Royal Tunbridge Wells Lifestyle Dec 2019 / Jan 2020

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Image courtesy Cottesmore Prep School TOP TIPS FOR CHOOSING A BOARDING SCHOOL The unique educational experience provided by a British boarding school offers busy families a top-quality education with built-in flexibility. And although academic achievement is important, it is the ‘extras’ that really make a boarding school experience count. Boarding fosters meaningful relationships with peers and house staff, enabling pupils to gain independence and experience a breadth of opportunities. But with so many institutions offering so many different experiences, choosing the right school for your child can seem daunting. Below are our top tips to consider when choosing a boarding school. 1. Narrow your search Single sex or co-ed? Country or city? Faith school or not? Some schools will say they take children of all faiths and none, and they do, but sometimes a family finds the overall ethos and ‘climate’ of a faith school to their taste, regardless of their own religious views. 2. Study the detail Every child is different - a rower will want a school near a river, a rugby player a good record of the sport in the school and a violinist great music rooms. Many families nowadays consider location first - can you get there to watch a game or a play, or even in an emergency? 3. Do your research Boarding schools are like universities - you don’t have to be local, nor to take a month touring the country. The modern wouldbe applicant goes online and drills into individual websites which can tell you a lot in what schools don’t say or in how they say what they do. 4. Visit Visit several schools. Get the feel. Is lunchtime a noisy scrum? Are corridors orderly between lessons? Do pupils look you in the eye? All these give you a flavour of the school over and above the publicity, the motto, the official words. Eyes open, compare notes. 5. Ask for a pupil tour This is partly for you to see all parts of the school, but more to ask questions. Is the food really as good as they say? How much is there to do at weekends? 6. Check out the weekend programme You may want a school which offers weekly boarding, but if a school has a large number of weekly boarders, the numbers staying at weekends can reduce dramatically, and that makes providing a wide enough range of activities difficult. If you want your child to be at school at weekends, ask for details of what was done in the last couple of weeks, and exactly how many boarders were on the premises. 7. Talk to staff And not just the Head. House staff, matrons, tutors, cleaners and caretakers – these are the people at the sharp end of your child’s care. Do you like them? Would you trust them with your child? If you’re worried and email them, will they reply and when? 8. Involve your child Whatever the final decision, your child will have to live it. This school will be his or her home for several years. Here, he or she will make friends for life and forge bonds that will sustain them through their whole lives. They have to feel it is right for them. Trust your child’s gut reaction. Becoming a boarder is a growing-up kind of decision - let them have a major say in the final choice. For further information and boarding school searches, please visit www.boarding.org.uk. Robin Fletcher Chief Executive Boarding Schools’ Association 10 | www.tunbridgewellslifestyle.co.uk
ADVERTISING FEATURE Promenade performance of Fantastic Mr Fox Mayfield School production of The Tempest Mayfield School celebrates re-launch of prestigious Caedmon Dramatic Society Whole School production of The Wizard of Oz Last Thursday night saw the re-launch of Mayfield School’s prestigious ADVERTISING FEATURE Caedmon Dramatic Society that has nurtured and encouraged the talent of many famous names over the years, including Caroline Goodall (‘Schindler’s List’; ‘Hook’; ‘Cliffhanger’; ‘The Princess Diaries’), Rosie Cavaliero (‘<strong>Jan</strong>e Eyre’, ‘Little Dorrit’ and ‘Jam and Jerusalem’), and Fenella Woolgar (‘Bright Young Things’ and ‘Call the Midwife’), on their journey to success on stage and screen. Caedmon was originally founded at Mayfield in 1933 when the girls chose and produced the plays themselves, and the greatly-anticipated first play that the newly-formed Caedmon will perform is Jean Anouilh’s adaptation of Sophocles’ tragedy, ‘Antigone’, on the 14th and 15th November at the School. The re-launch party was attended by Caedmon members past and present including Mayfield’s talented Drama Scholars. Year 13s Olivia, Genevieve, and Megan (the new Head of Caedmon), and Year 12s Samantha and India who have a wealth of experience developed in School performances and external productions. Each girl achieved Distinction in their LAMDA Gold examination, with Samantha and India awarded perfect scores, an impressive accomplishment. These girls also achieved outstanding marks in their Drama GCSE and are currently studying A Level Drama and Theatre in combination with a broad range of other subjects, including Spanish, Economics, Politics, Maths, English and Psychology. During the event, the current Mayfield Scholars had the opportunity engage with alumnae and were inspired by their varied experiences. Mayfield’s long tradition of dramatic excellence extends throughout the School, involving all age groups in staging plays, set design, costumes and make-up. The next whole-school production is Alan Parker’s classic musical ‘Bugsy Malone’, “I am absolutely thrilled to be bringing Caedmon back after all these years and it has a special place in the hearts of Mayfield girls past and present.” which is being held on the 12th and 13th February, for which rehearsals are already underway. Girls in Years 7 to 10 are currently auditioning for a promenade production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, which will see the white rabbit guiding the audience around Mayfield’s historic grounds for different scenes of the play, in what will undoubtedly be a colourful and engaging performance next May. Head of Drama, Mrs Sally Gerstmeyer, commented: “I am absolutely thrilled to be bringing Caedmon back after all these years and it has a special place in the hearts of Mayfield girls past and present. We are all looking forward to watching the next generation take this prestigious Society forward and making it their own.” If you would like to visit our Drama Department, you are warmly invited to attend our next Open Morning on Tuesday 5th November. Please contact our Registrar, Mrs Shirley Coppard, on registrar@mayfieldgirls.com to reserve a place. www.tunbridgewellslifestyle.co.uk | 11
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Royal Tunbridge Wells Lifestyle Dec 2019 / Jan 2020

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