PLYMOUTH COLLEGE
CO-EDUCATIONAL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
Meet the Housemaster
Contact information
About Plymouth College Boarding
Boarding house facilities
Boarding activities
Daily routine - weekdays
Daily routine - weekends
Laundry
Food and catering
Room shares
School work and study
Lee Ilott is the Head of Boarding and Housemaster of Colson House (boys) and Mannamead House (girls).
He is a Teacher of Academic PE and Games in the senior school and in his younger years, played rugby for Northampton Saints. He is an experienced Housemaster, having started running his first boarding house at Haileybury Imperial Service College in 2010. He has worked in a variety of boarding schools from the Isles of Man and Wight and in Hertfordshire.
College House is a terrace of seven properties on the Ford Park site that provides accommodation for boarders. Mr Ilott and his family live in the central residence which separates the boys’ and girls’ boarding houses. Nikki, his wife, is a Teacher of English and they have three children; Charlie, Lotti and Holly, along with their Black Labrador, Buster; all of whom make regular appearances in both boarding houses.
MR LEE ILOTT
HEAD OF BOARDING
lilott@plymouthcollege.com 01752 505178 07494 130403 (mobile)
MRS MELISSA HANRAHAN BOARDING ADMINISTRATOR mhanrahan@plymouthcollege.com 01752 505141 07540 056259 (for airport transfers)
MRS RHIAN McCALL SCHOOL NURSE
schoolnurse@plymouthcollege.com 01752 505145
JO LUCAS
SWIMMING ADMINISTRATOR swimadmin@plymouthcollege.com 01752 505189 /178 SCHOOL OFFICE mail@plymouthcollege.com 01752 505100
MAGS TRUMAN
MRS BETH FIELD DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD safeguarding@plymouthcollege.com 01752 505139
BOARDING DUTY MOBILE 07973 909185
If you need to contact a member of boarding staff for any reason, please do so within sociable hours (07:30 am to 22:00 pm). If you need to contact your child in an emergency during unsociable hours, please contact the Housemaster.
Boarders’ numbers are stored on the duty phones and boarders are expected to store these duty numbers in their mobiles. We communicate regularly through Google Chat.
All electronic devices will be handed in by boarders in Years 7 – 11 30 minutes prior to their lights out. Year 12 and 13 students are expected to manage their usage appropriately but may lose this privilege if staff deem it necessary.
It is important that all electronic devices and chargers are identifiable. Electronic devices can be charged overnight in our storage facilities.
Plymouth College is a HMC independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18. We are based in the very heart of Plymouth, known as Britain’s Ocean City, just a few minutes away from some of the world’s best coastline to the south and the beautiful countryside of Dartmoor National Park to the north.
We have been providing an excellent education to pupils from Plymouth, all over the UK and around the world since we were founded in 1877. Indeed, our most recent ISI inspection concluded that the quality of our education provision was excellent in every respect. Our original school motto is ‘Dat Deus Incrementum’ – God Gives The Increase. Our contemporary interpretation of this is ‘Plymouth College: Where Everything Is Possible’, reflecting our positive, can-do, growth mindset and our holistic educational ethos.
OUR GOALS ARE TO:
• Develop pupils’ inquisitive nature and appreciation for learning
• Help pupils become well-informed members of society
• Inspire pupils to achieve more than they thought possible
• Help pupils develop a love of learning that will last throughout their lives
Boarding at Plymouth College caters for boys and girls at the Senior School aged 11 to 18+. We welcome pupils with a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds from all over the world as well from the UK.
In our boarding community, we encourage all staff and boarders to have respect and consideration for each other. We encourage our boarders to be happy, healthy and successful individuals with a mature and responsible attitude towards their studies, and with the life-skills necessary for their futures. Our philosophy is to ensure a safe, secure and friendly environment for all members of our community. We achieve this through dedication, compassion and sensitivity to the needs of our young people.
The co-educational structure of Plymouth College boarding creates a family atmosphere with boys and girls encouraged to socialise together in a variety of recently refurbished ground floor communal rooms.
Facilities provided include TV with Netflix and Prime Video, pool tables, air hockey, table football, table tennis and space for quiet reflection. The boarding offices in Colson and Mannamead houses, which are staffed throughout the day, are hubs for boarders and staff to socialise. There are computers with access to the school-controlled Internet. Boarders may also bring their own devices to access the Internet wirelessly.
All meals are provided in the school dining hall and the communal house kitchens are available for additional drinks, snacks and cooking at other times.
The school field, astro-turf and sports hall are available during evening and weekend free times for boarders’ own activities.
The in-house laundry system operates on weekdays, although Sixth Form boarders may do their own washing.
