Boarders' Bulletin September / October 2025

The first half of the term has been packed with a lot of exciting events and a good mix of bonding activities! The 15 new boarders have settled in well, and the welcome BBQ, even with a bit of weather trouble, helped bring everyone together. It was nice to see the house buzzing with energy again after the quieter summer months.

The variety of induction activities always was a fun way to help everyone get to know each other and build stronger connections—whether it's the chilly water park screams at Lydd or pottery painting for a more relaxed vibe! The induction activities of Go Ape for years 10 and 11 and the camp experience for year 9 were a great mix of adventure and team-building. The year 12s have recently had their team bonding activities, fun was had by all.

The Nigerian Independence Day celebration was an absolute hit! The traditional supper in the dining hall followed by coach house was a nice way to bring everyone together for a meaningful and fun event. It was great to see Mariam and Liv showing off their waffle-making talents—they were some seriously good waffles! The pumpkin carving competition sounds was a highlight too, with Brietta and Hazel achieving an impressive runner up award in the interhouse competition.

The sporting battles with Blubery have added some extra competitive spirit to the term. And the appearance of certain male players threw in a bit of an unpredictable element to the games! It’s always good fun when there’s a bit of friendly rivalry!!

The scare house from last year really made an impression! It was great to see so many Year 13s eager to get involved in transforming School Lodge into another spooky experience. There’s something special about seeing everyone in boarding come together for something as creative as the scare house. The preparations for the Scott-Rammell Halloween party is in full swing, thanks to Francesca and Tom for organising this.

To say the start of a new school year has been good in Rammell is something of an understatement. There’s been action, laughter and an abundance of house spirit. BBQs, beach trips, crazy golf and ice creams – the boys have jumped at every opportunity to enjoy some great time together and it’s already set the tone for what is sure to be another brilliant year for the house.

We started the term with our annual Welcome Back BBQ, a great opportunity for returning boys and new faces to come together and catch up on the summer months and (as always) to eat colossal amounts of food. Then there followed trips to remember – an afternoon at the Aqua Park to see the boys bounding around the inflatable obstacles with varying degrees of success, and then some time out at the beach with sunshine, sand and ice creams.

Adventures were rife both inside and outside the house – from the return of the Rammell institution of evening snacks (did someone say toasties, biscuits and, of course, chicken clubs?) to weekend trips. Parkrun visits to Hastings, Bedgebury and Ashford have been popular with good numbers of boys turning out to race (and visit cafés afterwards). Rammell’s traditional Hastings house trips for crazy golf and ice cream were as big a hit as ever, with the usual healthy sprinkling of competition and laughter on show.

The firepit has had a busy time in the evenings, roasting marshmallows to perfection on crisp autumn nights and the house has been full of stories and laughter well into the night. As for sports, it’s been no different, with plenty of fixtures for Rammell boys in the rugby arena across the first term and a superb turnout for House Cross Country which saw some seriously impressive runs from our athletes.

As the leaves fall and the scarves come out, we’ve taken a moment to reflect on a brilliant start to the year here at Blubery House – where the weekends are full, the ovens are warm, and the laughter is never far away!

We kicked off the term with our traditional Welcome Weekend, where even the drizzle couldn’t dampen our spirits. Our Welcome BBQ went ahead with plenty of sizzling, laughter, and slightly soggy burgers. Spirits remained high, especially as Sunday brought us an unforgettable (and very wet) adventure at the aqua park in Lydd. The girls tackled the floating assault course with relentless energy – and made sure that Miss Flinn and Mrs Pack were well and truly dunked! Luckily, we dried off in style with a relaxing afternoon of pottery painting. It turns out Blubery is home to some seriously talented artists, with some beautiful pieces.

Since then, weekends have been full of variety and excitement. The opportunities have included: Fishing trips for the patient (and those who just wanted a good chat and some countryside air) along with golf for the focused (or anyone who enjoys a whack with a club) and more pottery – because we just can’t get enough of it!

