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Boarding

Free time

As well as enjoying the array of after-school clubs and activities (known as Commoners), it is important that the boys also have free, unstructured time to read, relax and to create their own entertainment, just as they would at home.

There are always friends close by each evening and at the weekends for a game of football, cricket, basketball or table tennis, or simply for company while watching a favourite television programme or a film in the boarders’ Common Room. There are also plenty of benches, bean bags and sofas dotted around the school to spend some time out with a good book.

In the summer months, the boys prefer to be outdoors, enjoying the lighter evenings and the good weather. The Puddle, our outdoor pool, is popular in the sunshine, as are the cricket nets. The boarders may use the whole of the school grounds, and supervised evening activities can be down on the fields or by the river.

Boys in Dining Hall with hot chocolate

 

Boys on high-wire activity

 

Boys at tug of ware

In the winter, when the evenings are darker and chillier, activities become more school-based. The winter favourite is a mug of hot chocolate, freshly made popcorn and watching a film in the boarders' cinema room, perhaps snuggled up under a duvet. 

WEEKENDS

It is important for the full boarders to spend some time away from school and we all very much look forward to our trips out each Sunday.  This may be a mountain biking adventure in the New Forest, a train up to Twickenham for the rugby, a tour of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, a trip to the beach for an afternoon of surfing, an energetic session of trampolining  - or a lazy day with a walk along the river, chatting, relaxing, eating ice-cream and simply enjoying a pause from the busy week. Boys may also choose to go home with a friend for the weekend, with prior parental permission. The term’s trips are publicised in advance so that families can plan their weekends.

#weloveboarding

#weloveboarding Just before half term, while the older boarders were away on a residential trip, we welcomed many new boys for a taster experience of the wonderful world that is boarding at Pilgrims’.  

Where are we going on Sundays this term?

Sunday boarding trips 

When?

What, where? 

27 Apr

Bubble Football (£5 Additional Charge)
Play football whilst standing inside a large ball of air. Will you be laughing so hard that your ribs will ache for days? There’s only one way to find out!

4 May Exeat

11 May

Ninja Warrior
It’s the ultimate challenge! Climb, swing, hang, run, jump and look like a total loon doing it!
 

18 May

New Forest Archery and Ropes Course (£17 Additional Charge)
Real bows, real arrows and real targets and then a high ropes course, an open fire and hot chocolate, all in the New Forest (its proper Robin Hood stuff!)

 

Half-Term

8 Jun

New Forest Water Park (£15 Additional Charge)
More inflatable fun than you can imagine. It’s a Boarding trip favourite!
 

15 Jun Exeat

22 Jun

Moors Valley Country Park: Specific activities (bikes etc)
A trip to a local country park. More details to follow on what we are going to be doing.

29 Jun

Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Test your balance and ability to gulp salt water! Will you strut around on your board doing head stands or spend most of your time having conversations with the fish?

6 Jul

Beach Trip
It’s the annual end of year trip to the beach. Beach cricket, kite flying, sandcastles, swimming and ice-cream! (And that’s just what Mr. Leslie will be doing. How about you?)

'BOARDERS ONLY'

group of boys outside

The boarding year gets off to an exciting start with the All In Weekend. The whole boarding community stays in school for the first weekend to get to know each other. The boys take part in lots of fun activities before we all end up at Paultons Park theme park as an amazing finale to our first weekend together.

Another highlight is the black-tie dinner and cabaret at the end of the Christmas term, exclusively for boarders, with boys and staff performing hilarious songs and sketches. At the end of each summer term, the boys are taken on a ‘Boarders Only’ trip to mark the end of our year together. For some of the boarders, this will be their last night with us before they move on to their senior school. It is very special, and it is marked by a party with activities spread across the whole of the school grounds, ending with a midnight swim for the Year 8 boys. Throughout the rest of the year we enjoy a variety of special treats, such as the boarders' summer BBQ, themed suppers, karaoke nights, film nights - it's quite a list and all good fun.

Our Location

We are blessed with a truly idyllic location. Just an hour south of London by direct train, with easy access to all the major travel hubs, and yet we are surrounded by the stunning countryside of the South Downs National Park. The school is tucked away between Winchester Cathedral and Winchester College, within the secure and secluded Cathedral Close. Moments from our front door is the heart of the historic city of Winchester, or step through our back gate to find water meadows, countryside, and the South Downs Way.