School Life
Pastoral Care
Abbey choristers spend much of their time in the public spotlight, so having a friendly, caring and safe environment in school is vital. In so small a community boys and staff naturally get to know each other very well. On a formal level, each boy joins a house – nine or ten boys across the whole age range who work with their house staff to support one another and take part in house activities. Besides scheduled House Mondays the boys are encouraged to look out for one another in daily school life, often forming strong friendships with boys in different year groups in the process.
Each year group also has two Form Tutors who are responsible for keeping a pastoral eye on their Form. From this, pupils each have a Personal Tutor who will discuss academic progress and help with practical day-to-day matters that crop up in school life. Pupils meet individually with their Personal Tutor a few times a term in Forms III to V. Pupils in Forms I and II see their class teacher, who acts as their Personal Tutor, every day and so meeting individually happens as needed and more formally once a term.
And then there are the Chaplain and Independent Person and also resident staff including resident teachers, matrons, Deputy Headteacher and the Headteacher – all of whom live on site and are on hand in the evenings, if for nothing other than a chat or a game of table tennis.
"Staff promote a relaxed, but nevertheless efficient, atmosphere in which relationships with pupils are warm, friendly and caring and in which the pupils thrive."
ISI INSPECTION REPORT
December 2015
