Boarding

HomeBoarding

A welcoming home from home

Your child will find that Terrington Hall is a cosy, welcoming place to stay, have fun and chill out with their friends after a busy day of learning. Boarding at school enriches and enhances children's school experience and our boarders leave us as independent, well-rounded members of society, ready to take on the challenges of senior school. There is always plenty to keep the pupils entertained in the evenings, with lots of activities and regular themed boarding nights and weekends.

Full-time, weekly or flexi-boarding at our Prep School

We are completely flexible in terms of the amount of days and the regularity that your child boards with us.

Full-time boarders stay with us during the school week and weekends, with the exception of exeats and school holidays. We welcome children locally, nationally and internationally and our boarding house is a home-from-home for our pupils.

Weekly boarding means your child will stay with us from Monday until after school on Saturday. This experience is excellent preparation for those thinking of moving on to a senior boarding school at 13 and for those who live slightly too far away for a daily commute.

Flexi-boarding, when children stay between one and four nights, allows them to spend regular time with their friends outside the classroom, enjoying evening activities. It also allows for extra studying or revision time, as the children have access to the school facilities, and can ask the duty member of staff for support and guidance after school hours. Flexi-boarding is popular with busy working parents who may be away for part of the week or have evening commitments.

Other children stay over once in a while, on themed activity nights or on one of our year-group boarding nights. Or, they stay for a weekend where we often run external activities, such as trips to sports matches, the beach and visits into York and other local areas.

Our Boarding House

Your child will sleep in the main house, in a dormitory with their year group and/or the year group above or below. Girls and boys enjoy their own space with separate dormitories and washrooms. Your child will be cared for by our resident Head of Boarding, supported by a Matron and gap-year students, who are also resident in the House.

Mr and Mrs Sigsworth - House parents

Oliver Sigsworth lives in the flat of the boarding house with his wife, Tori, their young son, Monty, and golden retriever, Flossie. Mr Sigsworth also teaches Year 4 at school and is a keen cricket player. Mrs Sigsworth is also a qualified primary school teacher and can often be found walking out on the school fields with Monty and Flossie. Tori and Oliver have previously worked in an international boarding house. Their favourite part about running the boarding house is seeing first-hand the positive impact that boarding can have on the growth and personal development of our pupils at Terrington Hall.

Flossie, their Golden Retriever, loves cuddles from the boarders and it is wonderful to see how much she helps those pupils who might be feeling a little homesick or are missing their own family pets.

Miss Wainwright - Matron

Miss Wainwright lives in the downstairs flat with her youngest son. Her “front” door adjoins the Living Room and she regularly pops into the boarding house side for a catch up chat and a check in with our boarders.

Miss Wainwright is a great source of support and is seen as a ‘safe space’ for our boarders to share any worries with.

Gap Year students

Our resident “Gappies” both live in the House. Emma Falkingham is a graduate of Sports Science. She previously attended Pocklington School where she boarded for nine years, and is a keen sportsperson. Harry Hall joins us from St Peter’s School, York. Harry is hoping to study French and History at university.

We want every child to feel safe and happy when they stay with us. We’ve found that the best way to make this work is simply to encourage an atmosphere of trust, friendship and mutual respect. It’s how we make sure that everyone has the chance to relax, have fun and get enough rest for the school day ahead.

What activities can my child do during the evenings?

From 6pm to 7pm every weekday, your child has the chance to enjoy our planned programme of activities. These are not just for boarders – we publish them in advance and encourage day pupils to come along too.

Popular evening activities include cricket coaching, baking, musical theatre, badminton, dodge ball, construction challenges, swimming, outdoor games, slime making, pamper nights, rounders, and touch rugby. We also run revision nights where our older students can come in for extra preparation and support leading up to Common Entrance Exams.

There are also regular themed and full year group boarding nights, including a Harry Potter Night, Escape Night, Burns Night, Chinese New Year and Spanish, Italian and American-themed nights.