The bathroom and sleeping accommodation upstairs is divided by gender and comprises of some single bedrooms used for senior boarders and a range of shared bedrooms with two or three beds. There is adequate storage space and a lockable drawer for each boarder to keep personal or valuable belongings in.
Boarders will have study sessions in the evening supervised by staff.
Athletes on Plymouth College provided sports programmes have easy access to their training venues on site and are taken by school minibus to other venues as necessary.
Fire drills are carried out at least once per term during boarding time. These are discussed and explained to boarders as part of their induction process. Occasional drills have to be conducted during the time when most boarders are asleep, to comply with regulations. We will try to minimise the impact on athletes in this situation.
Regular weekly activities are organised which have in the past included bowling, paintball, karting, mini-golf, visits to the skicentre or local attractions.
There is a sports hall and astro turf available for boarders with a variety of activities on offer, such as football, badminton or basketball. The cardiovascular suite is also available.
There is an optional fun, life-guarded swim session for boarders every weekend.
Boarding at Plymouth College provides a unique residential experience in a location close to the city centre as well as to the beautiful moors and beaches of the South West.
To the left is a basic outline of the daily routine of a boarder. Athletes will be given individual timetables including meal times, prep times and any transport, alongside their training schedules.
Weekly boarders arrive on Monday morning in time for school and return home on Friday.
Flexi boarding is available for day pupils who need to sleep over at school for up to 14 nights per term.
The bedroom floors of the boarding houses are to be quiet from 9.00 pm until 7.00 am every night. Pupils in Years 7 to 11 must hand in their electronic devices 30 minutes before lights out.
Athletes of all ages and year groups are expected to go to bed by 9.00 pm where possible, especially when they have an early morning training session before breakfast time the next day.
SATURDAY
Once training or sporting commitments have been met Saturday is a free day for boarders to plan their own leisure time.
LIGHTS OUT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Curfews on Saturday will be as above unless the duty staff alter them occasionally at their discretion.
SUNDAY
LIGHTS OUT SUNDAY
Year
Weekend duty staff may also arrange impromptu events in the evenings, such as trips to Devil’s Point, ice cream on the Hoe and barbecues. This will be weather dependent.
In order to facilitate the smooth running of the laundry system, it is important that all items are labelled with your child’s name and allocated laundry number. One of the boarder’s items of clothing will often be identical or similar to another’s and so could be easily mislaid.
Your child’s laundry number will be given to them on their arrival to boarding. Please write the laundry number on the labels of all items with a marker pen. The domestic services department will then provide a full labelling service for clothing, bed linen and towels, etc. Labels are machine printed with your child’s name and laundry number and are pressed onto your child’s items in an unobtrusive position where the operatives can easily find them when sorting items after laundering.
It is essential that you provide your child with at least one large drawstring bag for transporting dirty washing to the laundry building.
Laundry bags will be labelled with your child’s name and laundry number clearly marked on the outside in the school laundry.
We will issue your child with 2 named and numbered net washing bags for the washing of underwear (one for whites, one for colours). The underwear is washed and dried inside the net bags, which means that pants and socks do not have to be individually named.
Boarders sort their own dirty washing into their drawstring laundry bag and net underwear bags each day and take them to the laundry room each morning before breakfast.
The items are either washed that morning or may be soaked overnight and laundered the next day.
Items are tumble dried where possible or hung on rails until dry, which may take a day or two.
Clean laundry is sorted into numbered shelves, while unlabelled items go into lost property. The boarders collect their own clean clothes after school from their designated shelf.
All meals are provided in the school dining hall. Please note that we do not allow boarders to self- cater at mealtimes, except for the over 16s on Saturday and Sunday evenings only, which requires weekly permission to be obtained from the Housemaster on the previous Thursday when agreeing ‘weekend whereabouts’.
If your child has a special dietary requirement e.g. allergy to nuts, or gluten-free diet, please make sure that full details are given on the school health form. The school nurse will inform the catering manager so that your child’s needs may be met.
In the boarding house kitchens, we provide squash, milk, bread, butter, spreads and cereal to snack on in the evenings, after school and at the weekends. Boarders may also purchase their own snacks, if they choose to, in addition to what is provided for them.
If a boarder is unable to attend a meal, a packed meal will be provided. Packed meals must be ordered by the Housemaster at least 3 days before they are required. When a boarder will be away for a day or more, e.g. D of E expeditions, camps, university open days etc. the boarder must have enough money to pay for all food and drink bought during this time.
All athletes are expected to adhere to the nutrition guidance given by their coaches, especially to avoid food and drinks with high sugar and/or high fat content. Cereals are provided in the boarding house kitchens for athletes who wish to eat before early morning training. This is in addition to attending breakfast as normal after morning training.
