1st time boarding, what to pack?

[MyNewNewlife]

My Ds 16 is going to board for 6th form. He has been to a local private day for secondary but is moving quite far away for 6th form.

How much does he need to take

He has to wear plain suits during school day so i have brought him 3
5 white shirts
Smart shoes and a more casual pair
4 pairs of trainers (one for
Sports)
School Sports kit
3 tracksuits
3pairs of jeans
4 casual trousers
Winter coat x2
Waterproof jacket x 2
4 pyjamas and house coat
4 hoodies
15 T shirts
8 general tops/ jumpers
15 boxers
15 pairs of socks
Hiking gear
Toiletries 2 of everything

He will be there for 7 weeks 😟

Thinking they will do a wash each week and not wanting him to get overwhelmed with washing organising etc

What additional items? Favourite food, drinks and snacks?

Any advice most welcome

Do they not have a list? My school always did

The boarding school must have a list - almost every school does.

I'd dial right back on all the casual clothes, and increase the number of dress shirts to 6 if he has school on Saturday too. If laundry's being done once a week you should be able to just send 2-3 casual tops for weekends and reduce socks/pants to 10 rather than 15. Also will he have school on Saturday?

Remember that you have an incentive not to send too much as everything needs to be labelled, EVERYTHING - including every single sock! Sewn-in woven labels are best.

Here's an example from Radley - you see they only require 3 t-shirts and one pair of jeans in the "home clothes" section.

www.radley.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Shell-Clothing-and-Equipment-checklist.pdf

Agree , how often is laundry done and how quickly returned. Does he come home regularly?

A lot seem to their sliders a lot of the time

Surely the school gave you a list?

Thank you, thats helpful. Theres a guide but not itemised.

Be prepared for half of it to go missing (a certainty if unnamed) - I’d suggest you are sending far too much stuff. Why does he need two of each coat for eg? And two of each toiletry? Amazon presumably delivers but I’d be surprised if he can’t get to a shop to replenish if needed. Not on your list - I’d get him a lockable tuck box or similar and a mattress topper…

In my experience of boys they seem to spend a lot of their downtime wearing the sports kit so keep home clothes to a minimum…

He will need far less casual clothes. Mine se to chill a lot in kit in the evening then shower and into pj's. I would get a mesh bag so all underwear etc can be sent to laundry in that. Agree with everything being named, I got a stamp which is brilliant for a quick name label at school if one has come off etc. Sliders or crocs essential for walking around the house and to go to meals etc.

Super useful responses. Thank you. Mesh bag.. of course!

Its so strange sending him off.. 😬

I think you have way too much! Why 2 jackets for example? House coat - is any 16yo going to wear a house coat?!

Do they do their own laundry or is it done for them? I agree with far fewer items of non-uniform clothing, they just don’t wear it. One pair of formal shoes, and two pairs of trainers is enough. One coat. One lot of toiletries. He can go to the shop if he runs out of toothpaste.

Does he need 4 pairs of trainers and two jackets. Surely a winter coat and a lighter waterproof is enough?

Don't forget you can post him anything he needs; he'll also be allowed to go into his nearest town at weekends, so he can always buy anything he needs, and he can use Amazon, or you can send him things vis Amazon.
He'll likely have an exeat weekends between now and half term, so you can top up anything he needs then. A tuck box is definitely essential!!

Endless pairs of tartan pj trousers if my dd is anything to go by. It seems to be either uniform, sports kit or pj trousers - not much in the way of other casual clothes. Sliders. If they do anything specific such as music that comes with its own 'kit' then lots of that (DD needs endless black concert clothes). Socks. Lots of socks. She usually does her own laundry though.

I agree. I'd cut down on the casual clothes. Most schools provide a mesh bag for each boy for smalls as it makes laundry easier.

The more they have, the more they will lose! He definitely won't need two coats. He is unlikely to have much storage space so one coat is enough but I'd advise two warm hoodies for the evening.

Re shirts- do they do chapel on Sundays? If so he may need 7.

Don't send loads of casual clothes as they often don't have a lot of space to keep them. My DD will be taking a pair of jeans, one pair jogging bottoms and probably 2 pjs, plus 2 jumpers/hoodies and maybe 4 t-shirts, one coat. One pair of casual trainers, flip flops for the shower, uggs for slobbing about. Maybe 7 pairs of "normal" socks (others as part of uniform and sports kit). No dressing gown as no one wears them- it's all hoodies. She might take a hot water bottle but I suspect boarding houses are no longer the character-building temperature they were in the 80s. She'll need a dress for formals but we will sort that at half term (or via the internet).

Unless having your own hiking gear is something school requires he won't need that. Surely they'll hike in kit?

Mattress cover (boarding school mattresses can be grim), and his own pillow? Mug.

For sports, no doubt there is a list but my DD's school says 1 pair trainers and we send two because one inevitably ends up soaked and then they have sport again the next day. I'd rather she didn't get trench foot!

He won't need that many casual clothes - they only get to wear them on Saturday afternoons and Sundays usually (although this varies from school to school). When I boarded I had a tuck box that could be filled with snacks (as a girl in the 80s/90s I had none as I was on a permanent diet!), but boys are different and if my DS was going to board he'd want the whole thing filled with protein bars and shakes. Did they provide you with a uniform list? The school wash will usually wash their uniform shirts, undies and sports kit, so just send however many sets they say he'll need.

Don't forget to label the mesh bag!

I agree that is WAY too much. Have you asked about the laundry system? At our school they can put stuff in every day (goes into laundry sacks in the house) and it comes back the next day.

In terms of him being able to stay organised, I'd say less stuff is better.

Is the school in a town? If not and shopping won't be regular, a huge box of cereal and half a trunk of soba noodles seems to be the thing. (Our school is in town so daily snack runs no problem).

In terms of him being able to stay organised, I'd say less stuff is better.

Definitely. He probably won't have much storage for clothes either. If you have any photos of dorms/studies, take a look at the storage provided. I guarantee it won't be a lot.

As a house parent, I'd just like to reiterate LABEL LABEL LABEL! Even if underwear will go in a mesh bag (please label this too!), these sometimes open in the wash and then anything unlabelled ends up in lost property.

You cannot label things enough-especially bedding-the way our laundry folds the fitted sheets/duvets etc means we have to hunt through them to find names so anything you can do to make that job easier will be so appreciated!

The other thing I have done is put an airtag in the laptop case and sports bag. That way, if he dumps them somewhere and can't remember where, he can track them down.

Don't forget to name chargers too!

Agree with others re casual clothes. Extra ties are handy. You might need a smart/casual outfit for restaurant and theatre trips. Definitely a mattress topper needed. Also bits and bobs to make the dorm more personal- posters, fairy lights, a plant, that kind of thing. And yes, label EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING!!!