Canterbury House

Canterbury Boarding House is administratively split into two separate but adjacent buildings, with Canterbury House (Upper) providing accommodation for boys in Years 9-11 and Canterbury House (Lower) for boys in Years 7-8.

Canterbury House (Lower) is a purpose-built boarding house, located in a modern three-storey building situated close to the main College and the Music Suite.  Reopened in November 1997 for Year 7 boys, it became the Junior Boarding House in September 1999 for boys between Years 7 and 9, followed by Year 10 in 2007.  The House provides a small boarding unit, closely modelled on the family home, which helps young Boarders to integrate easily into boarding life.
The Lower Common Room is situated on the ground floor, with television, video and DVD player, along with the office, locker room and kitchen.  In the Games Room table tennis is available, together with a projector for computer games.  For those who prefer quieter pursuits, card and board games are played around the Common Room table.  There is also a smaller room dedicated to the House computer system, networked to the College, and a wireless system is available so that boys (Year 8 and above, depending on status) may use laptop computers anywhere within Canterbury Lower.  The kitchen is equipped with a fridge and freezer where boys may keep snacks, as well as a microwave oven and kettle for the preparation of evening and afternoon refreshments.

Sleeping accommodation provides an attractive compromise between community living and the privacy of personal bedrooms.  Boarders have their own partitioned bedroom spaces containing their bed and wardrobe unit and these spaces are grouped into units of four.  Students are encouraged to customise their own spaces to make them feel at home.

Canterbury House (Upper) is situated adjacent to St Albans Hall, and consists of rooms for 2, 3 and 4 students.  There is a large Common room on the ground floor and a kitchen on the second floor where the boys can keep snacks.  There is a small computer room with a printer which the boys can use for prep.

The Head of House is responsible for the welfare and day to day needs of the boys in both Boarding Houses.  In addition, there is an Assistant Head of House with day to day responsibility for Canterbury House (Upper) as well as a team of House Tutors with responsibility for caring for the students.

The College Health Centre is on hand to deal with the physical welfare of students, referring cases to the local General Practitioner or Dentist where necessary.

At breakfast and supper the boys eat their meals at their own tables with the boarding staff.  At the weekends boys and girls sit together.  They are supervised during their evening prep, which takes place in either a classroom or in one of the College’s IT suites.  At present, Prep for Years 7 and 8 lasts for one hour, Year 9 have one and a half hours, whilst Years 10 and 11 have two hours, all taking place between 18:30 and 20:30 hrs.

To enable boys to keep in touch with family and friends, the House has its own e-mail address and both Lower and Upper have a payphone and fax.  All students may have a mobile phone which can be used according to College and House rules.