“Boarding at Battle Abbey School is firmly based in the concept of family living. We aim to give children the opportunity to develop in a beautiful and secure setting with a supportive and dedicated team of staff.
We aim to let your son or daughter spread their wings whilst you can feel assured that boarding staff will encourage, support, challenge and guide them every step of the way. We are fortunate enough to have a broad mixture of backgrounds and cultures among the boarding community. We have a strong sense of community here and that is evidenced by the confident and happy young people that populate the boarding house. The friendships and the familiarity between us all create an atmosphere of trust and respect. There is a high level of pastoral care involving a combination of residential staff and matron cover.
The girls’ area is located in the main house but most 6th form girls live in our beautiful Marylands property along with several of the Sixth Form boys (segregated) with study bedrooms accommodating 2 to 4 pupils. The younger boys currently live within the main house in study bedrooms which accommodate from 3 to 6 boys. The majority of the Sixth Form boys live in Westnedge, a separate house in the school grounds which has a mix of twin and single study bedrooms, along with a kitchen and common area.
Within the main house there are a number of common areas including a sitting room, games room and two computer rooms. The boarders are able to play the piano in the library and the Abbott’s Hall. There is wireless internet access throughout the school which is available to boarders until 11pm.
Accommodation at the Abbey, Westnedge and Marylands
At the Abbey we try to engender a spirit of the boarding family. We are a small school with around 250 pupils in total of which 52 are boarders. We provide co-educational boarding for pupils aged from 11 to 18 and our residents come from many parts of the world.
Our experienced pastoral staff look after boarders outside of teaching time and there is a full programme of activities and social events. Weekend trips can include shopping in London or Brighton, cinema visits, bowling and mountain biking. The school organises a wide range of extra-curricular activities for all pupils. Our performing arts department produces a show each term with pupils performing or providing technical support, there is a wonderful choir, an orchestra and many pupils play musical instruments to a high standard or just for fun. There is a dance club, a science club, an art club and too many sporting activities to mention. We do not, however, timetable every waking moment. Pupils can enjoy relaxing with their friends in our beautiful, historic building and its surroundings.
Day pupils and boarders enjoy close relationships. As well as learning together, they participate in the school activities together and sometimes day pupils board for a few nights and share a room with their friends.
Transport
The Assistant Head of Boarding, Mrs Prito Perry, handles all transport enquiries. She can be reached on perryp@battleabbeyschool.com. The school can provide airport and railway transports to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and the Eurotunnel stations at Ashford and EbbsFleet International. We have a fleet of mini buses that can be used to take groups of students to different transport hubs. Wherever possible we try to group students together and take them by minibus to reduce costs to parents. We have both male and female drivers and we are able to accompany minors to check in where required. Our drivers are very experienced and include driving instructors and an experienced chauffeur. We also supplement our vehicles and drivers with a very experienced and professional local taxi firm. We can also arrange transport for weekend leave and for any other events that arise throughout the term. Requests for school transport need to come via e-mail from parents or guardian rather than from the student and need to include; date, time and destination e.g airport terminal number.
Pocket money
Battle Abbey School provides a pocket money service. We strongly recommend that students keep no more than £10 in their rooms for security reasons. Mrs Perry [Assistant Head of Boarding] organises the boarders’ pocket money. We recommend that Years 7-11 have no more than £15 a week. Pocket money is given out on a Friday at signing in after school in ‘Matron’s Sit.’ If a student misses the pocket money slot due to a school commitment Mrs Perry can give it to them at another time as she is in contact with the boarders every day and lives with the Head of boarding in a flat in the Abbey. If students need more money for a more expensive item eg. sports shoes, then we can give them more once we receive a request from parents or guardian by e-mail. Trips to the cinema can be added to the school bill so boarders do not need access to large sums of money.
Exeats
If you want to spend the weekend at home/your friend’s house, you will need to see the house parent by Thursday evening. They will need to know where you are going; what time you are leaving and coming back; how you are travelling there and with whom. They will need the contact details of the adult you are staying with. All this information should be communicated by e-mails or phone calls from your parents/guardians and the host family to Mr Perry (perryd@battleabbeyschool.com). You need to return before supper on Sunday. We can arrange transport if we are given enough notice. Often the cost of this can be added to the school bill. The arrangements we have for exeats are designed to ensure the safety of our students.
