Chinese New Year
Our boarders had a fabulous festival of food to celebrate Chinese New Year. The dining room looked the part, thanks to Oscar and many of the boarders who had decorated the room with Year of the Rat-themed decorations, hanging paper lanterns and flags. Before the food was served Angel, George and Xavier welcomed in the New Year with a traditional Chinese blessing.
The food was absolutely delicious and so amazing," said one of the boarders. There was lots of variety including hoisin pork, vegetable dim sum, sweet and sour chicken, spare ribs, duck wraps, crispy squid, crispy prawns, spring rolls, prawn crackers, special fried rice - all topped off with fortune cookies and millionaire shortbread!
Boarder
After supper, the evening ended with the traditional lighting of a paper lantern* outside in front of the school.
It was a poignant occasion for everyone, especially for our Chinese boarders, who were thinking particularly of their families and friends at home at this time.
Weekend trips
Boarding weekends are a relaxing mixture of free time, making use of the facilities at school like the swimming pool and squash courts, games, movie nights and fun outings.
Earlier this term, our full boarders visited the New Forest, just an hour west from of school. After a morning spent doing music practice, cleaning shoes, writing letters and chilling out, Mr Allum and the boarders climbed aboard the minibus and set out to Beaulieu, in the heart of the beautiful New Forest National Park. They had a picnic lunch at Buckler’s Hard before they walked along the Beaulieu River, getting a little bit muddy along the way and enjoying the glimpses of the sparkling river through the woods. Afterwards, they headed to Lepe Beach for a hot chocolate and arrived just in time to see a beautiful sunset over the Isle of Wight. They arrived back at school just in time for a hearty chicken pie - a perfect end to a lovely Sunday.
Evening Activities
Our creative boarders have been making a pompom mat for their dorm during evening activities. While our very talented gapper, Lara, has been sharing her intricate, original designs with the girls and boys to help them create incredible drawings - see the images below.
*We are aware of the environmental and safety reasons for avoiding paper lanterns. We are looking for an alternative that is sympathetic to Chinese traditions for next Chinese New Year.
