Daily Boarding Routine & Arrangements
Prep Time
“Prep” is the time allocated for students to do their homework each weeknight.
Prep for boarders in Years 7 - 10 is supervised in a classroom in the IT building by a member of the teaching staff. Students are expected to work quietly and make good use of their Prep time.
Students in Year 11 to Year 13 work in their rooms in the Boarding House. A member of the academic staff is on duty during Prep in the Boarding House to support students in their work, and the School’s library is available in the evenings.
Full boarders reaming in the Boarding House for the weekend will be supported to be establish their routine for weekend work.
Weekday Registration
These occur at the following times and are a legal requirement:
7.40am Dining Hall at Breakfast
8.30am Morning Registration with Company Adviser/ in Sixth Form Centre
1.40pm In Period 4 Lesson or in Sixth Form Centre
3.55pm In Boarding House
5.40pm in Dining Hall
• At Bedtime as detailed on the right.
Weekends have a degree of flexibility which will be explained to Boarders by the Boarding House team. Typically, registration at weekend takes place before meal times.
Signing in and Signing Out
Boarders must sign in and out whenever they leave the Boarding House, even when they leave for school in the morning and return in the evening. It is a legal requirement for us to know who is in the boarding accommodation at any given time.
Weekly boarders must also remember to sign out on a Friday afternoon when returning home and to sign back in again on a Sunday evening or Monday morning when they return.
Students may not leave the School campus after dinner without permission from a Houseparent.
If there are delays to an arranged or expected return time (including when with a parent or guardian) Houseparents must be contacted by telephone immediately.
Monday to Friday Routine
7.30am Wake up
7.40am Breakfast in the Dining Hall
8.008.25am
Back to the Boarding House. Make bed, tidy room and leave for school by 8.25am at the latest.
8.30am Registration with Company Adviser or for Sixth Form students, in the Sixth Form Centre LESSONS
3.55pm School finishes.
Years 7 to 11
All return to the Boarding House to sign in and get a snack and a drink
4.005.45pm Free time and Activities.
Year 9
May sign out and go into Letchworth at most twice in a week, but must be back by 5.30pm to sign in
Years 10 to 13
May sign out and go into Letchworth but must be back by 5.40pm to sign in
5.45pm Dinner in the Dining Hall.
Years 12 and 13 do not have to join for dinner and can instead cook their own food in their shared kitchen.
6.15pm Supervised Prep (Homework)
Years 7, 8 and 9 6.15 to 7.15pm in IT
Year 10
6.15 to 7.45pm in IT
Year 11 6.15 to 7.45pm in Boarding House
Year 12 and 13 6.15 to 8.15pm in Boarding House or in the Sixth Form Centre
After Prep Free time and activities
8.45pm Bedtime routine begins
Year 7
8.45pm get ready for bed 9.15pm lights out
Year 8
9.05pm get ready for bed 9.30pm lights out
Year 9
9.15pm get ready for bed 9.45pm lights out
Year 10
9.30pm get ready for bed 10.00pm lights out
Year 11
10.00pm get ready for bed 10.30pm lights out
Years 12 and 13
10.00pm - All Sixth Form students must be back in the Boarding House and have signed in
10.30pm - All Sixth Form students in their rooms - students may read quietly. All electronic equipment must be turned off by 11.00pm
Saturday Routine
9.009.30am Breakfast in the Dining Hall
SATURDAY ACTIVTY PROGRAMME
A weekly group trip followed by the opportunity to relax, study and socialise. Sixth Form students can join the trip or they can remain in school. For those remaining in school lunch is from 12.30 to 1.00pm.
5.306.00pm Dinner in the Dining Hall
BEDTIMES AT THE DISCRETION OF DUTY STAFF
Sunday Routine
11.0012.00pm Sunday Brunch
FREE TIME
The opportunity to participate in activities on campus, relax, catch up on prep or visit friends with permission.
5.306.00pm Dinner in the Dining Hall
BEDTIMES AT THE DISCRETION OF DUTY STAFF
Student Guests
St Chris day students who are friends of boarders are welcome to visit boarders by invitation only after school from 3.55pm until 5.45pm. They must sign in and out with the person on duty. Friends from outside of the school are not allowed in the boarding accommodation at any time.
All guests must sign in and out at the Boarding House on arrival and seek the permission of the member of staff on duty, making sure they know when the visitor has arrived and left.
Communications and Technology
Wi-fi is fully accessible across all areas of the School, including boarding accommodation. The network is operational between the hours of 6.00am and midnight.
Students in Years 7 to 10 are asked to hand in their mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices before they go to bed. Students in Year 11 and beyond are allowed to keep their mobile phones but if they are found to be using them later than 11.00pm, they will be removed.
The School network imposes strict controls to prevent access to unsuitable Internet content. The School’s IT Policy can be downloaded from our website: https://www.stchris.co.uk/about-us/ policies/
The school has firewalls and search attempts are checked regularly by the Head of IT. Infringement of our IT Use Policy may result in serious consequences.
Visitors
All guests must sign in and out at the Boarding House on arrival and seek the permission of the member of staff on duty, making sure they know when the visitor has arrived and left.
Adult visitors - parents, relatives, guardians and agents - who are visiting students and/or Houseparents can do so in the evening after school has finished at 3.55pm, and by prior arrangement with Houseparents.
Adult visitors must sign in at the Main School Reception and then in the Boarding House and be accompanied by a resident staff member into the House. They must remain in the communal areas only of the House and with the Houseparents and/ or student at all times.
Visitors are only allowed into the child’s bedroom with the student on the arrival day at the beginning of term, and on the last day of term to help with luggage, packing, and so on. They must still sign in at the Boarding House with the Houseparents, and be accompanied into the House by a resident member of staff.
Residents are not permitted to let strangers into the Boarding House at any time. An intruder alarm is set at lock-up time.
Telephones
Students are welcome to use their own mobiles or laptops, though parents can also ring the internal Boarding House student phones on the numbers published in the contact section ff this page. The main switchboard line should only be used for emergencies or for overseas students who may have special arrangements. Students may not make or receive calls during Prep or after lights out.
Student Duties
All students have responsibilities within the boarding accommodation and will be allocated a duty team. Duties are posted on the notice boards. Our principle is that nothing should be left for others to clear up.
Policies and Procedures
A comprehensive list of our policies and procedures can be found on the School’s website at www.stchris.co.uk/about-us/policies/