A fantastic Boarders' Feast

“The beauty that surrounds me is absolutely breathtaking…it’s the faces of the children!”

We are all proud of our children and we enjoy spending time with them but every now and then, we REALLY enjoy their company and feel a pride that wells up inside us that makes us want to burst. This weekend and more specifically, the Boarders’ Feast, was one of those moments when one couldn’t help but feel sheer delight and pride when seeing the boarders together. The children were delightful company and an absolute pleasure to be around. The boarders certainly rose to the occasion!

The Saturday evening kicked off with the Year 8s enjoying drinks in the Front Hall with the staff; they looked so grown up and behaved so maturely. The children then processed to the dining hall for a feast fit for a king...or queen. They proceeded into the Christmas-themed hall, and found their seats, to live Scottish music - thanks to Mr Cranfield and his bagpipe. The food was absolutely scrumptious. A real highlight of the evening was the traditional rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas, expertly led by Mrs Cran and accompanied by Mr Birch, Mr Palmer and Miss Sayles, on their respective instruments!

The children were inspired to be heroes, by our guest speaker, Mr Bunday - a housemaster from King's Bruton. The children were engaged and the message was spot-on.

Once the food and formalities were done and dusted, we headed off to the Sports Hall for Scottish Dancing. The children were incredible; they fully embraced the occasion and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Fergus and Imogen were the pick of the dancers, being awarded prizes by Mrs Robertson (our Scottish Dancing expert).  

Sunday saw the boarders treated to a plethora of activities - everything from cooking, painting, art and crafts, quiz games, gingerbread house making, swimming, archery, laser tag and a visit from the BugFest crew.

The evening drew to a close with a moving Christingle service, led by Mr Farquhar. The children had made their own Christingles in the morning, before letter writing. We enjoyed a satisfying and appetising meal in the evening and then all headed back into the Houses.

Samantha’s Grace on Saturday evening was as follows:

"In a world where so many are hungry,
May we eat this food with humble hearts;
In a world where so many are lonely,
May we share this friendship with joyful hearts."

I believe that we lived up to these words - the children were humble and grateful for all that was on offer this weekend and fellowship was more than evident; we really did look and feel like a community, in the old fashioned sense of the word. I know that I share the thoughts of all the staff involved this weekend, when I say that I felt very blessed to be have been a part of this boarding community.

Mr Schreiber.

Click here to see all the photographs in our flickr album