Barnard Castle School Prospectus Boarding

boarding

Boarding is at the heart of Barney At the heart of Barnard Castle’s family is our boarding community. A tightly-knit group of around 200 girls and boys and 30 resident adults makes boarding in this stunning and well-resourced environment a fantastic opportunity to make friends for life, to improve academic performance and make regular use of the School’s excellent sports and recreation facilities.

Boarding is a popular choice for a range of reasons. For some girls and boys it gives them a unique opportunity to experience lasting friendships and stability while their parents’ occupations take them away from home. For others, boarding creates valuable time which would otherwise be absorbed by long bus journeys of up to two hours each day. Some appreciate the structure of Prep during week nights and the abundance of support from the range of subject specialists who live in School. Many, particularly those in the Sixth Form, enjoy a level of independence from their parents which, while still being cared for within School, provides an invaluable experience of communal living before they move away to university.

Boarding at Barney is exceptional value for money. What better way to invest in your child’s future? A truly engaging and vibrant environment, there is no better way to help girls and boys grow into independent, wellWhen you are steeped in little things, you shall safely attempt great things...

rounded happy young adults, than boarding at Barney.

“The quality of boarding is excellent and the boarding experience is a valuable part of the boarders’ education and personal development.”

Independent Schools Inspectorate 2011

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Boarding at Barnard Castle School

Boarding is caring Boarders benefit from the highest levels of pastoral care in Barney. We know them well and relationships between them and the resident staff are excellent. Our care of boarders goes well beyond academic monitoring and occasionally dispensing cough drops.

The most important element of care lies in the intangible reassurance and familiarity that grows between fellow boarders and between boarders and staff in an atmosphere of trust, mutual respect and support. Over the course of a typical evening, in addition to ‘duty staff’, residents will frequently drop in to have a chat with their tutees, a Housemaster will enjoy an informal moment with his boys, the Headmaster may drop by with his Labradors who are only too happy to be made a fuss of by girls and boys. These little things are important.

“Independence, true friendships, laughter, fun and a solid future. That’s what Barnard Castle School has given me.”

Harriet Knowles

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Boarding families Whether from Tom Brown’s Schooldays or Harry Potter, boarding schools have a reputation for leaving parents out; either the station platform or the school gate is as close to School as they come. Barney is different and, whenever possible, we encourage boarders’ parents to come to School, to join us in Chapel, to support their girls and boys in fixtures, to watch concerts and be part of our community.

The Barney Friends group includes several parents of boarders and they will welcome more. They are also conscious of the importance of planning social occasions which boarders’ parents can enjoy at the beginning of an exeat or half-term.

Most important of all, is that girls and boys maintain contact with home when they wish to do so. Although now almost all boarders have mobile telephones, we still have public telephones for boarders’ use, and girls and boys have access to our secure computer network throughout the evenings and weekends for academic study, personal use and contacting home.

Wherever you are, your children will not be far away.

“Barney has provided important continuity for the education of Lizzie and John. Boarding has enabled our children to develop lasting friendships rather than transitory ones every 2 years at best. We greatly appreciate the open, caring a n d h o n e s t n a t u r e o f t h e sc h o o l . S t a f f a n d c h i l d r e n k n o w the importance of both work and play – it’s rare to walk through Barney without seeing a smile!”

David and Kate Clouston

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Boarding is a home from home Boarding will neither be nor try to be your child’s home, but it provides a very homely environment. Girls and boys are encouraged to personalise their rooms, most of which are twin or, for older boarders, single rooms.

Our experienced Sixth Form boarders make it their business to welcome and support younger girls and boys and a beautifully simple system of Big Brothers and Sisters helps many a slightly nervous young boarder make friends and feel secure very quickly indeed.

“ O n e o f t h e b e s t v a l u e b o a r d i n g sc h o o l s i n t h e UK . ” The Sunday Times

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Boarding opportunities

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Boarders have access to the full range of our huge Activity Programme

In free time, boarders are welcome to explore Barnard Castle town and

and so much more. A variety of optional excursions takes boarding girls

we regularly receive rewarding comments about their good manners

and boys to different places every week. Among recent favourites have

from local shopkeepers. Barnard Castle is a small, historic market town

been scuba diving, go-karting, shopping, adventure parks, professional

with a good infrastructure, plenty of family-owned shops, including a

football and rugby matches and paintball. We also encourage boarders

well-patronised traditional sweet shop, supermarkets, tea shops and

to take advantage of our own facilities such as tennis courts, the Music

restaurants. Occasionally, after watching a fixture on Saturday afternoon,

School, the sports hall, squash courts, the supervised swimming pool, the

parents of boarders enjoy taking their sons or daughters out for tea.

fitness suite, dance studio and 50 acres of beautiful grounds.

