Boarding Blog

• Friday 5 December 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 5th December 2025 On Friday of last week we hosted our annual gap surprise at Fountain Park in Edinburgh! We set off in three of the school buses and enjoyed singing/annoying our drivers on the way there! We participated in both mini golf and bowling, with two groups of children swapping after we'd had our feed of dinner provided by Volcano Falls mini golf! We had such a great time, with the theme Australia vs Africa, and some fantastic costumes being showcased by the kids and staff alike.
• Friday 21 November 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 21st November 2025 This week's chilly weather brought a slower, cosier pace to boarding, with lots of fun taking place indoors.
• Friday 14 November 2025 Boarding Blog week ending 14th November 2025 The bad weather kept us indoors this week, but that didn't stop us from having plenty of fun together.
• Friday 7 November 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 7th November 2025 After all the excitement of Halloween last week, boarding took on a slightly quieter pace—but there was still plenty of fun to be had!
• Friday 31 October 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 31st October 2025 A week of Halloween fun.
• Friday 10 October 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 10th October 2025 On Tuesday, after a productive prep session, the Douglas Squad got creative with some fantastic artwork in preparation for Squad Singing.
• Friday 3 October 2025 Boarding blog week ending 3rd October 2025 Monday night saw the boarders back in the kitchen, baking a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies, which were enjoyed by both children and staff alike.
• Friday 26 September 2025 Boarding Blog week ending 26th September 2025 Monday night saw the boarders braving the cold for the last ice cream of the year, followed by a trip to the park full of chaos and fun!
• Friday 19 September 2025 Boarding blog week ending 19th September Monday saw the boarders take on a baking challenge, which resulted in some semi-successful blueberry muffins.
• Friday 12 September 2025 Boarding Blog week ending 12th September 2025 On Monday evening, the boarders enjoyed a walk in the sunshine down to the river, where there was plenty of stone skipping. Tuesday had us making the most of the good weather with lots of ball games outside. On Wednesday evening, we squeezed in a few group games before the rain sent us indoors. Once inside, everyone enjoyed a lively game of hide and seek before settling down to watch Ice Age on the new screen in the Sanderson building. By Thursday evening, the weather was back on our side, and the children had a blast playing tug-of-war, pig, capture the flag, and more outside—it was nonstop fun!
• Friday 5 September 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 5th September 2025 We started the week of with a quiet night, the boys played games on the tennis courts, and the girls enjoyed some baking in the girl's house after snack! On Tuesday evening we all enjoyed some time outside, and afterwards everyone chipped in to help with some homework in the boarding houses.
• Friday 29 August 2025 Boarding blog - week ending 29th August 2025 First week back in the boarding houses, and we're all so excited to welcome our past boarders and to welcome some newcomers too! Wednesday night the sun was shining after a wet day, so we spent some time outside playing lots of games like PIG, Football, and various others. On Thursday we had some prep time and then braved the light rain and played some more games outside, and finished off the night with a big game of wall ball.
• Friday 20 June 2025 Boarding Blog week ending 20th June 25 A wonderful week this week with the boarders participating in various Melrose festival events! Monday night saw the children watching the Rideout at the bottom of the drive, before spending the rest of the evening eating ice cream and playing on the front pitches. A busy one on Tuesday, the usual run to athletics was paired with an evening at the fancy dress parade, all the boarders dressed as minions alongside some brave souls who joined just for the parade, huge thanks to Mrs Bell, Miss McRae, and Madame Hutchison for joining us as well. Wednesday evening was busy with boarders late back from various fixtures, another night spent outside in the glorious summer sun! The week finished on a quiet Thursday evening spent playing multiple games such as hide and seek on the front field, tennis on the courts, football, swing ball and a lovely new mini golf set thanks to the amazing Ian Millar!
• Friday 6 June 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 6th June 2025
• Friday 23 May 2025 Week ending 23rd May 2025 It’s hard to believe that we are in our fifth week of the term and we have been able to play outside in the evening sun every night since the Easter Holidays. Our Friday night boarding last week was a huge success. Despite varying commitments meaning that we were lower on numbers than our usual Friday nights, the staff and boarders had a brilliant night playing outside on the table football table and ended the evening with a water fight!
• Friday 16 May 2025 Boarding blog week ending 16th May 2025 It’s been another short but busy week for our boarders. We returned on Tuesday from our long weekend to tennis lessons, athletics and a trip to watch James play rugby against an American touring side at the Greenyards. Wednesday was busy with late cricketers returning from a sunny afternoon at Cargilfield to play tennis and football here in Melrose.
