Boarding and Pastoral Care

Introduction

Boarding at Mayfield, whether full or flexi, is integral to the educational opportunity which the School provides. Our ethos, formulated on principles of care and respect for others, is the bedrock upon which boarding life is built. In practice our girls thrive in the atmosphere of care and support which their boarding house offers. We have three Houses: Leeds House caters for our Lower School pupils (Years 7 and 8); Connelly House is home to Middle School girls (Years 9, 10 and 11) and St. Dunstan's accommodates our Sixth Form students. We feel that grouping girls in this way allows us to focus on the particular social and academic considerations specific to the age group in the House. At the same time girls develop independence and a sense of personal responsibility in a graduated manner and to an appropriate degree.

In all three boarding houses our girls enjoy a stimulating environment where the pleasures of home are interwoven with a work and activity schedule designed to encourage them to educate themselves in the fullest sense of the word. House life is rooted in the Catholic values of the school: consideration for one another, charity, forgiveness and recognition of the importance of developing a spiritual life.

Each house is overseen by the Housemistress who also works as part of the teaching staff, thus providing a vital link between the pastoral and academic sides of school life. The Housemistress develops a singular insight into the girls in her care. She is in frequent contact with them throughout the day, at mealtimes, during study and finally in the bed-time routine and she is always available to share the girls’ concerns and offer advice. Housemistresses are supported by their matrons, resident and non- resident tutors.

At weekends there is an array of activities which extend from de rigueur shopping and cinema trips to theatre outings, concerts as well as museum and gallery visits. There are trips to London, local sites and even an occasional Saturday jaunt to France. On Sundays we come together as a community to celebrate Mass in the Chapel.

Girls who join us from overseas and those for whom English is a second language are well supported in the School as a whole and particularly in the boarding houses. We maintain strict quotas on language groups, with the obvious exception of English, in each house to ensure that girls who join us have the full benefit and experience of living in an English environment. Boarding staff include native speakers of French, German, Spanish, Polish, Igbo and Mandarin which facilitates communication should the need arise. Housemistresses tailor the social events and celebrations in the boarding house to include those of particular cultural importance in their girls’ countries of origin. Opportunities in the School abound for our girls from overseas to thrive not only academically but also socially and culturally.

The heart of each House lies in the joy and delight the girls derive from each other’s company: friendships are formed here which last long after our girls have left Mayfield. The fullness of the boarding experience fosters their development into caring, communicative and engaged young women who, at every turn, enrich the world they enter.

Sarah Gallagher BA, HDipEd, MA, ABD
Deputy Head Boarding & Pastoral Care

Educated in Ireland and the USA, Sarah studied Classics at University College Galway and the State University of New York at Buffalo. She has taught at both secondary and tertiary levels in Ireland, Italy and the USA. Sarah joined Mayfield from Lord Wandsworth College where she was Head of Classics and Head of PSHE.