A thread for boarding school parents 2020

[TheWomanTheyCallJayne]

Have we got such a thread?
I did look but couldn’t see one.
If we haven’t wouldn’t anyone like to join me in this thread to support each other during these strange times. Getting a child off to boarding school is hard enough anyway for so many reasons but it’s decidedly more difficult at this time.
How are you all doing?

Thank you, will try to find contact details :)

My DM has just been round with trousers and shirts she had bought for DS to try on (he's so small he is in age 9-10 clothes!) and she left with a huge bag of uniform/sports kit etc to label. She's a big embroiderer so more than happy to do it for me.

My tip for labels would be to put as much name as possible on it. We were originally told you just put, for example, Smith R. But we found that our Robert Smith’s stuff was going to someone else in another house called Ryan Smith. So now we use Robert J Smith.

Hi all - have got the labelled clothing back from DM who is a complete star. Still need to get bedding and duvet/pillow and some other bits but we are getting there. DS has even had his first haircut since February which is a huge relief

DD7 keeps writing notes and making crafts for DS about how much she loves him and is going to miss him. I'm trying to play it down as I don't want to make a massive deal about it for DS but how do your other siblings cope when the first one goes away?

Hi all, yes @sparticle it can be like that for siblings. Mine missed him much, but they also went back to school and started to cope fine, spoke to him a couple of times on the phone. Which helped the transition, it definitely made them feel better. Then looking forward to some weekend visits, half terms and holidays. I hope this helps

Thanks Fumzzy :)

One tip re labelling. Get sock mesh wash bags and label them instead of the socks. Sock labels invariably fall off and wherever you sew them on are “lumpy”. Socks go into the bags, the whole bag gets washed, dried then returned. 2 bags are needed.

After the first year, I only ever sewed labels on sports socks. Everything else, needs labelling. If you don’t want it going awol, label it. Also, underpants labelled on the inside itch! So the outside on the back band is best.

After the first year, teaching DS to sew his own is an investment in future time.

How is everyone getting on with pre-term arrangements? I’ve ordered a laundry bag today as I couldn’t face asking my mum to label each individual sock 😆 So thank you for the tip!

Bought DS’s bedding and new shoes this week so I’m almost there with the list. I don’t want to get a proper lockable tuck box but I was thinking of just getting a cake tin for DS that I can fill with brownies or cake to share and sweets etc. Unless anyone can suggest a lockable box that doesn’t cost £70+?

How about a cash box?

sparticle, you could try putting a 'wanted' advert for a preloved tuck box on School Notices - i find it a v.useful resource for buying and selling?

Hello - just dropping in to say DC1 is already boarding and we'll find out on Thursday if DD has the grades to get the scholarship to go too - so tough.

I really would get a mattress topper as school mattresses are usually pretty grim. I got the 6cm washable one from John Lewis and DC1 says its great.

For labelling - anything you are not going to try and sell secondhand use a permanent laundry marker - knickers, instep of socks, bras, vests etc. I named duvet covers on the inside of the button bands so not too obvious when DC head off to uni. For sewn in labels I have always kicked everyone out one whole day and binge watched box sets whilst sewing in labels. It makes it a bit of a treat for me too.

Mine have 4 zipped mesh laundry bags - one for socks one for knickers one for bras and (this year) one for fabric face masks.....

If you have girls I'd seriously recommend period pants in case of night time leaks on bedding.

Most of the teenagers at DC school have plastic baskets with handles (Poundland sell them) to put shampoo and shower gel etc in - they hang them off the controls and they drain out

Good luck londonmummy! My ds is taking a computer screen with him this year, as they are having initial lessons in the house for two weeks. The house is a bubble and it will just make online learning more comfortable. I also find it useful to have his house name/letter/number on name labels if you want to improve your chance of items returning! Ds has a locking tuck box as do most boys; they tend to stick tuck In there but leave all other expensive gadgets and phones just lying around! We’ve never done a mattress topper and haven’t had any complaints. We did buy a second musical instrument though so he has one at home and one at school. It just makes things easier as he flies back home for exéats.

As international boarders, Covid has our boarding plans on hold.