• Thursday 8 May 2025 Week ending 8th May 2025 It’s been a short but sweet week of boarding in Abbey Park. We have had multiple sports matches, card games and races keeping all of the borders entertained! Staff and pupils are ready for our long weekend but are excited for another week of fun to resume on Tuesday.
• Friday 2 May 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 2nd May 2025 It has been another lovely sunny week here at Abbey Park and boarders have been enjoying playing outside every evening. Tennis lessons, athletics and maths challenge coaching clinics have been in full swing this week and it has been brilliant to se the senior girls practicing their hard ball cricket skills in the nets. On Thursday night, we celebrated Pam’s birthday with cake at snack time - the perfect birthday party for our super star matron.
• Friday 25 April 2025 Boarding Blog week ending 25th April 2025 This week the boarders returned after a relaxing break, making the most of the weather, spending time playing cricket, tennis and running around outside. Tennis lessons have started, athletics club is in full swing, and we are all loving the sunshine!
• Friday 28 March 2025 Week ending 28th March 2025 As the spring term drew to a close, our boarders kept up the momentum right to the very last day! After a whirlwind week of balancing homework, recovering from an action-packed play and sports tour, and embracing the much-anticipated spring sunshine, there was plenty to keep everyone busy.
• Monday 17 March 2025 Boarders Disco Friday night was one to remember as we welcomed nearly 60 children to the Brownlee Gym for an unforgettable Boarders’ Disco! After kicking things off with pizza in the dining room, the energy soared as everyone hit the dance floor.
• Friday 7 March 2025 Boarding blog - week ending 7th March 2025 The week started off strong with some fun as boarders enjoyed playing in the gym and spending time painting in the art room.
• Friday 28 February 2025 Boarding Blog week ending 28th February 2025 Monday started off with great weather, lighter evenings and the boarders were ready to start the week had a very relaxed night. On Tuesday, staff made the decision to swap the routine, we played some football and had the girls in the art room first before heading in to complete prep later. Those who went to Gala Harriers had a great evening and cheered on Tilly as she was awarded a medal from her performance at a recent event. Following a busy afternoon on Wednesday, boarders enjoyed playing a large game of Hide and Seek on the Veranda. Thursday was very sunny allowing us to play some rugby before dinner. On Friday morning we celebrated Harriet and Archie’s birthdays at breakfast!
• Friday 21 February 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 21st February 2025 The week started quietly with boarders working hard during prep and enjoying the longer evenings playing outside, as well as time in the art room followed by Pam’s hot chocolate and toast.
• Friday 7 February 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 7th February 2025
• Friday 31 January 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 31st February 2025
• Friday 24 January 2025 Week ending 23 January 2025 On Monday we played some games and talked about sports - in particular which country will win the upcoming Six Nations. The children did their prep and spent some good time playing games.
• Friday 17 January 2025 Boarding Blog - week ending 17th January 2025 This week marked our first full week back in the boarding houses after the Christmas break, and it’s been a fantastic start to the new term! The boarders have jumped straight into a variety of activities, and there has been something for everyone to enjoy.
• Friday 6 December 2024 Boarding Blog - week ending 6th December 2024 Nice chilled week this week for the boarding team, we started with a cozy Christmas movie night in the boarding houses putting up our trees and decorations with yummy hot chocolate for snack. On Tuesday night we all spent in the Pre-Prep gym for some exciting games of dodgeball and King Ball. On Wednesday we had a packed night with everyone getting back at different times from fixtures, our senior girls helping with the form 5s makeup before their Cinderella and Rockerfella play then we had a massive game of dodgeball in the Pre-Prep gym to hide from the miserable rain. To finish this week off, we spent Thursday night inside playing some kahoot quizzes, then some of us headed outside to play football and others to the art room out of the cold, so a successful second last week for boarding before the holidays!
• Friday 29 November 2024 Boarding Blog - week ending 29th November This week the Monday boarders enjoyed a trip to the Galashiels cinema to watch the new Wicked movie and they enjoyed some popcorn and sweet treats. On Tuesday everyone took part in a Kahoot quiz and enjoyed some time outside. Wednesday night included some Wii golf in the boys house and then a couple of games of dodgeball and table tennis in the gym. On Thursday night the boarders played football, a few obstacle relay races and some very entertaining games of dodgeball. A great way to finish the week before the Gap Surprise later on tonight.

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