The End of the First Week

Following on from the arrival of Year 9 on Monday the rest of the house returned or arrived for the first time on Tuesday. For Years 10-12 this was a day of unpacking and arranging their rooms before attending a House Meeting, a Tutor Period, an Assembly with the Headmaster and Major Games. Year 9 attended Chapel in the morning before continuing their induction lessons. They were then invited to the Headmasters house for a BBQ which they all really enjoyed. In the evening the boys organised a game of football between themselves until it got too dark to carry on.

On Wednesday lessons began as normal for all years with the senior boys helping the new students finding their lessons. In the evening the boys from Year 9 went on an Outdoor Adventure with the Year 9 boys from Everett and Welsh. This started in the swimming pool with a game of water volleyball and races. Next it was down to Riverside where the boys collected wood before Matt using his skills learnt in Scouts built an impressive fire. Unfortunately he could not get it to light so to allow the boys to cook their burgers on  the BBQ's I had to take over the fire lighting duties and we soon had a fire which we would use later to toast marshmallows. We also played a number of games in the dark before we returned to the house with the boy in a boisterous mood. While this was happening the other boys were in Burr having takeaways and a relaxed evening.

Thursday was a fairly routine day with all students attending lessons as usual, Year 9 attended a Swim and Capsize test and then it was a full session of Prep in the evening.

Again Friday was a day of lessons before Everett joined Burr for their House Parties. We went Paintballing in the woods not too far from Shiplake. Rumours had been circling beforehand that Mr Dix was a former South West England Paintballing Champion which he never confirmed or denied. The senior Burr boys were obviously somewhat pleased when he joined their team. On the other hand the Junior Burr boys were stuck with me who coward at the back just popping my head up to shoot when things were quiet. Both Burr teams triumphed over Everett and a good time was had by all. Photo will follow. When we returned to the house we had Pizza before retiring to bed.

Saturday was a day of Rugby after finishing lessons. Year 9 boys continued to train for their first Rugby matches in the coming week while many Burr boys from other years took part in games. Unfortunately there was no wins for Shiplake over the weekend but hopefully with more hard work we will improve for the upcoming fixtures.

The main attraction on Sunday was a trip to the Coral Reef Swimming Pool which has a number of water slides. This was attended by all Year 9 boys on site and a number of boys from other years. The evening ended with a chapel service attended by boys, teachers and parents.

It has been a fun, enjoyable and tiring week. All the boys seem to have settled well and are enjoying their lessons and other activities. Next week is when the routine starts properly with a full program of lessons and Prep.

I am working on putting together a photo album for the blog which you can access from the home page. We also have a twitter feed (@BurrHouse) which I am going to try and put more information on over the next few weeks.