Boarders - weekend activities?

[BisforBallet]

Interested to hear from those who have DCs currently boarding in lower school on what the house staff do to keep them occupied when not dancing. 
thanks 

[Peanut68]

Are you enquiring regarding s particular school? 

[BisforBallet]

Not one in particular but would help in decision making.

 

[sunrise81]

My DD is at Elmhurst.

 

Saturday they do RAD in the morning and then afternoon is a walk to park for fresh air, and then in house activities such as quizzes, games, movie nights, bingo, crafts, pizza making, spa nights etc.

 

Sundays....she seems to do more than when at home 🤣 She goes to the cinema, bowling, crazy golf, swimming and water park, museums etc. Older ones have been go karting.

 

Also prom fundraisers events.

 

Hope that helps?

Edited March 8, 2022 by sunrise81

[BisforBallet]

Thank you. 
Wow! They keep them entertained then. 
Is she Y7?

[sunrise81]

Year 8

[Raquelle]

8 hours ago, sunrise81 said:

Year 8

Another Elmie here! It's far too much fun in school on weekends, she never wants to come home! As sunrise says, Saturday chilled but they love going to the park and Aldi!!!! Sunday all sorts of activities! X 

[Jewel]

This is pre-pandemic but at Hammond they had Saturday morning dance classes.  Saturday afternoons they were allowed to go shopping into town (in groups or supervised depending on year group).  Every so often a trip would be organised, swimming or to the beach.  Sundays were a bit more chilled, often homework catch up or going to the park etc.

[Farawaydancer]

16 minutes ago, Jewel said:

This is pre-pandemic but at Hammond they had Saturday morning dance classes.  Saturday afternoons they were allowed to go shopping into town (in groups or supervised depending on year group).  Every so often a trip would be organised, swimming or to the beach.  Sundays were a bit more chilled, often homework catch up or going to the park etc.

This is still pretty much what weekends look like at Hammond.

[Ballet Dreams]

Another Elmie here too!  My DD loves boarding, there is so much to do.  As already mentioned on Saturdays the children go to the park and visit Aldi and also have in house activities like a movie night, beauty night, pizza making, disco, bingo etc and there is a full set of trips etc for Sunday’s which this term  included Cinema trips, swimming, crazy golf etc.  They have also been to the theatre twice this term to watch a ballet and a show, these were trips in the week.  My DD does much more at school now than she ever did at home, as she always had so much on with dancing.  She gets to have a very balanced childhood now and gets to spend  time with friends, relax and have fun x. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Ballet Dreams

[BisforBallet]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like Elmhurst getting it right. Keeping them busy so homesickness is kept at bay. 

[WhatsThePointe]

An alternative view to Elmhurst is that as they get older they may not enjoy the activities as much. By y9 my daughter found a lot of them not to her taste but they weren't optional. They also don't get a lot of freedom, so by the time they are in y10 and allowed to opt out of the activities, there isn't necessarily a lot they are allowed to do instead. There were times she asked to come home rather than 'be trapped here with nothing to do'. Some days were better and houseparents agreed to more freedom but it was hit and miss.

[BisforBallet]

The coming home is a problem if you live too far away! A weekend is a long time for them to do nothing. 

[meadowblythe]

 

The actual settings of the school is something to consider.  My rural and very active DS was not set up for urban living (only football was played with a beachball as no open space around boarding house ..)  Schools allowing more activity during the day and in the evening eventually suited much better.  Choice of activities is important: all taken to see Marley and Me as the film choice.  Some students were not impressed, especially as Avatar was showing next door.

 

This was a while ago but given the physical setting of the schools hasn't changed still worth factoring in.

 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by meadowblythe
to remove gender bias

[Jewel]

3 minutes ago, meadowblythe said:

 

The actual settings of the school is something to consider.  My rural and very active DS was not set up for urban living (only football was played with a beachball as no open space around boarding house ..)  Schools allowing more activity during the day and in the evening eventually suited much better.  Choice of activities is important: all taken to see Marley and Me as the film choice.  The boys were not impressed.

