The Start of the Academic Year Please see the Guide to the Autumn Term 2020 for details of dates and times for arrivals. These are different from previously published.
You will be warmly greeted when you arrive at the house by me, Miss Rose, Matron, the house tutors and the Head and Deputy Head of House – a real welcoming committee! You will be shown to your room and have the opportunity to have a look round the house. After a brief introduction from me, your parents will say goodbye and go to Main School for a Reception with Mr Dyer the Headmaster. Your parents will not return to the house but go directly home after this. For this reason it is important that you say goodbye properly to your parents when they leave St Aidan’s – be kind to them as this part of the day is usually much harder for parents than it is for the girls!
Parents will not be able to come into the house this year. We understand that this will be disappointing for some of you but there will be plenty of help at hand and new friends to be made.
You will be really busy for the rest of the day – there are tours of the house, tours of the school and a chance to set up your school email account! After supper the whole house will come together to meet each other properly and have some fun! You will be able to unpack and settle before bed time. We begin the second day with a different induction morning for each year group, followed by tutorial time with your tutor. During the day tutors will given you your timetable and allay any worries that you may have. On Wednesday we follow the academic timetable as normal. As each day passes we hope that things will start to feel more normal and you can relax into the routines and start to enjoy yourself. Please always remember that the gift of an Ampleforth education is a wonderful one so make the very most of it. Work hard in your lessons, participate on the games field, join as many clubs and activities as you are able to and take the time to take strength and hope from the faith that underpins everything that we do. We hope that you will be a happy and proud member of St Aidan’s. Come to us as many times as you need for help, guidance or encouragement: we are here to help. Please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail, phone or letter if you have any worries or questions before the start of term. We look forward to welcoming you to St Aidan’s house very soon.
