The Boarders'
"Rough Guide to Boarding"

Trinity School

This section is designed to help new boarders at Trinity School to understand things better, such as routines, how to stay out of trouble and what you are allowed to do, as well as what you are not allowed to do! In other words, a rough guide to boarding at Trinity written by boarders themselves.

Routines

There is nothing worse than not knowing what to do when you are already nervous about starting at a new school. So here is a list of the daily routine to help you.

The bedtimes vary for the different Year Groups of the School:

At weekends the routine will change slightly from the week:

• At the discretion of residential staff the bedtimes may be later,
• On Saturday brunch is from 9:30am - 11:30am. Juniors have a light lunch at noon.
• All students, except for the Sixth Form, must go to Church or attend the Headmaster's Assembly on Sunday morning.

Some Tips About Boarding

You may feel a bit homesick, especially if it is your first time away from home. You can phone your family as often as you want to as there are phones that you can use around the Boarding House. You can also receive phone calls, so hopefully this will make you feel better and closer to the people who you miss. You will soon settle down and not feel so homesick. The more involved you get with boarding life the better you will feel. Everyone has to leave home at some point, so getting used to it now saves hassle later! After time it does get better - this is a promise!

If the fire bell is activated during boarding time boys report to the hard court playing area and girls report to the front of school.

Activities

There are lots of activities going on for all the Year Groups within the Boarding Community.

• The Juniors are taken on trips every weekend to places such as the cinema, bowling, Woodlands theme park, swimming and on shopping trips.
• The Older Boarders can go into town and the Year 10 Boarders and above can go into Exeter.
• On weekday evenings, during the summer, the swimming pool is regularly open.
• On evenings at the weekend Sixth Form Boarders are allowed to dine out in Teignmouth.
• There are also quizzes held for Year 11 and Sixth Form Boarders on some weekends within the Boarding House.
• Videos and DVDs are also available on Friday and Saturday nights to keep Boarders entertained.
• You can keep a pet in the Boarders' Farm (provided you have gained permission from the Head of Boarding first).

There are many more activities that are put on for your benefit and if you want to do something you just need to ask. There are other things that you can do like playing football on the hard court, watching the television, or using the ICT labs which are open most of the time - so you could even do some work!

Feeling Unwell?

See the School Nurse or talk to Boarding Staff. You will be supervised in the Medical Centre and phones are available to use whilst you are poorly.

Basic Hints to Stay Out of Trouble!

• Stick to bedtimes,
• Do your homework,
• Don't just assume you can do something - ask first,
• Check which areas are out of bounds,
• Ask before you order a take-away,
• If you want to go out - ask first and always sign out,
• Cooking can only take place in Food Technology or the Refectory,
• Keep your room tidy.

For more detailed guidelines see the "Boarders' Handbook".

If you are unhappy, there are many people you can talk to inside and outside School. For more information a leaflet called "Where do I turn?" is available. In Boarding you can talk to your friends, Senior Prefects, House Captains, Residential Staff, Day Support Staff, International Tutors and Mr. Coen can help during the day as well as the evenings.