 

 

 

Good point.  My dd has only ever done Summer Schools at Elmhurst but I imagine that the location away from the city means that any activities need to be organised as such (were they allowed for example to go somewhere like Cannon Hill Park for a kick about? etc etc.  (Picking up on the football thing Meadowblythe at Hammond there is a proper football pitch with goals etc that the children often used at lunchtimes and the short break between evening meal and the bus back).  

The Hammond accommodation was 5-10 mins walk from the city centre, Grosvenor Park, leisure centre etc etc so children could choose to go into town or to the park at weekends or they could stay in the boarding house).  There were a few non optional trips (day trips to the beach  but generally the children had a lot of freedom.)  

 

Again at Tring dd only ever did summer schools and was not allowed out at all but I would have imagined the full timers could surely walk into Tring itself where there seemed to be a nice little park etc nearby although it might be too quiet for some children.

[dancefanatic]

2 hours ago, Jewel said:

 

Good point.  My dd has only ever done Summer Schools at Elmhurst but I imagine that the location away from the city means that any activities need to be organised as such (were they allowed for example to go somewhere like Cannon Hill Park for a kick about? etc etc. 

When my DD was in the lower school, accompanied trips were arranged most weekend to Cannon Hill Park and Aldi.  She was never into football but they seemed to have a fairly free rein whilst there.  As she got older, they were allowed out in groups of 3 or more, initially to the park and Aldi, with this extending as agreed with parents.  Now in upper school she has a lot more freedom in terms of where she can go.  Covid has limited excursions over the last couple of years though but things are gradually getting back to normal with the first Aldi trip organised just before half term.  The trips in lower school were varied although seemed to include a fair number of 'shopping' trips.  She didn't go on all of them.  Hope this helps a little...

[tutugirl]

DS went on some great trips whilst at Tring .

He went indoor pot holing and to the shopping centre at Milton Keynes , also to Cadbury World !

All trips were optional - they just had to sign up for them and we got the bill!

[Cheshiredancemum]

My dd is at WL. They have Saturday morning classes which started after the first term. After class they have some planned activities such as shopping; visiting the markets; the seasonal Christmas markets; The London Eye; the cinema; walks; scavenger hunts. The activities and trips are optional so the child signs up for what they want to do, and they are paid for by parents. There is also a swimming pool which can be used at weekends, and the students might decide to play some football together, or tennis. My dd enjoys being out in the garden with her friends when the weather is nice. They seem to find plenty to do together and when I call to check in on her she is usually happy and busy doing something with her friends

[BisforBallet]

Thank you 

[Tdc34]

On 20/03/2022 at 01:32, Cheshiredancemum said:

My dd is at WL. They have Saturday morning classes which started after the first term. After class they have some planned activities such as shopping; visiting the markets; the seasonal Christmas markets; The London Eye; the cinema; walks; scavenger hunts. The activities and trips are optional so the child signs up for what they want to do, and they are paid for by parents. There is also a swimming pool which can be used at weekends, and the students might decide to play some football together, or tennis. My dd enjoys being out in the garden with her friends when the weather is nice. They seem to find plenty to do together and when I call to check in on her she is usually happy and busy doing something with her friends

Hi, could you possibly tell me what time the Saturday morning classes start at WL please? Thanks v much in advance! It sounds like they have a nice variety of activities for the afternoons☺️

[Cheshiredancemum]

On 27/03/2022 at 13:22, PurplePirouette said:

Hi, could you possibly tell me what time the Saturday morning classes start at WL please? Thanks v much in advance! It sounds like they have a nice variety of activities for the afternoons☺️

For the first term there were no Saturday classes. Students could stay or leave after class on Fridays. After the Christmas holiday they started having Saturday classes, and could then leave from around 1:15pm onwards.  My dd lives further away, and so stays quite often. There are always other girls and boys staying for the full weekend. 🙂

[Tdc34]

Ahh brilliant, thank you, that’s great to hear. Do the Saturday classes start at the same time as the weekday lessons or is it a later start? X