Boarding

By Mr Tom Cheney, Head of Boarding

It was fantastic to have all pupils across the year groups back together in their Divisions last term - there was a real buzz and energy across all of them.

The full programme of boarding activities took place in the evenings and over the weekends. These included trips to the cinema, bowling, trampoline park and various restaurants, but the highlights were a day out in Windsor and a visit to the Christmas Market in Winchester.

There were plenty of activities on campus too, including Divisional Sports, chocolate-making and the now infamous ‘Come Dine With Me’ event. Everyone was delighted that we could reinstate this annual competition which involves day pupils as well as boarders. On a chilly evening in December, each Division created a tasty dish or drink for our panel of judges to enjoy, along with some interesting entertainment. A video of the evening can be viewed on the College’s YouTube channel. The Divisions with the highest scores were Port Jackson in third place, Hesperus in second, and St George as the overall winners. Well done to everyone who took part in a really enjoyable evening, demonstrating ‘Team Pangbourne’ at its best.

Also in the Michaelmas Term, the Divisional Chiefs took some time to prepare and deliver a presentation to the younger pupils on the topic of managing life at Pangbourne. The presentations were well received and the pupils enjoyed being part of the discussion which was led by their peers, rather than staff.

There were also a number of charitable activities which included a cake sale by Illawarra, raising

over £300 for Marwa Nursing Home. There was also a charity headshave, where pupils from across the boys’ Divisions shaved their heads for Oddballs, which aims to raise awareness of testicular cancer. The boys sold raffle tickets, with

the prize being the honour to hold the clippers and shave a head! At last count they had raised over £2,000, smashing their target of £1,000.

Looking ahead, we’re delighted that improvement works will be taking place in Port Jackson and Hesperus over the next couple of terms. There will be new toilets and showers in PJ and improvements to the day space in Hesperus, along with a corridor refit. We’re looking forward to the opening of the new café (located where the Uniform Shop used to be), hopefully at the end of the Lent Term. This

Congratulations to all the boarding houses for all the money raised for their different charitable causes.

will be a social space for both boarders and Sixth Form students to mix with each other outside of lessons. Finally, we’re also looking forward to another packed programme of activities for the boarders including a Comedy Night, Silent Disco, trip to Reading Climbing Centre and a Sunday Escape Room trip.