An important aspect of boarding involves sharing a room and learning to get along with roommates. Your child will be placed in a room with one or two other boarders of a similar age.
Boarders have to be considerate towards each other, respecting each other’s feelings and socialising with friends in the ground floor communal rooms rather than perhaps disturbing the privacy of their roommate.
If your child is finding it hard to get along with a roommate, please let the House Parent know so that we can help to mediate. It is preferable all-round if boarders can be helped to overcome their differences and live tolerantly with each other. However, if a room share really is not working we will do our best to make the change at the next holiday time. We can not guarantee to accommodate all requests and we ask you to respect the professional judgement of the House Parents when allocating rooms.
Room allocations are reviewed at the end of each term and changes may be made for the following term. This allows for a more balanced integration of British and International students.
All boarders are expected to communicate in English even if it is not their first language. It is considered impolite for boarders to hold conversations in their own languages, which may make others feel excluded or uncomfortable.
In the boarding house, personal privacy may be somewhat limited. It is therefore very important that each boarder respects one another.
Boarders may not enter another person’s room without permission and must always knock first before entering. Members of staff will always knock loudly before entering.
Boarders must be considerate when using a mobile phone in a shared space, and should consider taking the call elsewhere.
Boarders may not use or borrow things without permission to avoid things getting lost.
Music should not be played so loudly that it may be heard outside the room.
When watching TV and using the common rooms boarders must be aware of reasonable noise levels and consider other people.
Guests must be accompanied at all times and must remain on the ground floors of the boarding houses.
Members of staff will do their best to be sensitive to boarders at all times.
Prep is set on a regular basis by subject teachers to encourage pupils to work independently. It is important that boarders arrive at supervised study time well prepared and on time. If for some reason a boarder will be late for a valid reason they must see the tutor on duty to let them know – it is only polite and good-mannered to do so.
It is important that homework is completed on the day that it is given, unless other school commitments prevent this. Duty staff will monitor homework completion during the supervised study time time and through use of Google Classroom. Boarders in Years 11 and Sixth Form are expected to do their own private study in addition to the supervised study time session.
Study sessions are provided after supper to enable athletes to complete homework around their training schedules.
Parents of boarders who go home at the weekend are responsible for checking their child’s homework over the weekend.
On arrival, a member of the boarding staff will support new boarders. A new boarder is linked with an experienced boarder of a similar age where possible. Each pupil has access to useful information on all aspects of boarding life through weekly House meetings and on notice boards. In a caring community such as ours, there are many people that boarders can turn to for help or advice.
The Head of Boarding is responsible for the organisation of the boarding houses and leads a team of resident and non-resident staff. There is regular communication between boarding staff, teaching staff, coaches, parents, school nurse and the boarders themselves to make sure that everyone is getting the best out of their boarding experience. During the week there are always at least three members of staff on duty in each house supervising study times or mixing freely during leisure time to assist in creating a family atmosphere. At the weekend, four members of staff are split between the houses to support the boarders’ needs.
The school nurse, provides medical care for all boarders. A nurse is available in the school Health Centre during school hours from 8.30am to 5.15pm. After school hours the boarding staff are responsible for boarders’ immediate medical care. All boarding staff adhere to the school’s policies when administering medicines.
Academic support is provided for boarders who need it by the school’s Learning Support Department.
The school’s Modern Foreign Language Department provides language support for international pupils.
Boarding staff, tutors, heads of year and prefects provide general welfare support. Boarders are encouraged to speak to someone they feel comfortable with about any problems. This could be a member of the school community, a counselling service or an independent listener.
Parents should complete and return the school health form, giving dates of all immunisations and including a photocopy of your child’s immunisation record so that these are kept up to date. The school requires pupils to be vaccinated to the UK schedule. Should your son/daughter need an emergency admission to hospital it is important that our information is complete and up to date.
It is essential that you complete the annual update for off-site information and consent form and return it to the school office each September. The purpose of this questionnaire is to ensure that we have upto-date information to care for your child when they take part in an off-site activity and ensure that any special arrangements can be made to accommodate their needs.
It is the school’s policy that asthmatic and anaphylactic pupils should carry their own medication, but all other medication must be handed in and kept in a locked cupboard in the office. Where appropriate and in agreement with the school nurse, pupils can keep their own prescribed medication in their rooms in a locked area, but only with permission from the school nurse. Routine medication can be administered daily by the boarding house staff in the morning and in the evening.
Should your child already be taking prescribed medication for an illness, could you please supply information about the illness from your child’s doctor and information about the prescribed medication so that treatment can continue.
Please do not send your child to school with a supply of non-prescribed medicines. We need to know when boarders are unwell so that appropriate medication can be given by a member of staff.
