Boarding

The House System

There are three houses: Chinyika, Gombora and Nyakambiri, each with two hostels, one for boys and the other for girls. Thus, in total, the college has six boarding hostels. In addition, there is also a Day Scholars common room, which caters for about 5% of our students, comprising mainly staff children and a few local boys and girls.

Hostel Design and Facilities

The hostels are almost identical in size and design. Each hostel is divided into four wings and there are eight cubicles in each wing. Each cubicle accommodates two students, each of whom has a bed, a desk, a chair, a locker and a bookshelf. Boys or girls of the same age group are housed together in a wing. Two wings share common bathroom and toilet facilities. There are a number of single and double rooms spread across the hostel and each of these accommodates one or two senior students. Separate showers and toilets are provided, in each wing, for the senior students.

Every hostel has a common room in which meetings and roll-calls are held and students can enjoy various forms of entertainment at prescribed times. Each common room will normally have a machine to dispense hot beverages and at least a large flat-screen television, with full satellite dish facilities.

Hostel Life

The hostel is the centre of a student’s life. Here learning continues long after the end of formal classes and extra-curricular activities. Not only are there supervised prep sessions six days a week, but there is also the opportunity to develop character, as the students learn to manage their time and studies, and to live responsibly and respectfully with each other in the college. It is a home away from home for the boys and girls, a place where self-discipline, tolerance, solidarity, loyalty, leadership and lifelong friendships are cultivated.

Hostel Staff

In the hostels, the house parents, each supported by assistants, have the responsibility of looking after the boys or girls under their care. They monitor the academic and personal development of each student and ensure that the environment is nurturing, safe and comfortable. Like the natural parents, the house parents talk to the boys or girls regularly, making sure that they are coping with the demands of boarding life and taking advantage of everything that the college offers. It is expected that a close relationship is formed between the student and the house parent and that the latter becomes a trusted adult, who will listen to and advise the students as they deal with the problems associated with being a teenager.

For each hostel, students in a particular form are also assigned a tutor. The tutor supports not only the work of the house parent, but also that of the classroom teacher, the sports coach and the club patron. He or she acts as a mentor and confidante to the students, monitoring their progress in all areas of school life, and supporting them as they work to meet the requirements of a full and exciting programme.