Review Of Term Dates And Field Weekend Arrangements

Following a review of the experimental change in Field Weekend arrangements (whereby the October Field W/E was run from the last weekend of the first half of term until the Tuesday lunchtime, and the March Field W/E was run from the last weekend of term until the Monday evening), we have decided to make some changes to the equivalent arrangements in October 2009 and March 2010.

The same arrangement will run in October but until the Monday evening (19 Oct 09) and not the Tuesday (20 Oct 09) lunchtime. The formal start of the half-term break will be 4.30 pm on Monday 19 October 2009. This is the earliest time any pupil may depart. However, exactly when each pupil is free to leave will depend on his/her Field W/E activity – for instance, Lower School 2’s trip to Spain (departing Saturday morning) will not return until early evening. The dispersal time for each group/activity will be published as soon as possible.

The March Field W/E will now start on the Friday lunchtime, 26 March 2010, and run until the Sunday lunchtime. The formal End of Term will be at 1.00 pm on Sunday 28 March 2010. However, again different arrangements will apply to different groups. Those in the Sixth Form not involved in CCF or D of E expeditions may depart after games on the Saturday (27 March). Otherwise, dispersal times will depend on the activity involved. Most will aim to end by 1.00 pm on the Sunday, but some, for instance the Removes’ trip to the First World War Battlefields, will not return until around 6.30 pm. Again, dispersal times for the different groups will be published as soon as possible.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by these changes to dates this October and next March. The changes involved are partly in response to feedback from parents on the past year’s experience, and we fully expect the new arrangements to be popular with both the activity organizers and with parents.

Charles Monk

Senior Master