Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I believe that on the rare occasions in the past when there have been 'day' pupils, they have been assigned to a House, and expected to be in and part of the House from breakfast to prep in the evening. Which might be difficult for those who live a little distance away - as in the case of one girl in Hertford in the 1940's/50's, who had to go home after afternoon school. She certainly missed out on the whole school experience. I guess these are all issues with which the Powers that Be are contending at the moment.

I would imagine that day pupils would be attached to a house just as Non-Foundationers are.
My daughters could have breakfast at home or in school and stayed in house until after prep most of the time.
I can forsee problems with "compulsory" Sunday Chapel etc though .

We already take several new Deps from the Horsham district and would imagine that the opportunity for local children to come to CH and NOT board would be too good to miss!

Without wishing to offend anyone, I really think some of you need to apprecate the wider picture and the school`s current financial difficulties.

wickedwitch wrote:we're in!

Congratulations!

Just noticed your post, wickedwitch!! Well done, so pleased for you

I'm with you, Mrs. C.... though a friend who used to be on the Education Committee objected when the possibility of day pupils was last discussed and still does so... on the basis that it would expose a relatively closed and contained community to undesirable external influences e.g. drugs, etc. etc.

It seems clear that part fo the reason for day pupils is financial and that has to be accepted. I suspect that many pupils will, however, be understandably jealous of pupils who can go home, go to the cinema, go to parties in the same way that they are sometimes disgruntled about the extras that pupils of staff enjoy. Full boarding seems OK to me when everyone is doing it but I can't say I would whole heartedly embrace it if it was optional.

kerrensimmonds wrote:I'm with you, Mrs. C.... though a friend who used to be on the Education Committee objected when the possibility of day pupils was last discussed and still does so... on the basis that it would expose a relatively closed and contained community to undesirable external influences e.g. drugs, etc. etc.

I`m in agreement there Kerren.

dinahcat wrote:It seems clear that part fo the reason for day pupils is financial and that has to be accepted. I suspect that many pupils will, however, be understandably jealous of pupils who can go home, go to the cinema, go to parties in the same way that they are sometimes disgruntled about the extras that pupils of staff enjoy. Full boarding seems OK to me when everyone is doing it but I can't say I would whole heartedly embrace it if it was optional.

I suspect that the day pupils will miss out on more than the boarders, many of whom would like to stay at school all the time as they`re with their friends!

And please remember , for a lot of the pupils , boarding is the way out of their for whatever reason not so satisfactory home environment .

J.R. wrote

After attempting to get my GS in, all I can say I'm apoletic even though GS has now settled and wishes to stay at his State secondary-modern.

CH + ETHOS = GONE !

Still - Maybe it'll put a stop to their 'begging-letters' and tales of insolvency !

I've just looked at the school website to see whether there is any official announcement yet of the new policy to admit day pupils. There isn't, but my eye was caught by the news section item announcing a 'New Director of Development'. (I'm guessing she won't come cheap?!)

Watch out OBs, it looks as though more begging letters will be on their way real soon...

There is an almost identical thread running on Parents Past and present

ailurophile wrote:
Watch out OBs, it looks as though more begging letters will be on their way real soon...

I recommend that we deal with them as many Australians dealt with the 'how to spot a terrorist' packs that our Governement sent to us

don't just put them in the bin, or mark 'return to sender' (for the PO to bin): put unopened missive into fresh envelope, seal, address, attach stamp and post.

ailurophile wrote:I've just looked at the school website to see whether there is any official announcement yet of the new policy to admit day pupils. There isn't, but my eye was caught by the news section item announcing a 'New Director of Development'. (I'm guessing she won't come cheap?!)

Watch out OBs, it looks as though more begging letters will be on their way real soon...

It's probably safe to assume that this decision has not been arrived at overnight, but I have to ask whether it might not have been wiser to mention this move in the edition of Housey! which arrived in the post only a few days ago. The headline on the front page, for those who may not have seen it, is "Initiatives to Close the Funding Gap". The article which follows discusses, among other things, the increase in the numbers of full fee payers, and puts a positive spin on "broadening the social mix at CH....". I can't really understand why issue of day pupils was not mentioned at all.

Re. the new Director Of Development, no she probably won't come cheap, but let's wish her every success in her endeavours. It just a shame that it will have taken almost a year to replace Sam Rider. I know it's vital to get the right person, but this does seem rather a long time.

As for the 'begging letters', well, I can understand that people find constant invitations to support CH to be an irritation, but getting the right balance is a difficult thing for the authorities to achieve. Personally, I would rather be kept informed about the ongoing requirements of CH, even if I'm not always in a position to help.

I suppose one could make a comparison with the occasional announcements on here from Julian, inviting forum members to contribute to its running costs. Nobody is obliged to cough up - it's just a statement of the facts which I, for one, would not consider to be a 'begging letter'.

I too found it odd there was no mention of this in 'Housey' - Just some veiled innuendo !

See my Posts on another Thread (60+) giving the Clerk's answers --- which I thought were quite good.

There have been various mentions of begging letters. In fact, it is many many years since I received such a letter, not that I would have been in a position to do anything about it anyway. I have only become aware of the parlous state of the school's financial situation through reading this forum. There may well be many OBs who do not contribute to this forum and therefore are similarly ignorant, but might be in a position to make useful contributions. Anyway - it set me thinking. If I had an unexpected windfall - a lottery win, for example - what would I do with it? Apart from my family who or what have made the largest contribution to making me the person that I am (for good or ill!)? CH surely has to be at the top of that list, and particularly given the words of the charge should be one of the first to benefit from my good fortune. What does anyone else think? What, for example, is the current rate for becoming a donation governor, via the BSB or in any other way?