No idea what to make of the future, but any plans, especially ones involving the crossing of international boarders, are simply a big game of 'who knows/risk' at the moment.

E.g The place where we are in Spain, has already started implementing phase 1 of the 2nd lockdown, with neighbouring countries set to follow. We are being told not to make any plans until March therefore.

Making the most of what's available for now, therefore.

Watching how the boarding schools navigate Covid with interest, especially surrounding a probable 2nd wave.

Any other international boarders here?

Thanks Sixp it's all very tense here as you can imagine. We have a cellist and therefore also have a second instrument as even the train is a pain for exeats etc

Thanks for the advice - @Motorcyclemptiness is School Notices on here or a separate forum somewhere?

I’ve been added to a year 7 parents WhatsApp group and some of those are coming from HK and Spain, amongst other countries. The Spanish mum is already arrived in London with her DS for their 14 day quarantine but I know the school has lost some new international starters.

Sparticle, it's another (commercial) forum but free to join and vg for second hand uniform too..

There are quite a few international students at ds’s school. The school has arranged a two week quarantine on school premises before school starts for them. In addition, as I mentioned the whole house will act as a bubble when all the boys return. All lessons will be taught remotely in house. All meals will be in house and all extra curricular activities too. This will be relaxed after a couple of weeks to whatever is appropriate at the time (there are various planned scenarios!) it is very interesting to hear that European countries are planning their second wave lockdowns already. My main concern is about collecting ds at short notice, particularly if it’s not advised that he uses public transport, as we are around 500 miles away.

This is such a helpful thread, thank you! Love the shower basket tip- any other words of wisdom in terms of what to pack?
I've just started the dreaded name taping, think it's going to take a while

Mine are all going back and one is going for the first time. My thoughts are on the name taping but not my actual fingers yet. Tomorrow. I think they have lost international boarders but they never had that many anyway. The ones coming are quarantining at the school now bless em, must be boring.

@Sparticle DD has just been told she needs a tuck box - I managed to buy a secondhand plain wood one on ebay for £35 that she can paint as she likes - there are a few others and one of the main tuckbox firms has a few seconds as well for quite a chunk off the usually eye watering price.

Thanks @Londonmummy66 - I must be searching for the wrong things!

@Motorcyclemptiness I looked on School Notices but as DS is going to state boarding I can’t sign up. I went to an independent myself but it isn’t on the list so I gave it a miss. Thanks again for the tip and hopefully someone else in here will be able to sign up :)

We are going to school on Wednesday to drop DS’s stuff in advance of taking him next Tuesday evening. I thought it would just be for bulky items such as duvet and bedding but it seems that we can take pretty much everything. However, because of Covid, we can’t enter the boarding house ourselves so will be dropping everything off with the matrons. I don’t envy them having to unpack all the clothing, make the beds etc!

How ridiculous sParticle - email the moderators and tell.them.ypu want to join as an alumna as they call it? Apols for giving you a bum steer - SN can be a useful resource usually. Hope all goes well for ypur DC and their enjoyment of first time boarding isnr marred by the expletive pandemic ...
Its going to be odd this term that's for sure, after six months having the DC at home!

@Sparticle - I got lucky with an ebay search on tuck box (at the third attempt) but I also looked at a search for trunk - a turquoise wooden one that is tuck box size for 99p at the moment and also flight case as you get aluminum lockable boxes again of tuck box size - worth a try.

Hello all, can I join the party? I have two in weekly boarding, they both started boarding at 11 in Y7.

DD17 will be going back for her final year in Y13. She is excited as she gets her own study bedroom on the top floor of the 6th form house this year. DS13 will be going into Y9 and is moving up from the junior to the intermediate boys boarding house. He has had a major growth spurt over the summer so I've had to buy all new uniform and sports kit. Lots of name taping for me this week!

It will be very quiet around here when they are back in school...

Can I ask, with full school uniform, mufti, towels, pillows, duvets, shoes, tuck boxes etc etc etc, what ON EARTH do you take it all in? Ds really doesn’t want a trunk, are 2/3 suitcases ok, and do they need to be named?

Yes, ifeelmuchlessfat!
Ime, many schools now discourage trunks as they dont have the storage space nowadays.