A huge well done to our Parkrun participants, who have been representing Blubery with enthusiasm and impressive dedication. Thank you to Mr Crews for accompanying the runners and cheering them on each week. Rumour has it that Mrs Pack is being "gently persuaded" into joining next term.

This term has also seen some wonderful whole-boarding celebrations. We were delighted to join in the festivities for Nigerian Independence Day, with incredible food, music and vibrant community spirit. October brought a spooky twist as Mr and Mrs Carney, alongside our fantastic house captains and senior teams, opened up the infamous ‘Scare House’ – a night of thrills and squeals that won’t be forgotten in a hurry! Once again, Blubery emerged victorious in the pumpkin carving contest!

Blubery weekends are never quiet – and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Whether it’s welcoming visitors, indulging in serious pasta feasts, or baking up storms in the kitchen, there’s always something going on. One baking session sadly resulted in the tragic demise of our silicone oven mitt after a rather unfortunate meeting with the hob and a number of baking sessions have tested our fire drill evacuation skills!

We've also kept active indoors and out, with competitive and fun-filled matches of bench ball and some lively football games with Scott – both brilliant ways to let off steam and show off our sporting side.

As the leaves fall and the evenings draw in, Crowden has remained a lively and welcoming home-from-home for the boys. Despite the cold and wet weather starting to creep in, and Storm Amy’s attempts to blow down the gazebo, the house has been full of warmth, energy, and shared experience. It’s hard to believe that the beach trips, barbecues, and aqua park adventures of September were only a few months ago—they already feel like distant summer memories.

Since then, the boys have thrown themselves into a packed programme of activities: Year 9s battled it out in the inter-house rugby tournament, we enjoyed a brilliant bowling trip, and our Senior boys hosted a fantastic curry night. We marked Nigerian Independence Day with pride and colour, and our new joiners settled in quickly through induction events including Go Ape. The fun continues with many taking part in the half term trips to Iceland, Athens, and Santander have broadened horizons and created lasting memories.

The phrase 'time flies when you are having fun' truly applies to this first term, as it feels like the past seven weeks have passed in an instant. When we initially came together as a House at the end of August, there was a palpable sense of excitement and curiosity about what was to come. From our first weekend trip as a house to Camber Sands and Lydd Aqua Park, to last weekend's golfing event, the Cornwallis boys have certainly been entertained and kept engaged. We have also had our first Tutor trips of the year for Year 13 and Year 10, and after half term, the Year 9, 11, and 12 students will all be heading out for fun and games (and probably plenty of food!). A big thank you to the house tutors and staff who dedicate their time to take the boys on these outings.

Inside the house, Cornwallis continues to flourish with our social groups meeting weekly, providing a chance for boys from all year groups to come together to discuss various topics and engage in friendly competitions. We've held contests to see who can create the best nachos, a house quiz, and the first-ever Cornwallis conker competition, which lasted a good couple of hours!

At the weekends, Cornwallis boys have proudly represented the school in some of our rugby teams with great success, and they have been kept busy shopping in Ashford, playing football and golf, completing escape rooms, going fishing and enjoying BBQs while sitting around the fire pit and roasting marshmallows. We even kicked off Halloween early with a pumpkin carving competition and a visit to the School Lodge Scare House. New friendships have blossomed, and lifelong bonds have been formed.

In addition to welcoming all our new boarders this term, we are also pleased to have Mr. Snowdon and his family join us at Cornwallis. As our new deputy housemaster, he has adapted well to his role, and we wish him every success during his time here. We must also express our gratitude to our hardworking matrons and cleaners who tirelessly contribute behind the scenes to make Cornwallis a welcoming, warm, clean and tidy home!

We hope you have had a chance to check out our social media pages, which are regularly updated to give you a glimpse of life at Cornwallis. If you would like to view pictures and updates, please view our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Thank you to all the team involved, it was so well received by the boarders and staff with some saying it was even better than last years! The bar has been set for next years cohort!