Pupils who are ill or injured during school time must report to the school nurse in the wellbeing centre. They are not permitted to return to the boarding house unless directed to do so.
Boarders who are unfit to attend school will be seen by the school nurse. If they are too unwell to go to school they may well spend the day in bed recovering. In more serious cases may be sent home to parents or guardians.
There is an ‘allocated medical dorm’ in each boarding house for overnight care, so that there is minimal disruption to those around them and the best chance for pupils to get well without disturbance from anyone, other than the appropriate staff members.
Physiotherapy treatment will be arranged through the NHS on the advice of the school doctor, if required. Parents may be given the option of paying for private treatment with a physiotherapist. Our day matrons will take your child to their appointment.. If parents arrange separate physiotherapy for your child please inform the school nurse of all treatment provided.
Whilst boarding, it is expected that pupils will remain registered with their own optician and that regular check-ups will be arranged during the holidays. In an emergency or newly diagnosed case, arrangements may be made to see a local optician.
Whilst boarding, pupils must remain registered with their own family dentist and regular dental checkups should be carried out at home during the holidays. Emergency treatment can be accessed for pupils who are registered with a dentist outside Devon and Cornwall. Parents of pupils who live in Devon or Cornwall will be contacted, should the need arise, as the pupil will need to be seen by the family dentist for emergency treatment. If your child is receiving or about to start orthodontic treatments please contact the school nurse before making arrangements. Emergency orthodontic care should be available but will incur a cost.
There is a school counsellor who is available for pupils to talk to in school with appointments booked through the Health Centre. The nurse is also available for confidential talks. In more serious cases, the nurse can refer a pupil to other professional agencies.
It is the school’s policy to register all boarders with the school doctor. The school doctor and the school nurse, Mrs Rhian McCall, have overall responsibility for the health care of the boarders. It is therefore essential that parents regularly communicate all health-related information directly to the school health centre.
During the school day from 8:15am-5:15pm, the health centre is open for all boarders who need regular medication, are unwell, injured or need to talk.
After school hours, the boarding Housemaster is responsible for immediate health care and reporting to the school nurse. Many of the boarding staff hold first aid qualifications and work to strict protocols.
Should your child require an appointment with your family doctor during the school holidays, please see the doctor as a temporary resident and do not re-register your child.
Boarding staff are available before school on Monday to Friday to see boarders for regular medication and for those who are feeling unwell. Boarding staff can escort boarders to their medical appointments.
All term time appointments to see a doctor or a nurse will be arranged on your child’s behalf by the school nurse, who will also organise the necessary chaperone and transport.
Please do not make an appointment for your child unless you intend to escort them yourself, in which case it is essential that you keep the school nurse informed so that complete medical records can be maintained. Likewise, it is essential that all parents inform the school nurse if your child receives any treatments or changes in medications during the school holidays to enable us to continue to care effectively for your child.
Lisson Grove Medical Centre 3 - 5 Lisson Grove Mutley, Plymouth PL4 7DL 01752 205555
If your child wishes to be absent during a week night evening, they need to speak to the Housemaster 2 days before the planned absence. The Housemaster will review and give permission at their discretion.
If your child wishes to be absent during a weekend evening, they need to speak to the Housemaster and fill out Weekend Whereabouts Form by the Thursday before. The Housemaster will review and give permission at their discretion.
If a boarder wishes to absent overnight from boarding, their parent or guardian needs to email the Housemaster before the planned absence. We will need to check with the host family that they are happy to take responsibility for your child.
If there is an unavoidable reason for your child to go home overnight midweek please make the arrangement with us as soon as possible by email or telephone call.
We reserve the right to use our professional judgement to deny permission on a case by case basis if parents choose to give parental consent to a young person aged 16, 17 or 18 to be absent from boarding overnight, without the immediate care of a responsible adult (either parent, guardian or adult host).
Child Student Visa Status pupils may not miss 5 consecutive days unauthorised absence or more of school under the terms of their visas. The UK Government expects us to report the absence of a sponsored pupil if they have an unauthorised absence for 5 days.
If your child will be absent from lessons, please contact the School Office in writing to make the request. This is a requirement by law and boarding staff are unable to grant permission.
Any term time absences need to be authorised by the Head by emailing kfrench@plymouthcollege. com
The school Network Manager gives each pupil an e-mail address and password. Boarders can then access the network computers in the boarding house and have controlled Internet access. Boarders may bring their own laptop computer to work on in their own room as there is wireless Internet access throughout the houses.
Boarders love to receive a real letter in your own handwriting and from other family and friends through the post. The occasional parcel and package from home is also an exciting event!
Your child’s postal address will be: C/o College House 8 Ford Park Plymouth PL4 6RP
United Kingdom
When visiting your child please let a member of staff know of your visit in advance.
