The house and form system at St Swithun’s School facilitates socialising and the opportunity to develop friendships between day girls and boarders across different year groups and nationalities.
At lunchtimes boarders may invite both day girls and boarders from other houses to visit them. After homework in the evenings girls are free to pursue other interests, use the fitness suite, swimming pool and tennis courts with friends or enjoy a film, music or games in the communal areas of the boarding houses.
The boarding teams organise a variety of evening and weekend activities. Favourites include the boarding camp out, the Winter Festival, the Summer Festival and a host of dinners and dances.
There are also numerous opportunities to socialise with students from other schools. We participate in several academic competitions every year, including the annual Oxford Schools’ Debating Competition, and we regularly co-produce music and drama performances with other schools. There is also German play reading and discussion as part of a symposium day with Winchester College, and German film-watching over pizza and popcorn. Twice a year we invite bands and spectators from other schools to participate in a rock concert in our performing arts centre.
Heads of year organise a number of social events for St Swithun’s girls with students from other schools. There is a lower sixth dance and weekly ballroom dancing lessons with Winchester College, an upper sixth casino night with The Oratory and a number of discos, roller discos, debates, laser-quests and other activities for girls from L5 to U5 (year 9 to year 11) with other schools and colleges. We also have smaller more informal socials for boarders, such as a pizza dinner out with boarding houses from Winchester College, or a bowling afternoon.
