Boarding Pupils

The School day at Dean Close is a full and varied one; after lessons end the pupils enjoy ‘Buns’ to recharge energy levels before taking part in sports, music, drama, activities and personal development opportunities. After this, there is supervised independent study time in a dedicated study room for the older boarders and the younger boarders can complete their homework with their Houseparents and matrons in the relaxed atmosphere of the Wilton kitchen.

After independent study children play outside; roller blades and skateboards are always popular and the children also enjoy exploring the extensive school grounds. Our own woods and brook give them the opportunity to create their own entertainment and the wide range of sports facilities and organised activities means that children learn to use their time constructively. However, it is very important that the children are left with time to explore life at their own pace, and in their own way, so sometimes after a long day at school they take the opportunity to just relax in their houses and find space to unwind.

Flexi-boarding offers day pupils the opportunity to board on an occasional basis. This can be seen as a way of easing into boarding. Flexi-Boarding also enables those who have extra curricular commitments to stay in school overnight, and can be used as a service to assist parents who occasionally have long or irregular working hours and may need to travel from time to time.

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Dean Close has a full programme on a Saturday, with teaching in the morning and fixtures in the afternoon. The rest of the weekend offers opportunities for relaxation and for recharging the batteries, time to do additional academic work, especially for examination candidates, and the use of the School’s wealth of facilities for sport, music and other interests.

The Houses regularly organise social activities, which vary from ‘zorbing’ to ice skating and from paintballing to an evening at the cinema. Pupils are encouraged to use their increasing freedom wisely as they become more senior, in preparation for university and life beyond School, organising their own time at weekends to meet their academic and other commitments as well as stocking up on rest and relaxation.

Weekends are full of activities including ice skating, visits to the cinema and outings to local places of interest such as Drayton Manor Theme Park, @Bristol, Gloucester Rugby Club or Jumptastic in Gloucester. We are well served in this area of the county for places that also offer more physically challenging pursuits such as canoeing, sailing, hill walking or paddle boarding. We have a covered play area, which is floodlit and in the winter months provides a base for outdoor play, such as football or hockey up until the bed bell. During the light evenings, under supervision, the boarders are able to take advantage of the extensive School grounds and the excellent facilities such as the cricket nets and tennis courts. Every Saturday night there is a different fun activity organised for the whole Prep School boarding community.