by the house
library and the relaxing environment
of the house garden. Boarders
have study bedrooms and there is
also a TV room and kitchen for the
boarders.
Mr Swanwick, your housemaster,
heads up a highly experienced and
enthusiastic team of tutors, and is
supported by the house Matron.
Between them the house staff look
after your academic and pastoral
life at Abingdon. If you have any
problems the house staff will always
be willing to help.
My room
We believe that community spirit
and friendship are at the heart of
boarding at Abingdon. It is important
that you are prepared to share
during your time here and that you
are enthusiastic about making new
friends from all over the world. All of
the middle school boarding rooms
are shared, with 2, 3 or 4 boys in
a room together. Younger boys
share the larger rooms. There are
also some single rooms which are
typically allocated to the Upper Sixth
boarders.
Within your room you will have your
own bed, storage spaces for clothes
and books, a code locked safe, a
lockable draw and/or cupboard and
a desk. There are plenty of toilets,
showers and sinks near all the
rooms. You will also have a pin board
that we encourage you to use to
put up posters and to personalise
your room (you are not allowed to fix
posters to the wall). Hot food must
not be eaten in your room; you can
use the house kitchen for eating any
food that you cook. Any snack food
that you have must be stored in your
locker or the kitchen.
Other facilities
Within School House there are
plenty of washing and toilet facilities.
There are also cooking facilities in
the house kitchen, places to relax
and watch TV or play recreational
games such as table tennis or
snooker. There are also sports fields
near by where you can play football,
volleyball or other sports.
In addition as a boarder you will
have access to the other facilities in
the school. In the evenings and at
weekends facilities are opened for
your use at certain times including
the school library, the music practice
rooms, the swimming pool, the
fitness suite, the climbing wall and
the sports hall.
Abingdon School
To find out all about Abingdon School
and what happens here please look
at the home page. You may find the
boarding news section interesting or
the virtual tour. However, the more
time you spend looking through our
website the better prepared you
will be for your time here (www.
abingdon.org.uk).
Where will I be living?
