Shopping Trip to Leeds & The German Christkindelmarkt

Resident Graduates, Maren & Nick took the Boarder’s to Leeds for some Christmas shopping on our last trip of the autumn term. Whilst they were there, the students were also taken to visit the German Christkindelmarkt, where there was plenty of hot food to enjoy such as; goulash, soups, gingerbread & bratwurst.

Meeting for worship in York Minster Crypt

It is a Bootham School tradition that the last Sunday meeting for the boarders is held in the crypt of York Minster.

Whilst the Anglican service was taking place and a few yards away the center of York was busy with the hustle and bustle of daily life, boarders and staff, were in the crypt in silent contemplation.

Tai Chi

Tom Preece has shown huge commitment to tai chi this term and his helped in coaching younger pupils in the Activity. For his efforts he has been awarded a shirt from Nigel Sutton a Master of the Zhong Ding International School of Martial Arts who gave a master class to the pupils in the tai chi Activity.

Well done Tom!

Autumn Term Boarders' Trips 2011

Bootham boarders get up to all sorts at the weekends with our team of Resident graduates. Bowling, Ceramic painting, Water world, Falconry, Mountain biking and a visit to Castle Howard are all of the trips we have done with them already this term and it’s not even Christmas yet! With Go Karting, Ice skating and a Shopping still to come it has not been a bad term to take them out and have fun in and around Yorkshire.

These pictures are our opportunity to give you a glimpse of what the Boarders & the Resident Graduates do with our weekends...

Rainbow Ceramics – 13th NovemberOn our most recent outing Daniel Gustafson and Maren Blume ran a trip to Rainbow Ceramics, for the arty type a little closer to home. Where the boarders got to paint plates, bowls, cups and even baubles! With Christmas not too far away, it is not difficult to imagine what the theme was! Fun was had by all and everyone had their decorated souvenir to take home.

Mountain biking – 6th NovemberMark Chambers and Victoria Forster enjoyed an exciting day at Dalby forest where the boarders were taken mountain biking by one of Dalby Forest’s Purple Mountain biking leaders. They wanted a challenge and this is exactly what they got, returning back to the centre tired, muddy and with a great big smile on their face after a three hour trail through Dalby Forest’s National park.

Castle Howard – 16th OctoberVerena Kümmel & Mark Chambers inspired a large group of boarders with a trip to Castle Howard, one of England’s grandest Baroque mansions, a magnificent 18th century residence set within 1,000 acres of incredible landscape and home to the Howard family for over 300 years. The boarders visit the house first and then took a stroll around the grounds which included the lake, the fountains, the adventure park and of course a ride on the grounds railway.

Falconry - 25th SeptemberDaniel Gustafsson and Luke Highstead took a group to the Minster Falconry where the pupils got to watch a bird show, which was both educational and fun. The Falconer who ran the show was sharing interesting facts about the birds, while he let everyone look at them; he brought out several different ones, some Hawks and some Owls, both a small white barn-owl and a much bigger Canadian one with tufted ears. He made all the kids lie down on the grass for the big owl to sweep over them (from a rooftop, across the grass, to a bit of food the man was holding). They included five or so different birds in the show, some of which the pupils were allowed to hold (with the gauntlet) and touch; and then afterwards everyone took a walk around to look at all the other birds - there were over 30 birds in total.

First Fox House outing of the Year

This evening the house went en masse to see spy spoof "Johnny English" at York city screen. Robert Hudson, Robert Tribe, Luke Highstead and I all wanted to find it unamusing, but just like many of the boys we found it impossible not to snigger. Afterwards, we made our way through twenty large Dominoes pizzas in less than twenty minutes! A fine time was had by all, and it was very nice to spend the evening in such happy, easy-going company.

Private Enterprise at Fox House

Some of our boys had an idea. "Why not", they pondered, "buy a deep fat fryer and sell doughnuts?" Well, the house staff could have told them that they would have to sell a lot of doughnuts to break even, and we could even have pointed out that messing about with a half gallon of boiling oil is not everyone's idea of a safe, fun activity for unsupervised young people. Instead, we said "neat idea! Can we help?"

Here, we see Tom Clarke preparing what appears to be a human brain for deep frying, but is in fact his own version of doughnut mix, carefully copied from an internet site and followed with all due attention to hygiene and animal welfare.

The fryer is now safely packed away in the house office, awaiting the next round of enthusiasm some time in the spring of 2017.

Scarborough is so bracing!

Yesterday saw the boarding community on their summer term outing to Scarborough. The weather was fairly kind, and we only got soaking wet once during the day. Activities included a trip to the art gallery, a climb up to the castle and an excellent lunch in our own little dining room at the "Princess", overlooking the harbour. In the afternoon, we played cricket on the beach, flew kites, and generally let the cares of the world drift away for a glorious late spring afternoon.

Alex contemplates a view from behind bars. We hope this won't be a useful preparation for later life, but you never know....

Fran, pulling strings as usual...

Really, can it get more perfect than this?



Yes it can! Rob Hudson takes his familiar stance for one more glorious innings.

Curious specimen discovered at low tide. Thrown back to sea in sympathy...

Three New Boarders for Fox

In addition to the recent arrival of Robert Hall, who joined our boarding community last term, Fox receives two new boarders this week in the form of Tom Thornton, new to Bootham completely, and Nathaneal Warwick - already a member of the upper schoolroom.

To all three we extend warm wishes and an even warmer welcome!

Evelyn House Easter Meal

All College I boarders went out to The Viceroy in York for an evening meal before the school breaks for Easter at the end of the week. A good night was had by all. Upon their return each received an Chocolate Easter egg. This was a night of relaxation before revision over the holidays and mock exams upon their return.

Quaker Pass the Parcel

This morning all boarders on site met for worship. This was the last meeting of the Spring Term and was held in the hall of Bootham School. Tracy Morley and Sarah Allen had arranged for a game of pass the parcel which had chocolate in each layer. The parcel was passed around without music and if the holder felt like opening a layer then they could.