It is important that you see a member of boarding staff when you first arrive on site; for the welfare of all boarders the member of staff on duty must be aware of your presence. Please sign in to the Visitors’ Book and out again on your departure.
All adult visitors (including parents) must be accompanied by a member of staff. There is a designated toilet for adult visitors; for child protection reasons. For our health and safety measures, please do not use the children’s facilities.
Most school letters are emailed home to parents via school reception. Please make sure that you have signed up to receiving such communication on the joining papers so that you are able to sign and return permission slips for your child throughout the year.
Any money for school trips must be paid by Parent Pay. Please make sure that your child has enough money in the bank or College House account for school trips.
If you are concerned about your child’s work, progress, subjects, activities, or behaviour in school your first contact should be with your child’s tutor.
If you cannot contact the tutor or the issue is not resolved satisfactorily or is more serious please contact the Head of Year. If the issue is still not resolved to your satisfaction or is very serious or urgent contact the Deputy Head (Academic) or Deputy Head (Pastoral).
Contact details for your child’s class tutor and Head of Year will be sent separately.
The role of the prefects is to be helpful and supportive to both boarders and duty staff. Tasks carried out by prefects include collecting in phones at bedtime, helping to supervise study time and organising evening activities for other boarders.
Our prefects are role models to younger boarders as well as big brothers and sisters in the house. They also report back to the Housemaster if younger boarders are not behaving as they ought to or experiencing difficulties.
The Heads of House are responsible for overseeing the prefect team alongside the Housemaster. This includes creating and monitoring a prefect duty rota.
The flights you book should arrive and depart on the dates given below and between the times shown to allow enough time for the onward journey to and from Plymouth. Direct flights are preferable where possible to avoid potential complications with connecting flights.
School transport will be provided from Heathrow Airport on all the dates listed in the table to the right.
To secure your child’s place on the school transport, which may be a bus or taxis depending on numbers, complete the appropriate term’s booking form and return it at least one month before the date of travel. The cost of £85 per person per transfer for Heathrow will be added to the next term’s school fees account. Please note that the transfer fee may change when the fees structure has been reviewed.
Swimming scholars should check training/competition dates with the Director of Swimming before booking holiday flights.
Boarders over 16 years old may make their own way to/from Plymouth by coach or train with their parents’ written permission.
Boarders aged 15 years and under must be escorted either by parents, by guardians, by private taxi, or by the College’s Heathrow Airport transfer chaperone service.
Parents of Child Student Visa students must provide all travel details to the boarding administrator each time the student enters or exits the UK and ALL details if remaining in the UK to include: travel arrangements, address, name and contact of where staying.
A Guardian, who is over the age of 25, or a Guardianship Agency must be appointed for any pupil whose parents are not resident in the UK and who is unable to return home during school holidays or has to leave school due to suspension in line with the school’s behaviour policy. In addition to the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays there is a break from school in the middle of each term, known as Half Term. Boarders cannot be accommodated by the school at this time. If a boarder is unable to return home during school holidays, he or she will need to be looked after by a guardian based in the UK.
At the end of the Summer Term, Year 11 and Year 13 boarders only may depart from the boarding house after Speech Day unless they are required to continue with swim training or other school commitments.
At the beginning of each term and half term Boarders are expected to return to school the evening before school starts, as listed above. The boarding houses will be open from 14:00 and will be locked at 22:00. We will not accept arrivals and/or departures between 22:00 and 06:30.
Train: Get the Heathrow Express to London Paddington, then change from London Paddington to Plymouth. (Approx 3.5 to 4 hours)
Book tickets through www.thetrainline.com
Coach: Direct route from London Heathrow to Plymouth Coach Station on Armada Way. (Approx. 4.5 to 5 hours)
Book tickets through www.nationalexpress.com
You may prefer to book flights to and from Bristol Airport.
The transfer time between Bristol Airport and Plymouth is approx. 2 to 2½ hours. Individual transfers may be made by bus or taxi.
Bus: The Southwest Falcon provides a direct bus service between Bristol Airport and Plymouth Coach Station costs approx £24 one way
Book tickets through www.stagecoachbus.com/south-west/fly-the-south-westfalcon or megabus.com
Taxi: A private taxi transfer provided by Airport Travel South West costs approx. £150
Email enquiries@airporttravelsouthwest.co.uk for more info.
Please do not bring too much with you as you only have a limited space to store your items. All boarders must pack away all personal items from their rooms before the end of term. Boarders can store their suitcases in store rooms in the boarding house during term time. At the end of the summer term UK boarders should take all possessions home.
Any electrical items you bring will need to be PAT tested to ensure that they are safely constructed, fit for use and free from the risk of becoming faulty.
