Exeat / short leave / weekend leave : what’s your boarding school’s position?

[Bvop]

DC’s school hasn’t told us yet. Wondering if any boarding schools have made a decision one way or the other about cancelling exeat weekends between now and the end of term.

I’d like to see ds but worry that dispersing more than a thousand kids all over the country then bringing them back to school isn’t the best thing with covid rampant.

exeats & long weekends cancelled till Easter but kept under review as the situation changes.

We can choose to pay extra for DS to stay for Exeat. We won’t - he’s a weekly boarder, so comes home at the weekend anyway (and for reasons I won’t go into our house is actually closer to his school than his boarding house is).

Last exeat was cancelled which I agreed with as nearly 100% fully board. No covid cases yet so seems to be working.

I would expect exeat's to be cancelled until infection rates are much lower.

Both schools exeats are cancelled. Both have low or zero cases so I am happy with that and the kids are better off. all staying in than travelling back and forth.

DD’s school has just emailed to say no exeat or any other weekend leave. It will be so hard not to see her... she is absolutely fine, of course, and planning what to do with her extra weekend with her friends! Ha ha!

One school is going to update us next week, I expect exeat won't happen but parental visiting may be possible. The other we haven't heard anything yet, could go either way regarding exeat I guess.

I know that it was being reviewed today - house master said almost certainly cancelled. I don't think I'm going to see either of mine until Christmas. However, I think that in that case they need to convert weekly borders to full borders otherwise it seems rather unfair....

(especially as the COVID cases so far were introduced by a weekly boarder going to a party on a Saturday night)

Cancelled here. No fixtures, no weekends out... there are going to be a lot of idle hands.

Is there really a possibility that parents of children boarding at school will not see them until Christmas?!?

You know they're not imprisoned there, right?

They break up for Christmas on 11 December. It’s not very far away.

This term’s exeat cancelled. Makes complete sense to me as a full boarding school - saves bubbles dispersing all over the country then reconvening. I fully support it as the school have been phenomenal at managing the whole situation throughout. My DC fine with it and kept too busy to notice won’t be home until December.

It makes so much sense. DD’s year are from all over the UK and overseas, to send them all home to mingle and then return to school puts them all at so much risk. The school are putting on so many lovely activities to keep them all entertained, and we will FaceTime daily. While cases in secondary schools are on the rise our kids are so lucky to be in a well-protected bubble. We have over 20 children and 5 staff off with positive covid tests at the school I work at, plus all their contacts self-isolating. I’m glad DD is spared all that worry and disruption.

Our shop due to advise this week about the exeat. This weekend’s Saturday night out possibility already cancelled.

@Revengeofthepangolins I think our dc may be at the same place. Not that the school has followed the trend in the first half of term with respect to its testing regime, but I think it might go with the crowd in cancelling the weekend leave.

@Bvop Agreed on both

DS at full termly boarding school.

First two weeks of Autumn term, whole school were taught remotely in house. No mingling of houses.
No Sunday visits.
First exeat was cancelled but we could go and see them for a day and take them to lunch.
After half term - whole school had staggered arrival days and tested on site (drive through tent in sports ground) before being allowed back to house.
No Sunday visits for the foreseeable.
I imagine exeat will be as before, and dependent on local area rates.
No parents at matches, concerts, matches etc... Some sports and other inter school fixtures have been cancelled.

No complaints here about how things have been handled. Testing times (no pun intended).

Ours:

• Weekly boarders can still come home at weekends
• Full boarders - stay at school
• Day students - have to leave immediately at end of school day rather than mixing with boarders as before

DC1 - Exeat will go ahead but will be optional for full UK boarders all overseas boarders to stay. (A school with quite a lot of weekly boarding so a bit inequitable not to allow exeat.)

DC2 Exeat largely cancelled but if parents have a really good reason then can come home.

SO looks like both at school for the next 6 weeks

I don't see how they can continue? They are trying to restrict travel, not encourage kids to disperse around the country.

Our day school has just had to cancel all weekend extra-curricular due to latest government guidelines (and are seeking clarification about bubbled activities that occur immediately before or after school) so I would be lobbying to keep your boarding schools "closed to the outside world" if I were you.

Just heard from the school that it will go ahead. While it’s lovely to have ds at home, dispersing over 1000 boys throughout the country when the infection rate is over 1 in 100 people does seem quite brave from an epidemiological point of view. This is one of the few occasions when I’d prefer the school to be a little less exceptional.

our school has said they would prefer for boarding students to stay at school but exeat going ahead. Friend whose child at Bryanston said it's cancelled. They have had cases of covid19.

Exeats have been, and will continue to, go ahead (as far as I know) at the boarding school I work at.

Exeats are happening as normal and a whole year group were sent home to self isolate at home last week due to a positive case.

Ours have asked boarders to stay in as much as possible. Usually they are allowed out or home for the odd night in the week and at weekends if they want. About half usually do go home at weekends.

I am leaving mine in until Exeat but if that goes ahead and no reason why it shouldn't as school is full of day students going home. Although at ours one of first cases of covid came from a boarder who had gone home for the weekend and caught it from a sibling who was at a different school. So say.