Looking back at my year as Head Boarder 2017/18

It has been a great honour to be Head Boarder here at St Mary’s. I am grateful to have had so much support from the staff, the students and my team of boarding prefects. Having been a boarder at St Mary’s for five years, I have greatly valued this experience, especially when there are so many exciting changes each year.

Every year, there are new and interesting cultural activities that the boarders can get involved with. This year, we went to Oxford for our boarders’ residential weekend trip. We were introduced to the different architectural styles of the colleges and other buildings through a guided tour. We also visited Blenheim Palace where Churchill was born, and admired the beautiful gardens and landscapes. This term, the sport Eton Fives was introduced to the boarding community. Some of our boarders in the Junior School had a taste of how this traditional English game works, and have enjoyed their afterschool sessions at the University of Cambridge Sports Centre. The Royal Wedding also gave us a unique chance to have a fancy brunch at Mary Ward House! In celebration of the wedding, our dining hall was decorated with flowers and banners, the tables were covered with white tablecloths, and scones were served on tiered cake stands. The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was also celebrated, with the lower year groups embracing diversity by making and trying a variety of national foods to be enjoyed as they watched this year’s show, cheering for different countries. Boarding broadens our horizons by providing us with opportunities to appreciate others’ cultures and try out new activities.

The annual fundraising Boarders’ Concert was one of the highlights of the year. This year we raised over £300 for an initiative called ‘School Cycle’ by Girl Up, which aims to provide girls in Malawi with bicycles so they can travel to school quickly and safely, and obtain the education the need to create a better future for themselves and their families. Every year, boarders from across the world contribute and share their outstanding talents with the school community. This year, we had a wide variety of performances, among them, instrumentalists, girls singing in their native language, and others doing Kpop dancing, and traditional Nigerian, Spanish and Chinese dances. It was a very fruitful and meaningful experience that I am proud to have been part of organising with my boarding prefect team.

It has been a great privilege working with two Heads of Boarding during my time as Head Boarder: Mrs Compain-Holt, who left St Mary’s for China last December, and Miss Elliott,our current Head of Boarding. With the guidance, care and support of both, our challenging and unforgettable year as boarding prefects has gone very smoothly. We have learnt a lot from them, from leadership skills to being compassionate to others, and last but not least, the importance of believing in ourselves.

The time has come for us to depart St Mary’s School and to hand over our responsibilities as boarding prefects to our Lower Sixth successors. I wish the newly elected Head Boarder, Fatima Y., and her team of boarding prefects every success in the coming year. They are undoubtedly looking forward to putting their own stamp on their new roles, but whatever they do, I would like to offer them this advice: “Do not give up when you feel overwhelmed by the challenges that confront you. Instead, rely on and support one another to make things work so that your vision becomes reality.”