All electrical items will be labelled with a identification number. The label must remain on the item at all times during your time as a boarder.
Only safe electrical equipment displaying the European standards CE mark will be permitted. Items assessed as unsafe will be removed. It will be the responsibility of the boarder to replace the unsafe item at their own expense (e.g. travel adapter, charger, etc).
Electrical equipment will not be permitted if: there is visible damage to the lead including fraying, cuts or heavy scuffing, damage to the plug, e.g. to the cover or bent pins. tape has been applied to the lead to join leads together or there is visible coloured wire where the lead joins the plug (the cable is not being gripped where it enters the plug) there are signs of damage to the outer cover of the equipment itself, including loose parts or screws or signs of overheating, such as burn marks or staining
Please do not bring too much with you as you only have a limited space to store your items.
Please do not bring a supply of non-prescribed medications (e.g. for cold symptoms, headaches, etc).We keep those medicines available for staff to dispense to boarders when they are unwell. Any medication must be declared to the School Nurse on arrival.
Please do not bring too many casual clothes or footwear because storage space in the bedrooms and the storerooms is limited.
Please read the ‘Code of Conduct for Boarders’ (sent out with your ‘Welcome to Boarding’ pack). for a list of items boarders must not have at school or in the boarding house, regardless of their age.
All items of personal possessions and equipment must be named before joining the boarding house.
Please note that during some holidays all possessions have to be stored in your child’s secure luggage bags in our store rooms while the boarding house is let out to visitors.
Please use the checklist across the page as a guide for what to bring with you:
Please follow the link for school uniform and sports kit requirements: https://www.plymouthcollege.com/ admissions/school-uniform-and-sports-kit
School uniform and PE kit can be purchased at www.schoolblazer.com and www.playerlayer.com. You are welcome to purchase additional Plymouth College branded items on there too eg. scarf, sports bag.
The following items are compulsary and must be purchased by parents/guardians:
Compulsary Plymouth College uniform items can be hired for short term pupils for £50 per half term:
• Plymouth College blazer
• Plymouth College tie
• Plymouth College skirt
• Plymouth College black team t-shirt
• Plymouth College outside t-shirt
• Plymouth College outer layer
We strongly advise boarders to have their own bank account with a bank card and that they keep minimal amounts of cash in the boarding house. We can help boarders set up a bank account if they don’t have one.
Alternatively, you can complete a bank transfer to the College House account using the details below. We can then withdraw cash for them as they require if there is sufficient money deposited. We are not able to lend money to boarders.
A record of all College House Account transactions is kept and a copy is sent home each term.
It is advisable for all boarders to keep at least £50.00 contingency fund per term in their own bank account or in the College House account. In addition, for those who are resident overseas, it is worth remembering extra funds for your child’s UK holidays and for travelling to and from their guardian. Parents should pay guardianship fees directly to guardians.
College House bank details are as follows: (Please do not pay school fees into this account)
(charged separately to the school fees)
If your child wishes to participate in the optional extras listed below, the fees must be paid direct to the teacher or club and cannot be added to the school bill.
Music Instrument Lessons – payable termly direct to the teacher Fencing Club Fees – payable monthly direct to Plymouth Fencing Club Swimming (PCA) fees - payable monthly or annually direct to Plymouth College Aquatics
One boarder’s possessions will often be identical or similar to another’s, especially items of school uniform and electrical items. It is, therefore, essential for all personal possessions to be marked with name labels.
It is important for each individual boarder to take responsibility for the good care and security of their own property. Plymouth College does not accept liability for the loss of boarders’ personal possessions. It is also important that all boarders are able to trust the other members of the house not to interfere with their personal possessions.
The boarding houses are kept secure and boarders are asked to keep the security codes to themselves to prevent access by non-boarders.
Boarders are expected to keep their personal possessions in their own allocated space to keep them safe. Passports and large amounts of money may be handed into the Housemaster who will keep them locked in the safe within the staff office, if written consent is given by parents.
Each boarder has access to a lockable drawer, either in the desk or wardrobe, where they are encouraged to keep valuable items such as money, mobile phones and expensive possessions. Please bring a padlock for this drawer, preferably a coded one as keys can be lost.
During school holidays all personal possessions must be packed away into clearly named suitcases or zipped bags and stored in the locked store rooms in each house.
Even though each boarder is provided with sufficient storage facilities, possessions can be mislaid, borrowed and never returned and, on rare occasions, even stolen. It is recommended that parents ensure that expensive items are appropriately insured.
Whenever a boarder cannot find a personal possession, the loss must be reported to the Housemaster. The Housemaster will then do the following:
• Help the boarder re-trace their steps and think through when and where the item was last seen.
