Boarding Life

Head of Boarding: Ms Chaerin Lee  ·  chaerinlee@ficedu.org  ·  +44 (01394) 282388

For our boarders, Felixstowe International College is not just a school: it is their home. True to our motto, ‘Friendship Through Education’, our boarding house is small, warm and genuinely family-like, welcoming students from around the world to the Suffolk coast.

Boarders remain in the care of the school throughout the boarding day, including evenings and weekends, and the same values – Compassion, Contribution, Diligence, Resilience, Responsibility, Honesty, Friendship and Respect – shape life in the houses just as they shape life in the classroom. Expectations are the same across the teaching day and boarding time, applied fairly and consistently by staff who know every student well.

Our Boarding House

Our boarding accommodation sits at the heart of the school, with house staff on duty in the evenings and overnight so that support is never far away. Every boarder has a houseparent who takes a close personal interest in their wellbeing, happiness and progress – someone to celebrate the good days with, and to turn to on the harder ones.

We understand that many of our boarders are far from home in a new country. Homesickness and cultural adjustment are natural, and our staff are trained to recognise and respond to them with empathy; extra induction and support is provided for students who join us mid-year, as is common in our international community.

Evenings and Weekends in the House

After lessons finish, the boarding day follows a settled routine:

  • Free time and organised activities — time to unwind, play sport or games, practise music or simply relax with friends
  • Supper together — shared mealtimes are part of what makes us a family school
  • Prep — a quiet, supervised study time in which boarders complete homework and independent work, building the study habits that carry them to excellent results
  • Evening wind-down — free time in the house before a sensible bedtime, with routines appropriate to each age group.

 

Weekends bring a programme of trips and activities, making the most of our seaside setting and the wider region.

House Routines and Expectations

Life in a shared home works best when everyone plays their part. Boarders are asked to:

  • keep their room tidy, with beds made in the morning
  • use prep time for study
  • respect others’ sleep, privacy and possessions
  • follow house routines, including age-appropriate arrangements for devices in the evenings, in line with our online safety and acceptable use policies.

Positive behaviour in the houses is recognised in exactly the same way as in lessons, with praise, merits and rewards. Where behaviour falls short, house staff respond fairly and proportionately, working hand in hand with the Head of Boarding and the Senior Leadership Team. Where senior students take on positions of responsibility, they do so with clear duties, training and staff supervision, and a sanction is only ever given by a member of staff, never by another student.

Safe, Heard and Well Cared For

Every boarder has the right to feel safe, valued and respected in their house. Bullying of any kind is never tolerated. We know that boarders cannot simply return to their family home at the end of the day, so our boarding staff engage with particular care and vigilance, as set out in our Anti-Bullying Policy. No sanction will ever humiliate or degrade a student, and boarders are never deprived of food, drink, sleep, contact with their parents or medical care. We regularly ask boarders for their views on life in the house, and we listen.

Partnership with Home

However far away home may be, parents are always part of the picture. House staff and  keep in regular contact, sharing praise as readily as concerns, and meetings can always take place by video call for families overseas. Every international boarder is also supported by an educational guardian in the UK, who works alongside the school and the family.

Find Out More

Boarding life sits within the framework of our Behaviour Policy, our Anti-Bullying Policy and our statement of boarding principles and practice. To learn more about the rhythm of the academic day, visit The School Day; for our values and behaviour culture, visit Our Values and Behaviour. For admissions enquiries, please see our International Admissions page.