BS newbies Y7/Y9 2023

[Decisions23]

Thought I’d add a thread for newbie parents who might have questions or thoughts/worries prior to September. Probably won’t be too busy a thread, but hopefully worthwhile.

I have a few generic questions myself -

• when does the school allocate the child to a particular boarding house?
• are children able to communicate with or meet eachother over the summer in readiness for September?
• when are acceptance numbers generally finalised? Should schools know now who they’re expecting for September or does it tend to change between now and then either with an increase or decrease in new starters?

Thanks seasoned parents!

When is the optimum time to order uniform? I’ve seen that our school has a school uniform shop for fittings that’s open during term time - I’d feel a bit embarrassed if we booked too early but I also don’t want to leave it too late!

will definitely sew the dressing gown belt on! any recommended sturdy slippers?

To be frank you'll probably find they won't wear half the stuff you buy and that they'll look to see what their dorm mates wear. One of my boys wears a dressing gown, one refuses (wears it at home), one wears slippers the other wears sliders (wears slippers at home). They you'll discover the "brands" they'll wear.

There seems to be a "uniform" for the winter coat across a lot of public schools to wear the North Face coat - DS2 refused to wear a coat at all until I got him that (the school uniform is just for a dark coat unlike pretty much everything being the school brand - I caved only because he's got 2 younger brothers to hand it on to. They are like sheep.

Also in terms of uniform outfitting - wait till the boarding house yr grouo WhatsApp gets set up and ask the parents who already have children there what not to bother buying - there's always items in the list that aren't strictly necessary.

And if you can take the school shop up on their labelling services - ours provides us with name labels (initials surname and boarding house initials) and see labels on new kit for £1 an item (I have a long term health condition so couldn't manage without this). The school shop then delivers perfectly labelled kit on to your boarders bed waiting for your child at the start of term.

Also ensure to give your matron a pack of the labels so they can sew in labels on anything bought during term.

Stick on labels are good but make sure it's the format that your school requires (eg initials surname boarding house initials) for laptop/phone/charger etc

Plus boarding houses are strict on exactly where to sew a label and will specify many items including duvet covers as well as the uniform....

good advice from @StealthToddler

Some caveats - prep school v Y9 v y12 entry differ in that more activities are compulsory the younger you are, and therefore you use more of the prescribed kit. I definitely would hold back for anyone joining the L6. Eg 16yo girls do not need micro tennis snd netball skirts if they are going to choose yoga and swimming. However for prep schools I’d get it done in early summer because the schools are smaller and shops hold less stock - they sometimes do run out of sizes.

Outsourcing labels - good idea provided you are very confident of required size.

Non- uniform stuff - whatever they say do not send expensive stuff because it will be lost, “borrowed” or damaged.

Evening seasoned 11+ BS parents. Can anyone recommend sports trainers please? (DD has been in Clarks most of prep but is almost size 6 now!)
Also places to get a ‘knee length smart dress or skirt/top’?

Finally, we’ve gone for a 4.5 tog duvet so hoping that will be warm enough?

Thanks!

Re trainers, I don't think this is a boarding specific question, but I just go into Sports Direct and buy whatever is appropriate (trainers vs astros vs studs) that are on sale and in a brand/colours they would like. So far the kids are happy.

Houseparents have a lot to do without worrying about whether they are wearing the right shoes for the right activity and whether they come in wet or not, and how to deal with them if they are, so if your DD is anything like my brood I would assume that they will be wrecked much faster than they would be at home and budget accordingly, but then also celebrate the fact that this is a huge opportunity for her to grow as an individual, and it is just a pair of trainers (or several)!

Amazon prime proved very handy. I was sending all kinds of things! Dd was 16+ entry so at least could go out

Amazon Prime is my saviour! The kids tell me nothing and clearly I don't see what is given to them each day, so the number of times I have only discovered at the last minute that they need a costume / specific coloured top / piece of sports gear and relied on a combination of Amazon and DPD to get it there is staggering!

eeeeek. I have just realised that my ds is going to BS in only 5 weeks time ! He is away visiting family abroad at the moment so the house is already empty and quiet. I am getting a vision of what it is going to be like and it is strange...
Any seasoned ones out there that understand? family and friends have all told me to (very unhelpfully) - get used to it...

Not a seasoned boarding family but it's 4 weeks until mine starts so sending solidarity. She's very much here and I'm wondering how I can possibly cope without her.

She's beside herself with excitement though which helps.

Sending positive and sympathetic thoughts to you!

Here too. Can’t believe how fast this summer has gone so far… but she’s so excited.

Does your DS's school have a Flickr account or similar to share pics of what they are up to out of your sight???

