A Christmas Feast To Remember For Our Boarders

(Dear Parents, apologies for the longer than usual report but this was, after all, our final weekend of the Christmas term and we packed it full of fun!)

“Be around people that are good for your soul” and “surround yourself with people who add fuel to your fire”. Living in a boarding school, and specifically, one like HZG, gives you this in abundance. The Christmas Feast and In-Weekend, was exactly that – we were all surrounded by people who are good for one’s soul – kind, caring and generous souls, and the energy that we received...fuel for life!

Saturday, with no matches, meant free time and a plethora of activities on offer. The boarders had the choice of a free swim, Cornish Long ball or Just Dance and the Art and DT classroom were abuzz with busy children. Some ‘mega’ (Mr Froggatt’s words) Laser-tag competitions were happening around the school grounds. As the sun began to set, the children dashed indoors – racing to the showers, mirrors, and the in-house stylists! The much-anticipated Boarders’ Feast was looming large on everyone’s minds. The children looked incredibly elegant and dapper. (And not even the football dampened their spirits).

The Year 8s joined the staff, in the front hall for a glass of bubbly, whilst the rest of the boarding family enjoyed a quiz hosted by Mr and Mrs Benbow. As the clock struck 6:30pm, the bagpipes began. Mr Cranfield and Hector piped us into the dining hall, which had been transformed into a Banquet Hall. (A special thanks to the Year 8s and Mrs Benbow for organising this).

The food was restaurant-style quality – as one would expect from our awesome Catering team. The starter, main meal and pudding went down a treat. The children (and adults) thoroughly enjoyed Mrs Cran’s rendition of the “12 days of Christmas”, accompanied by Mr Birch, Miss Rudd, and Miss Milne on instruments.

The empty plates were replaced with a sense of expectation and excitement. Scottish Dancing awaited. We dashed across to the Sports Hall where Mr Halford-Macleod was eagerly waiting to kick start the Reeling. What a night! We danced our shoes away to the point of wearing thin! The children were brilliant and would have made the staunchest of Scottish, proud.

We awoke to a chilly and icy Sunday morning. The traditional full-English breakfast awaited, and although we had feasted the night before, the dancing had clearly done the trick – the plates were once again full of scrummy food.

Bugs infested the school – The Bug Fest man arrived with all his creepy crawlies; Zorbs were rolling across the Sports Hall; the ovens were full of rusks; laser-tag battles re-commenced, and classrooms were a hive of activity with Christmas arts and crafts. A roast lunch filled our bellies and re-charged us for the afternoon activities. (Please do have a look at the photos from the weekend).

Click here to see all the photographs on Flickr