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- Being a Boarder at TPS
We have accommodation of up to 50 boarders (aged 7 – 13) under the care of qualified and experienced staff.
Additional common rooms and recreational areas are provided for the boarders who sleep in small domitories and also live very much in an extended family situation.
 Information for pupils
The Morning
A member of the boarding house staff will wake you up, gently we hope, at about 7.00 am. After a wash, you will get dressed, make your bed and tidy your possessions – we have to make sure that Margaret and Di, our loyal cleaners, do not have to work too hard! When all the members of the dormitory, named after the West Country rivers and hills, are ready, the duty member of staff will send you down to wait for breakfast.
What do you fancy for breakfast? A selection of cereals, a choice of six cooked items, toast, fruit, tea, coffee and milk? This should set you up for a hard day in the classroom, on the games field or socializing with your friends. After the feast, it is back to the boarding house for teeth cleaning and book organization...
‘Bye, it’s now time you went and did some work!’
The Evening
Welcome back, it’s 5.45 pm. Have you had a good day? I hope you’ve earned your tea – yet another culinary experience – our cooks are very good. After tea you may change into your own clothes – don’t forget to keep Matron happy by leaving your school uniform neatly folded. The activities on offer are varied and fun. They often include: swimming, cooking, computers, art, sports and other team games. You may also have some prep to finish off or some music practice to be done. The evening is also the opportunity to spend time with your friends or to take part in one of our competitions – this year we have had table-tennis, pool and pioneering. Do you watch a lot of television at home? We hope that you won’t need to here, because you will be so busy, but if there are ‘educational’ programmes, the set may be turned on – during the week the ‘machine’ may only be activated after permission is sought, at the weekend things are more relaxed, but even then not all shows are thought to be suitable.
Bedtime
You really ought to be tired by now. You will be summoned to bed by a bell – youngest at 7.30 pm, then succeeding ages every quarter of an hour. All bath or shower, Matron attends to any ailments, ‘get ready for quiet reading’ is the signal for a final visit to the toilet and book preparation. The day finishes with about a quarter of an hour of silent reading – make sure you bring a good book, try to beat the record, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in half a term! The lights go out and within a quarter of an hour, there is silence, so that all can go to sleep and so that the duty staff can get that marking and preparation done.
Birthdays
Congratulations – happy birthday – invite your friends, have food of your choice at tea, choose a video – have a good time – and don’t forget to ring Mum and Dad on your birthday.
 Information for parents
Possessions
Please ensure that all are clearly named. We have some regulations for those with lap-tops and mobile phones and they are as follows:
Lap Tops
Please inform the house staff when your child will be bringing a lap top computer into school. These are expensive and fragile and can be looked after either by the house staff or your child. They must be kept in a locker when not in use and not used by anyone else. They are to help your child with his/her academic work and all internet use should be in the IT suite.
Mobile Phones
Mobile phones and chargers should be handed in to the house staff. All calls made should be finished by the bed-bell and to ensure safety, charging should be done by the house staff.
Skate Boards/Roller Blades/Scooters
If your child has one or more of these in his or her possession, you will know of the enjoyment that they derive from them, but at the same time, there are dangers. When at school all pupils will require helmets and pads for elbows and knees.
No bicycles are allowed in school.
Please note that all pupils resident in the UK must take all their possessions home at the end of each term.
Telephones
The best time to make calls is between 6.30 pm and 8.00 pm. However, once a bed bell has rung, it’s too late. It is best if the children have ‘phone cards or PIN numbers – they will not have money to feed into a slot.
Pocket Money
It is suggested that £30 should be ample for a term. This covers trips, tuck and town visits. If a child needs more money, please ensure that it is sent or handed to the boarding staff. You will receive a termly statement of how the money has been spent.
Weekends
Exeats – There are one or two exeats each term; however word ‘exeat’ is a misnomer, because all pupils have to leave the school premises – it gives a break to the staff. Please notify the boarding staff of the collection arrangements. If you wish to take your child out of school during other weekends, please inform the Boarding Houseparents personally, by letter, by e-mail or by telephone. They should be notified not later than the Thursday evening prior to the weekend in question.
For those pupils who remain in the boarding house, a number of trips or activities are organized by the boarding house staff and the day staff who come in on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Major trips will be in the calendar and any pupil who is in for that day will go on the trip. Normally these will be financed by the school, but occasionally the cost will be shared.
Town Leave is available for Year 7 and 8 pupils (please see separate information) and visits to a local shop arranged for Years 3 - 6.
On Sundays, Chapel is an important part of the day and the only other formal time is quiet time when letters home may be written.
Tuck
The children are well fed at this school! However, we do realize that they like sweets! Matron organizes tuck twice a week. No sweets or other food and drink should be sent into school.
Staff
The Boarding Houseparents are Julie and Tim Harnett who live in the house. They are assisted by a team of matrons and house tutors. The names of the other members of the boarding staff are Liz Banfield, Bryony Curnow, Sue Sherring, Wendy King and the Headmaster, who sees it as important that he involves himself with this aspect of the school. Age catches up on all of us so the house staff are assisted by a number of young students, either pre-university or pre-employment, who help with the various activities in the evening.
We all care greatly about each individual child, so please contact us if you have any concerns.
 Discipline
We hope that this is not necessary, but you will be aware in your own family life that occasionally things are not as they should be. As with you, the first recourse is to talking, if this does not work offenders will be taken off tuck or television, an early bed bell is another sanction. Town leave is considered to be a privilege for those who have shown themselves able to cope with the responsibility. If they do not show that they are sensible enough within the house, they will not be allowed into the town.
Meetings
If you have concerns, we hope you will contact us at the time, but we do have two informal meetings, before the first exeat in both the Autumn and Spring terms, when we can meet together. This is a time when we can get to know each other better and also exchange information of common interest. These meetings are not for academic problems, but for areas of common concern within the boarding environment.
Community Living
All boarders will come from different environments. What we try to do here at Taunton Preparatory School is to be aware of everyone. We hope that all children will be able to flourish in this boarding house, but no one must do this at the expense of another. We must all show care, consideration and courtesy to others in our community.
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