Any Questions?
We have tried to anticipate your questions and answer them on this site. The rest of this page looks at some typical questions from young people coming to join the school or you may find our search facility will help you find the information you are looking for on the site. However if you have any further questions please contact us.
Typical Pupil Questions
The boys and staff of Swalcliffe Park thought it would be helpful to new students, if a few things were explained before they became members of our school. All of the boys sat down and remembered the things that they would have liked to have known before their arrival. The questions were then answered as clearly as possible and turned into the Pupil Handbook which is sent out to new students before they come to the school.
Here are some of the questions from the Pupil Handbook.
Hopefully your things will be safe. Each boy has a secure locker and
you are always welcome to ask a member of staff to lock your things away.
Yes, but the school has many of its own for you to use including: Nintendos,
Playstations and PCs. The school cannot take responsibility for any expensive
electrical equipment brought into the school.
Yes, a school uniform is worn, but only during class time. The school
will provide polo shirts and sweatshirts for you. With them you wear dark
jeans or trousers and in the summer you may wear shorts, sorry no cutdowns.
You may also wear trainers during the day if you wish.
Yes, some jewellery may be worn. If you want to wear earrings they must
be studs, not ones that dangle. You may also wear rings, but only when
you are on an out-of-school trip. You may not wear nose studs.
Each unit has a different number of boys:
- Maurice House has up to 8
- Ocean House has up to 12
- Willow House has up to 8
- Coach House has up to 6
- George House has up to 11
- Beech House has up to 9
There are a number of different size rooms with 1, 2, 3 or 4 beds in
them. The vast majority of our rooms are occupied by one or two boys.
There is a small pool at the school that is used on a regular basis.
We also go to different parts of the country to use leisure pools with
flumes, slides and wave machines.
Lots of boys like to fish in the lake, some of the boys even bring their
own equipment to use, but you will need a fishing licence from a Post
Office. Swimming in the lake is not allowed.
No, but this is for your own safety. In the woods we have some climbing equipment to use, it includes a rope slide and scramble net. There are some places within the school grounds which are out of bounds to boys, these places will be shown to you when you arrive.
After school there are lots of activities. Some are quiet and relaxing
like watching a video, or art and craft, others are more energetic, for
example, playing football or basketball, or sometimes riding the bicycles.
At the weekend there are all the usual activities available, but as there
is more time the boys like to go out and about to different places. Some
of the most popular activities include the cinema, Lazer Quest, leisure
pools or shopping. Another popular activity is riding motor bikes. The
staff are always on the lookout for new and interesting things to do.
All medication of any kind is kept in the sick bay, in a locked cupboard
and there is a school policy for its distribution.
It is normal practice for the boys to be registered with the school doctor
whose surgery is only five minutes from the school. Parents may contact
the school welfare officer who manages medical issues on a daily basis.
It is important for boys to remember never to leave the school grounds
without staff permission. There are important reasons for this:
- If there is a fire or an emergency we need to be able to ensure everyone
is safe.
- If boys have phone calls or visitors we need to know where they are.
- If boys are hurt or upset staff need to know where to find them.
If boys do leave the school grounds there are a number of steps taken.
In the first instance we will search the school and grounds If the initial
search is unsuccessful the school will then contact parents before conducting
a second search. If further searching is unsuccessful the young person
is reported missing to the police.
All young people go home every other weekend. This will be arranged with
the local authority before boys arrive at school. Some boys travel on
public transport, for example, trains, buses and coaches, others have
taxis sent for them. Some parents who have cars prefer to collect their
sons themselves. Sometimes boys need an extra weekend at home, if this
is the case your parents will need to contact the school. A weekend home
usually starts on Friday afternoon and ends on Sunday evening.
Of course families are welcome to visit their son at school. The best
time to visit is during the weekend, but this is not the only time. We
ask people to phone first so that we can arrange a time when the boys
are in. We also ask that visitors do not arrive too early or leave too
late. Sometimes boys may like to go out with visitors, again this is fine,
but this must be arranged with the school staff.
We set aside one day each year so that families can come to school, look
at their son's work, meet staff and other students and have lunch together
before the main event in the afternoon. This comprises of an introductory
talk from the Principal and the presentation of all the certificates,
prizes and rewards the boys have won throughout the year. Some families
are not able to make it to Open Day and special arrangements are made
for these boys.
Printed from www.swalcliffepark.oxon.sch.uk/AnyQuestions.cfm
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