I have two DCs at boarding school and they are both rubbish at telling me what they are up to during term time, but it does help that their schools post dozens of photos each day of what the boarders are up to, from meal times to sports to quizzes to weekend trips out. It still feels strange not to have them here, but allows us to relax knowing that they are having an amazing time at school (even if they seem to have no recollection of the amazing time they were having in the photos when I speak to them later the same day!!!)

@tachetastic thank you for your message. This is a whole new chapter for us. I have no idea what the school does in terms of photos! He doesn't have a flikr account (I don't know what that is😫)... Just having a bit of a wobble realising, after more Than 4 yrs of talking about and preparing for it, he's actually going, and it's only a few weeks away😵.
I am so happy for him as it's what he chose and it's a brilliant opportunity. I'm going to miss him and no-one in my R.L has gone through this.

@Decisions23 . How are you holding up? Glad your dd is excited. My ds can't wait either.
Never in a million years did I imagine I'd sit in front of the tv with a pile of (pants) sewing in (teeny) name tags😵.
The amount of stuff needed is amazing.
how far away is the school from you?
ours is about 1.5hrs drive.

Hi @MKDmumofflash ,
How are you getting on?
It is a really odd sensation isn't it?, happy dc are so excited about this but going to miss them!
Wish I knew/had a trick to help.
I guess, once we've got into the swing of things, and live the new routine, it'll get easier.
Have you also had copious amounts of stuff to organise?

This brought back memories for me from 40 years ago.
Tuesday evenings lectures/concerts for which a smart 'lecture dress' was compulsory.! (Wonder if it is the same school.)

I haven't found the trick yet but I'm starting to get emotional over tv etc if anyone leaves. That's only going to get worse! She's going to be weekly boarding though so she'll be home with a pile of laundry as soon as I know it.

And yes, there are MOUNTAINS of stuff in the house. Luckily she's very organised, so it's packed away as soon as it arrives. I still have the biggest pile of labelling to do though 😥

Oh God The Stuff!!! It's everywhere.

I haven't embarked on labelling yet (am avoiding). Any tips for sewing in the 10 million labels? Surely someone must have come up with a handy gadget for this?

DD is so, so excited. She's only flexi-boarding 3 nights per week so I'm not feeling quite so bereft as some and this past few weeks she has embraced adolescence so wholeheartedly that I've been quite tempted to sell her on ebay anyway.

Also what have I forgotten? Have any old-hands got a useful list...?

Labels everywhere here too. I'm using the weekly boarding thing (washing comes home) as an excuse not to sew labels onto everything and have bought those sticker ones for pants etc. And someone else on here linked little grommet/rivet type things to convert woven labels into hooks which I've also got suckered in by.

It won't work for evening/weekend clothes, but I do know there are parents at DS' school that specifically order uniform and kit items to be delivered directly to the boarding house rather than to home so labels are Matron's problem! 😱

Shocking I know! How they are not turned to stone by her glare come Speech Day I have no idea!!! 😬

Probably won't work for a flexi. You'd likely see Matron kicking her heels and swigging gin in the background as you get handed all the tags and kit by an embarrassed DC!!! 😂

I’m paying dd1 to do the labelling- she’s just finished her GCSEs and is handy with a sewing machine. But putting stickers in pants as they aren’t expensive. Blazer is having about three name labels… we are not losing that!

dd2 is full boarding (specialist music)- but there is little space for informal clothes so I’m trying to cut down the amount she takes as there’s also the inevitable music packing (concert dress, sheet music, instruments and their blessed accessories). Still need to buy a Chromebook.
really doesn’t seem real.

@MKDmumofflash even if DC is weekly boarding, there are so many ex-laundry opportunities to lose clothing that you really do need to label everything.

@tachetastic our school allows stuff to be sent direct to school for labelling by the matrons. The catches are 1) once the labels are on you can’t send items back if they don’t fit the child and 2) there is a charge for the labelling - it’s either £1 or £1.50 an item I think.

I thought I'd got a trick for sewing by only sewing the small end bits - to make a loop.
BUT then I got an A4 page of instructions on WHERE EXACTLY lables have to go on different items ! So glad I hadn't started... Also ordered stick on ones as suggested by someone here.

DS will come home half termly so most washing will be done at school I guess.

When I did DC’s first batch when he went off to board it took me several nights running to label everything to the required spec… it was tiresome but I kept saying the old mantra to myself “how lucky I am to get to sew on nametapes into my DCs uniform”….

@stickystick Oh I am labelling, never fear! It's just not everything is getting the fancy woven type. Currently wondering how to label hockey socks though....

Luckily no instructions for location here @mermaidsvssuperheros apart from the giant name on the front of the skorts/PE tops!

I'm trying not to label any of the brand new stuff yet in case she grows and it needs swapping, but I'm doing all the second hand stuff