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boarding handbook 2023 24 august v2PDF 4
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activities routine among supportive peers and adult mentors –away from the immediate influence of parents
– that boarders so readily acquire the complementary gifts of self-reliance and teamwork: signposts along
the journey to successful adulthood. Boys also feel a sense of achievement when they return home. At the
heart of successful boarding is a journey that equally celebrates a strong partnership between school and
home, and so we pride ourselves on building constructive and transparent relationships with parents.
We want parents to know that teachers at Aitchison are very much involved in the boarding community.
They care. We know that parents rightly expect generous help with homework and assignments after school
hours, but we also place emphasis on the development of each individual’s self-esteem and welfare. Indeed,
it is very important that teachers understand boarders’ lives and routines outside the relative formality of
the classroom. Boarding staff also includes school counselors.
Senior boys reside in separate boarding houses of O and A Level groups, Matric and FSc (Kelly, Godley,
Leslie Jones, K&N’s and Shirazi). Prep boarders are grouped into levels Year 6 to Year 8 (Saigol). Year 9
(Bahawalpur) separately, and our juniors (Gwyn) from Year 1 to Year 5. In 2024, Saigol House
will accept Years 6 and 7, while the new Monnoo House will admit Years 8 and 9.
All boys enjoy appropriate social occasions and co-operative house tasks, in a community that follows rules
and routines with a strong measure of predictability. Families and friends of students may routinely visit on
the second Sunday of the month and the last weekend of each month, except during closed weekends for
examination preparations. We ask that Prep times, assemblies and bed hours not be disturbed by phone
calls. Boys have set time for calls before and after school. Each visitor will be stopped at the school gate
and issued with a pass. Please be patient with this process; it is there to protect everyone’s best interests.
This pass must be visible at all times and returned to security on the way out. Unofficial leave for boarders
is normally not permitted during term time, nor is it encouraged prior to Friday evening in any week other
than in exceptional circumstances. This ensures that educational obligations are met and that the boarding
community works as one. Please contact your housemaster/mistress in the event of special consideration
requests. The Principal approves leave in excess of three days.
Each housemaster and housemistress is responsible for managing all aspects of their boarding programme.
In turn, they delegate certain basic responsibilities to resident tutors and long serving bearers. Together,
they and prefects maintain ‘good order’ in their houses by ensuring acceptable parameters of student
behaviour. Here is it useful for parents to know that our underlying philosophy is to work closely with
young people to develop their good habits and strengths via encouragement and recognition, although
parents can expect us to act promptly in instances of poor or discourteous behaviour. Bullying and/or
harassment, for example, are not tolerated in any shape or form whatsoever. While house rules are
interpreted in conjunction with the School Rules, it is our belief that most residential rules are guidelines
for sensible people, and so we purposely do not list every prohibited activity. Equally, while community
living necessitates certain restrictions on individual freedoms, the primary rule is one of ‘common sense’,
so that the spirit of the community is applied wherever possible and room created for personal growth and
individuality. Individuality is important. Students incapable of recognizing or upholding the balance of this
liberal tradition are unsuited to boarding at Aitchison College. Far from easing personal and community
responsibilities, such a programme increases expectations and we rightly expect each boy to show steady
progress in personal development and social awareness. This is the hallmark of a fine boarding education
and it is the duty of each house to educate young people in this tradition.