In short, a boarding life is enjoyable, busy and enormously beneficial.

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Our Houses Barnard Castle School has four boarding houses – three serving the Senior School and one acting as a ‘home from home’ for our Prep School children.

Northumberland House

York House

Housemaster: Mr Alan Beaty

Housemaster: Mr Andy Allman

Capacity: 63

Capacity: 53

Ages: Boys aged 11 to 18 years

Ages: Boys aged 11 to 18 years

Matron: Miss Jan Brown

Matron: Mrs Barbara Broadwell

Recently refurbished, North House is one of the

Recently refurbished like its contemporary

School’s original houses dating from 1886. Vibrant,

Northumberland House, York House is happy

busy and dynamic, the House has a strong sense

and industrious. Another of the School’s original

of history and is rightly proud of its heritage with

Houses, York offers a competitive environment

many OBs going on to make a real impact on the

with boys developing a strong sense of pride and

world.

belonging.

The Housemaster is also the Head of Design

The Housemaster is also the Head of Religious

Technology and an officer in the Combined Cadet

Studies and trains our Sixth Form Peer Support

Force’s RAF section; he has a passion for classic

volunteers, so mutual support is part of the culture

cars and is married to Mrs Beaty, one of our

of York House. He is married to Mrs Allman

English teachers who runs the Sixth Form Lectern

and has a daughter, Phoebe, who is the School’s

Club (a popular public speaking dining club)

youngest resident. In lower Years, each boy in York

and who can often be seen with a large following

House has a modern study bedroom generally

of boarders and her dog, Dixie, striding across

sharing with two or three of his peers, although

the playing fields with the dog-walking club.

often by Year 11 and certainly by Sixth Form all

Accommodation in North House for the younger

boys have private study bedrooms.

boys is in shared rooms of three, while boys in Year 10 and 11 share twin study bedrooms. Sixth

The boys have ready access to IT facilities and the

Formers have their own private study bedrooms.

House has its own modern kitchen facilities and games & TV common rooms.

All boys have access to modern kitchen facilities, games & TV rooms and as a House situated in the main School buildings, can make use of the main IT suite and our big-screen Saturday cinema in Big School.

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Longfield House

Old Courts

Housemistress: Mrs Alison Armstrong

HouseParents: Mr Michael and Mrs Fiona Killeen

Overall capacity: 53

Overall capacity: 20

Ages: Girls aged 11 to 18 years

Ages: Co-educational aged 7 to 11 years

Matrons: Mrs Antonia Flack, Miss Dorothy Jones

Matrons: Miss Katherine Sanderson, Miss Charlotte Kulaszewski

Having recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, Longfield House provides modern purpose-built

Old Courts is a delightful ‘home from home’, highly

accommodation for girls between the ages

tailored to the age of the children and situated at

of 11 and 18.

the heart of the campus, it is for Prep School boys

Telephone: +44 (0)1833 696030 School office: +44 (0)1833 690222 Email: admissions@barneyschool.org.uk www.barnardcastleschool.org.uk View our boarding facilities online at www.flickr.com/photos/barnardcastleschool

and girls who wish to experience either full or The Housemistress also teaches Games and PE and

flexi-boarding.

she maintains a warm, happy family atmosphere in the House along with Mr Armstrong, an

The children have access to all onsite School

experienced Head of Sixth Form, and their young

facilities including direct access to the School

children, Deiter and Kohana. Longfield is bright,

playing fields, which are located adjacent to Old

comfortable, secure and must have some of the

Courts. Children share bedrooms with between

most striking views of any boarding house in the

one and three other children of a similar age. The

land. Although meals are taken in the School’s

House is a wonderfully warm and welcoming place

central Dining Hall, the girls enjoy their own fully

ensuring an informal, yet structured environment

fitted modern kitchen and Sixth Form girls have

for each individual child to develop their own

access to an in-house laundry if they prefer not to

individual style and personality.

use the main School laundry.

The presence of Mr and Mrs Killeen’s own children All girls can make use of common room areas as

and the enthusiasm of senior girls and boys to visit

well as their own IT suite. The majority of girls

and read occasional bedtime stories makes this a

share a twin bedroom and Sixth Formers have

warm and loving environment for young children.

their own private study bedrooms.

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Boarding at Barnard Castle School

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