Chronicle 687

8 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

How does being part of a boarding house prepare our pupils for their future? The most important type of intelligence is emotional intelligence – the ability to get on with other people, the ability to navigate difficult situations, the ability to read the room. More than anything, that’s what you develop in a boarding house. Being part of a House is an immersive experience, an

independent experience. You don’t have parents or family telling you how to manage your way through a situation; you have to manage your way through it for yourself – and that’s how children learn the most important skills for life. There’s more to it, though – much more. It’s in lessons and activities that pupils find their interests, but it’s in the House that they are encouraged to pursue them. That encouragement comes from the HM, from the House team, from the Tutors, from older pupils, and from peers. More than anywhere at Teddies, education happens in the Houses. What has been your own experience of boarding? How did it shape your adult life, and how does it impact the way in which you approach boarding house life at St Edward’s?

lunches and the ice-cream van for those who have gained the highest effort grades over the course of each term – and it’s what happens in the Houses too. There are lots of other factors though – the inspiration of example, when pupils see others (and especially pupils in the Sixth Form) working hard and reaping the rewards, the encouragement of House staff, the ability to get help from the Tutors on duty in the House every evening, and the sense of togetherness which comes from getting prep done on time and from revising together for exams. I think that the Tutors have a really important role to play here – the teams in the Houses are constructed so that they cover as many subject areas as possible, so that, whatever the problem on which you’re stuck, whatever the essay title on which you need some help, there’s always someone there to provide it.

When you live in a boarding environment you pick up a natural affability and openness. ANGELO YEUNG, LOWER SIXTH PUPIL

The 2025-26 Heads of House, from left: Lucia Bragagni, Finn Apostol, Olly Price, Larissa Rahmel, John Cartwright, Emily Sharman, Charlotte Lumlock, Torin Togher, Darcey Wrigley, Farah Changizi-Cooper, Arthur Hampshire, Matthew Mullins, Matilda Henderson, Ed Adnitt, Isla Martin, Emilia Stringer, Arthur Souter