• Actively help the boarder to look for the item.
• Encourage the boarder to look in the school lost property and bag store and ask the Porters for assistance.
• Announce the loss in House Meetings and encourage others to hand in found or borrowed items.
• If the item is not found and is valuable then parents will be informed.
In all instances of a theft being reported, first ask: has the item definitely been stolen or could it have been mislaid? If it could have been mislaid then follow the points above. If an item is known to have been stolen then follow the next steps:
• Take details of the stolen item, including time and place of theft, or the time and place it was last seen.
• Call a house meeting to alert everyone to the theft and ask for witnesses and information.
• Boarders are asked to co-operate in a search of the house including their own areas, which will only be searched if the boarder is present. The search will be carried out by a member of staff in the presence of an adult witness. If the search is successful the member of staff will record the outcome and inform the Housemaster who will decide what action to take.
• If the search is unsuccessful, a short amnesty will be given so that the item may be returned either to the owner, or to a member of staff, or to a specified neutral point.
• If the amnesty passes without the item being returned the police will be informed via the website: Report My Loss
• Take details of the stolen item, including time and place of theft, or the time and place it was last seen.
• Inform the Deputy Head in writing of the allegation of theft. The Deputy Head will decide what action to take.
• Take details of the stolen item, including time and place of theft, or the time and place it was last seen.
• Inform the police
• Inform the Housemaster who will inform
To succeed at living away from home and to maintain their scholarship, sports scholars need to have a high level of personal organisation, be committed to managing schoolwork and private study effectively, be focused on reaching their full performance potential and be prepared to participate as fully as possible in the boarding community.
We expect boarding athletes to have the self-discipline to set their own alarm and get themselves up for morning training sessions. A pre-breakfast snack may be taken in the boarding house kitchen prior to morning training. After morning training athletes must dress in school uniform before going to breakfast in the school dining hall.
During the school day athletes often become tired. It is important that no lessons are missed because this causes schoolwork to become unmanageable. Occasionally, an athlete may be allowed to return to the boarding house to sleep in his/her own bed for a longer period of time if the School Nurse decides that it is necessary. It is important to get to bed on time at night, or even to go to bed earlier if possible to maximise sleep opportunities.
Athletes in Years 7, 8 and 9 are expected to fully participate in all PE and games lessons in school as part of their all-round education. Athletes in years 10, 11 and Sixth Form, who are not taking PE as an academic subject, may be allowed to use Games lesson time for an allocated training session or for homework or private study.
It is often advisable for athletes starting the GCSE programme in Year 10 to take one less subject than normal to free up some lesson time during the day for private study. These decisions affect timetabling and must be discussed and agreed in advance with the Assistant Head.
It is recommended that athletes in Years 10, 11 and Sixth Form do not forgo the opportunity to take part in the school’s enrichment programme but get involved in activities such as the Sports Leaders Award, Art or Photography when possible on Friday afternoons.
In the evening, athletes have supper either before or after training. Athletes then need the self-discipline to complete homework, prepare all equipment/bags for the next day and manage laundry, before enjoying some free time prior to going to bed.
It remains the responsibility of each individual swimming scholar’s parents to complete the Swimming Medical Declaration Form. The form should be completed annually by anyone taking medication that is representing Great Britain or their Home Country internationally or competing in a British Swimming, ASA, SASA or WASA National event. It should be signed by both parent and competitor and sent direct to the ASA Membership Department. The school nurse keeps a record of the current medication being taken so do contact them for the information you require when completing the form.
We understand that there will be some periods of time that are harder than others, e.g. exam time, when performance isn’t as good as expected, or when an athlete is injured. In these cases we don’t look for perfection but for a realistic and honest attitude to the situation so that, with determination and the available support, the individual may overcome the particular obstacle. Boarding staff, health staff, academic staff, and coaches communicate with each other and with parents to ensure that the welfare of all athletes is maintained while in our care.
At least one chaperone will be provided to look after boarding swimming athletes at competitions during school term time only unless parents choose to accompany their own child themselves. Your child must have enough money to buy meals, drinks and snacks during the competition. The chaperone is not able to lend money.
For competitions during the school holidays when the boarding house is closed to boarders, parents are expected, either, to accompany your own child to the competition, or, to instruct your child’s UK Guardian to chaperone your child, or, to not enter that particular competition to enable your child to return home. This includes competitions that occur at the start or end of a holiday.
Parents are responsible for booking accommodation for their child at the hotel preferred by Plymouth College Aquatics as detailed in the relevant entry information for each competition. If you do not live in the UK and need help with making the accommodation booking for your child you can ask the swim office administrator to make the booking for you but only if you advance the money first. We are not able to lend money. If you have sufficient money deposited in a ‘College House account’ we can pass the money to the swim office on your instruction.
