Being a Day Student
There are five Day Houses; Deis, Dicker and Knights are the boys’ houses, Bloomsbury and Charleston the girls’.
Each House is run by a Housemaster or Housemistress and there are House Tutors helping to run each year group within the House. A matron is also based in one of the Houses to look after the day students’ needs.
A day in the life of a day student
Most of us catch the School bus from somewhere near our homes between 7.45 and 8am. On the way to School sixteen half-asleep students summon the energy to talk about plans for the weekend and finish up the few remaining fragments of maths problems left undone. By the time we arrive, everyone is awake and I head to my House with my friends ready for registration and to pick up any notices that are being read out. The House is our home at school, our place to relax, catch up with friends and take time out. Mornings deliver the normal banter, arguments about the merits of various football teams, gossip from recent parties and desperate efforts to complete prep in time for the first lesson.
By 8:40am we are in the classroom for two, hour long lessons. The lessons vary in length from 40 minutes to 1 hr 20 minutes. The morning is split with a half hour break. Hunger has normally set in and we often wander down to the village shop for a sandwich and catch up with other friends. By 11.10am we are back in the classroom and by 12.30pm the bulk of our lessons are complete for the day. As a sixth former these might well be punctuated with periods of private study where I can study in the library or in the Sixth Form Centre.
At the start of lunch there may be meetings to attend. Once a week we meet as a House and our Housemaster delivers his weekly homily on matters both big and small. On other days we have Chapel where a different teacher each week puts together a presentation. ‘The tummy is seriously rumbling by this stage and it is with relief that I make it into lunch. The choices vary – from the Pasta bar and baked potatoes available in the Lizard Lounge to a variety of hot meals on offer in the main dining room. The rest of the hour is spent taking a breather. The summer months are the best as everyone heads out to the lawns to hang out, play Frisbee and generally enjoy the sunshine. During winter we retreat inside, ensconced in our houses or the Sixth Form common room, reading the newspaper and catching up with teachers who we might need to see one on one.
After afternoon registration we have another lesson which takes us to 2:45, by which time I am itching to stretch my legs. The following two hours is largely made up by activities of one sort or another. My activities vary term by term but at the moment I am playing football twice a week, making didgeridoos and getting involved in the School drama production. This is a great time of day and allows me to really get involved in things.
By 4:30pm attention is starting to drift towards the journey home. The final hour is busy as I see my individual tutor for regular meeting. We chat about how things are going and he reassures me that I am not about to fail my A levels! Finally I am back in the House to pack up and help the Housemaster clear out the junior students. The day is complete and I head back on the bus arriving home soon after 6pm ready for a good feed from Mum before getting to grips with more of those troublesome maths problems! A full but fantastic day at the Dicker’!
Deis UVth student
