Weekends

Prep Weekends

The weekends at Tavy House (Prep boarding) are all about family time. The boarders spend time enjoying each other’s company and utilising the onsite facilitates, nearby activities and organised trips.

We have a vibrant community of full boarders and a number of weekly boarders choose to stay at school for certain weekends depending on the activities. This creates a fun and vibrant family of between 20 and 35 full boarders.

We prefer to have every full boarder in school for the first and last weekends of each term, but during most other weekends, the boarders are more than welcome to go home following their commitments on Friday (or Saturday if they are in Years 7 or 8 and have been selected for a sport fixture). We don’t have any formal exeat weekends. All pupils go home (or to guardians) during half term.

We try to ensure that the weekend programme is busy and varied, with the emphasis being on family fun. Saturdays will normally include a trip to Tavistock, on-site activities such as mountain bike riding, art, baking or dog walking by the river, whilst Sunday will usually involve a trip such as surfing, mountain biking, pizza making, Christmas shopping, Total Wipeout, The Eden Project, climbing and ice skating, to name but a few.

We make good use of our outstanding facilities, including our outdoor (heated) pool from April through to October, cooking/baking, sports hall challenges, art, table tennis, pool and mountain biking through our own hills.

We also run special events such as themed sleepovers, whole-year-group sleepovers, camping challenges on Dartmoor, and campfire cooking by the River Tavy. These are particularly popular and will regularly attract weekly and day pupils to come and board a little more often!

Our catering is split between being on-site and the often-popular option of walking to College to join older siblings for a meal. This would normally be for Saturday lunch and supper, Sunday brunch and supper. We will also cook our own BBQs on Sunny Slopes or over the campfire by the river.

Boarding at the Prep is huge fun as a result of the strong family ethos, where age is not a limit, rather an opportunity to include everyone as a brother or sister during term time.

Examples of previous Boarder’s Trips

College and Sixth Form Weekends

The weekend for most pupils is a time to relax, explore interests, socialise with friends and family, and catch up on academic work.

As a community, we do our best to ensure there are opportunities for boarders to engage in simple/regular weekend activities that most pupils would have access to if they were at home, and to give them the space to make choices about how to use their time.

There is a however, a clear structure to the weekends – as follows:

Saturday

A brunch serving English cooked breakfast, continental breakfast and cereals is available from 10:00 – 11:00.
Full boarders are expected to participate in the Saturday Activities Programme. The day pupils are also strongly encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities on offer. See the House and School noticeboards for further details.
Saturday is also a main fixture day for those selected to represent a team. Please check the noticeboards in the main block (at the bottom of the Chapel steps) for match details, including timings. Parents are welcome and encouraged to support, and are very welcome to join us for match tea in the Dining Room
When Boarders have finished their commitments, they liaise with the duty member of staff to discuss their plans for the afternoon
Boarders report to the House by 18:45 for a House registration and discuss their plans for the evening with the duty member of staff
Activities and bedtimes on Saturday evening are at the discretion of the duty member of staff
Supper is served from 17:00 – 17:30

Sunday

A brunch serving English cooked breakfast, continental breakfast, and cereals is available from 10:00 – 11:00.
A programme of Sunday activities is available to parents and pupils to book. These change with the seasons and include visits to local attractions such as the Eden Project, Exeter Christmas Markets, American Golf and Adrenaline Trampoline Park, as well as activity-based excursions such as pottery making, surf lessons, horse riding or glass fusion
Many pupils in the Houses opt to relax, catch up on work, or walk into Tavistock, etc. Or they can plan their own excursion to Plymouth or Exeter. This is permissible for Year 11 and above but is always at the Houseparent’s discretion
The ‘golden rule’ is to ensure that they discuss their arrangements with the Duty member of Staff
Supper is served from 17:00 – 17:30