Boarders at Plymouth College are actively encouraged to contribute their views on their boarding provision, and are able to raise concerns and make complaints. Their views are given appropriate weight in decisions about the running of boarding and the school. They are not penalised for raising a concern or making a complaint in good faith.
New boarders are asked to fill in a questionnaire before they join the school so they can tell us what their expectations are, and what they hope to achieve during their time in the school.
Boarders fill in an annual questionnaire in the summer term to sum up their year in the school and in boarding, to tell us what they have enjoyed, or not, and what they have achieved, both in school and beyond. We use the information in the questionnaires to both review where we are and inform decisions about boarding for the next year.
The questionnaires are kept secure in individual boarders’ files in the school office. There are regular house meetings and less formal gatherings, where boarders are welcome to raise concerns or make complaints. Boarders are encouraged to come and see any member of staff more confidentially if they have a concern or wish to make a complaint. There are also regular meetings between house staff and prefects, who act as a conduit for information to and from house parents.
The School runs a School Council to discuss wider issues in school, and boarders are often elected to the committee and so have another forum for expressing their views on the school’s provision.
The ability to determine the age of young people has become increasingly difficult over the years. This has led to problems for both retailers and young people when trying to purchase and sell age related goods, for example, the local cinema requires proof of age when purchasing tickets to see certain films.
International students may use their own passport or national ID card to prove their age. British students who do not have photo ID are strongly recommended to purchase a Citizen Card, which is the most widely recognised Proof of age and ID scheme in the UK. Anyone can apply for a card via the website: www.citizencard.com. Using a Citizen Card is voluntary, but it can make life much easier.
Boarders must be aware that it is illegal to possess or to use false ID. Boarders are not permitted to borrow ID from anyone else or to lend their own ID to anyone else.
We recognise our obligation under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure positive attitudes to diversity and difference – not only so that every child is included and not disadvantaged, but also so that they learn to value diversity in others and grow up making a positive contribution to society.
We undertake to make reasonable adjustments to enable all to participate in all aspects of boarding, to ensure that all are valued and supported.
If you are concerned about a boarding issue your first contact should be with the Housemaster: Mr Lee Ilott – lilott@plymouthcollege.com
If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, contact the Senior Deputy Head: Mr Adam Carr - acarr@plymouthcollege.com
The Independent Schools’ Inspectorate inspects boarding provision regularly and you can contact them (www.isi.net) if there is a serious complaint concerning welfare and the issue has not been solved by us first.
If you have a child protection issue, please contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead (safeguarding@plymouthcollege.com) or the Plymouth Local Authority Designated Officer for Child Protection (LADO), Jane Parmenter (LADO@plymouth.gov.uk).
1 - History (H1), Geography (G1), RS
2 - Geography (G3)
3 - Geography, RS (G2)
4 - Biology (B2 Ground floor, B1 First floor)
5 - Biology (B3 & B4 Ground floor), Prep School (Year 5 & 6)
6 - Music (Practice rooms, Office of the Director of Music Ground floor)
7 - Music (A&C, Recording Studio Ground Floor), OPM Suite, Common Room (First floor)
8 - Sixth Form Centre (Bistro, Head of Sixth Form Office Ground floor), Psychology (Second floor), Study Rooms (Second floor)
9 - Classics (CL1, CL2 Second floor), Domestics Services (Ground floor)
10 - Maintenance Department (Porter’s Lodge Ground floor), ICT (CS2 & 3, Network Manager First floor, CS1 Second floor), Economics, Business Studies & BTEC (EC1, 2 & 3 Second floor)
11 - Outdoor Activities (Side entrance basement), SENCO (side entrance)
12 - CCF (basement), Wellbeing Hub, Bursar, Accounts, HR, Director of Sport, Deputy Head Co-Curricular and Operations (First floor), Director and Deputy Directorof Swimming (Second floor)
13 - Senior Deputy Head, DSL (Ground floor), Board Room (First floor), Exams Officer(Second floor)
14 - Sports Centre Reception, PE Office, PE Classroom (First floor)
15 - Bag store
16 - Fencing
17 - Maths (Room 1 Ground floor), Library, English (Rooms 8 & 9 First floor)
18 - Old Gym, Physics (P4), Maths (Rooms 2, 3 & 4 Ground floor), MFL (L1 & L2), English (Rooms 5, 6, 7, 10 & 11)
19 - The Michael Ball Drama Studio (DRS), Physics (P1 & P2 Ground floor), Chemistry (C1A, C1B & C2 First floor)
20 - Art (A1 & A2)
21 - Cricket nets
H - Staff Accommodation
T - Thompson House (Staff Accommodation)
