St Bede's Boarding

Our boarding house is called Mead End and is a lovely old building full of character with wonderful views overlooking the English Channel.

We have seven bedrooms spread over two floors; one floor accommodates the girls and the other the boys. Each bedroom in the house has its own character and our boarders can personalise with pictures, posters, home duvets etc to make then even more homely. There is a surgery if a pupil is feeling a little unwell or just in need of a quiet place to chat to matron. There is a substantial garden where the children can play and enjoy the summer weather and a balcony leading off of one bedroom to enjoy the sea views.

Our house is staffed by matrons as well as the House parents. We are always there for the children and take pride in the way we get to know all our boarders so that we can make their time with us as enjoyable and safe as possible.

There is plenty to do whilst being a boarder at St Bede’s. Out of school there are many activities to do and at weekends lots of places to go. We have been known to go camping at Alton Towers, take day trips to London and Brighton, not to mention the various in house entertainments of talent shows, parties, competitions and Xbox games.

There are lots of opportunities for the children to develop a sense of individuality and independence; we encourage all the children to look after their bedrooms, make their beds and organise themselves as best they possibly can. Indeed, part of life at St Bede’s is to develop the children in a more holistic manner and allow them to make choices that may well influence their own development.

Our house can be very cosmopolitan at times, we have looked after children from all over the world: France, Spain, Russia, Japan, China, South Africa, Nigeria and of course the UK. With such a diverse mixture of cultures Meads End can be an extremely enlightening experience.

Once the school day is over, the children all come back to Meads End and put their feet up. They can relax and unwind, chat in rooms or sit in the garden until it’s time to go to bed. We believe that our boarders should have a similar evening to those who go home to their parents when school is finished. When the children go to bed, they settle down in rooms with a maximum of six children and get a good night’s rest, ready for the next day.

Boarding is such a unique experience. At St Bede’s we hope to support all our children in their time here and watch them blossom as they always do.