Fun! Fun! Fun!!! - The first Boarders' In Weekend of the new term

September 10th 2018

Fun fun fun!!!!! Guinea pigs, go karts, laser pistol shooting, ice cream and a film... what more could a child at prep school ever want.

That is just a flavour of what the boarders got up to over the weekend at Hazlegrove.

Mr Shaw delivered an outstanding chapel helping us to focus on the core values that will govern our lives. As always his message was thought provoking and challenging.

Miss Taylor spent a lot of time devising the "Amazing Race" a mind boggling set of clues eventually leading to the treasure. Many oohs and ahs were heard as the children scoured the grounds solving all sorts of riddles and conundrums. All this activity culminated in a final sprint for the prize as both teams solved the last clue at the same time. In the spirit of equality the children declared it was a draw.

After all this vigorous activity some of the girls opted for a more sedate and calm pampering session in the girls boarding house. Soothing music, foot spas and facial packs were the order of the day.

You really have to be here to believe the buzz and sheer excitement that an in weekend produces. It is incredible. The hum drum of the go karts, the exhilaration of winning a nerf war, the pleasure and satisfaction of eating American style pancakes and the creative buzz of designing and drawing of cartoon characters were just a few of the exciting activities that the children got involved in before a delicious roast lunch.

As the day panned out out it was great to see all the new boarders settling into the community with seamless effort. We are so fortunate with the amazingly hospitable and caring boarding children we have at Hazlegrove. They are a real credit to themselves, their school and their families.

A plethora of new activities was laid for the children during the afternoon. The Year 8's went on a six mile walk taking in the breathtaking scenery along Cadbury Ridge.

Biathle and Triathle fever has gripped Hazlegrove with a few of our boarders making it into the GB squad and having our own laser pistol shooting set has been a real hit (excuse the pun).

Some pastimes never lose their appeal and it was encouraging and uplifting to see how many children took the opportunity to do some knitting and crafts. There is a real sense of achievement and accomplishment creating something yourself.

In essence this in weekend summed up what Hazlegrove is really all about allowing children to be children in a safe, secure and nurturing environment. We really do believe in traditional values such as kindness, selflessness, humility and good manners. All of these values were demonstrated in spades by the children this weekend and we as houseparents were and are very proud of our boarders.