Boarding Clubs and Trips
On the notice board in Matron’s Sit there will be a list of clubs that are available for the week. These range from Kick boxing to Chinese club. There are different clubs after school every day of the school week. We would like you to sign up for several of these. On the weekend there will often be a cinema trip to Eastbourne. Boarders are expected to sign up for a certain number of activities in the week and over the course of the weekend. Sixth Formers have more freedom of choice but we want an active boarding house where boarders have opportunities to participate in sport, and other social activities. This helps develop confidence, health, integration and friendships.
Weekend trips are advertised on the board in the Matrons Sit. If you would like to go on a trip just sign your name up and if there is a cost it will be added to your bill unless otherwise stated. You need to sign up for trips before the deadline so we can ascertain numbers. Any spare places will be offered to day students to aid mixing between the different component parts of the school. We take trips to ice skating, shopping, paintballing, cycling, and cultural trips. If you have an interest see a member of the boarding staff and we will try to arrange something for you. On a Sunday we can take boarders to play basketball and badminton in the sports hall.
Who do I turn to?
There will always be staff you can turn to if you are feeling unhappy or uncertain about anything. Your Heads of House and Heads of Boarding are also there to help you. Please refer to the notice boards in Matron’s Sit in particular if you want to discuss anything with a responsible person. Please note in particular that you can contact our Independent Listener, Brian Flint.
Boarders Opinions
All Heads of Boarding are eager to help you sort out any problems that you have. If you have any suggestions please see any member of the boarding team or the Heads of Boarding and they will raise your issue. The points can be related to anything from cleaning to the food or even the purchase of items that will improve Boarding at Battle Abbey School. Remember, this is your school. A suggestions box will be kept in the boarding area. Also boarders can join various whole school committees to represent fellow students and there are opportunities to represent their forms in Year group and house meetings.
Battle – where to stay and where to visit
The attractive town of Battle gets its name from the Battle of Hastings, which was fought between Harold, the Saxon King and William the Conqueror in 1066. This battle was so significant it changed the course of English history.
The town grew up around the Abbey of St Martin which was built by William the Conqueror after the battle. It is said that William vowed that should he win the battle he would build such an abbey. The abbey was built between 1070 and 1094, and the high altar is believed to have been placed on the spot where Harold fell. Today the Abbey ruins and the battlefield are cared for by English Heritage and are well worth a visit. The imposing Abbey Gatehouse built circa 1338, can be seen as you look down the length of the High Street. Battle has some notable Georgian buildings along its High Street. The cottages and houses near the Abbey date from around 1700.
The Parish church of St Mary was built in Norman times and for the most part is 12th century in construction. It offers the visitor rare 14th century wall paintings and a Norman font amongst other things. At the Northern end of the High Street can be found the Almonry which was built in 1090 and now houses the Town Council and the Battle Museum of Local History.
There are a number of local Hotels both on the High Street and surrounding area.
There are a number of local attractions in Battle with the picturesque medieval town of Rye, Hastings, with its beautiful and historic Old Town, and the popular seaside resort of Eastbourne all worth visiting and a short drive away.
Every year we try to keep a few beds free in our Abbey boarding accommodation. This allows us to offer flexible boarding places to day pupils. This service is particularly popular in the run up to exam season (when revision is very much on pupil’s minds!) and is also much appreciated by parents. Temporarily accommodating day pupils in our Boarding House not only allows pupils to cram for exams in the academically supportive environment of the school (away from the distractions of home) but also helps consolidate the school and bring the day and boarding sides of our community together.
Flexible boarding is available by prior arrangement to existing day pupils and is chargeable at a rate of £60 a night.
For day pupils who would like to see if Boarding is for them we also offer ‘Taster nights’ in boarding at a reduced rate of £30 a night (2 days maximum, weekday nights only).
All parties interested in either flexible or taster boarding sessions arrange their stay with our Head of Boarding, Mr David Perry on perryd@battleabbeyschool.com.
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