The signature
A day at Nobel Heights, hour by hour
What your child actually does, from the rising bell to lights out, on an ordinary Wednesday in term.
Rising bell
The house wakes before the sun
A hand bell in each boarding house, a cold splash of water, beds made to the house standard and a quiet ten minutes before breakfast. Prefects knock on every door so nobody is left behind.
Weekly: change of sheets on Monday, laundry collected Tuesday and Friday.
Assembly and lessons
Assembly under the clock tower
The whole school gathers in the great hall for notices, a reading and the week’s house points. Lessons start at eight in classes of no more than 24.
Lessons run 8:00 to 15:10 with a break at 10:20 and a short prayer and rest period after lunch.
Lunch
One long table per house
Lunch is served family style, with a teacher at every table and the younger pupils seated beside a prefect. Menus rotate across northern and southern dishes.
Two sittings, northern and southern dishes, a fruit table and a meat-free option every day.
Games and clubs
Afternoons on the field
Football, athletics, basketball and volleyball, or the debating room, the robotics lab and the music school. Every pupil chooses two activities a term.
Two activities a term, chosen in the first week. Matches against other schools on Saturdays.
Evening prep
Prep by lamplight
Supervised study in the classroom block, with the library open for seniors. Prep is quiet, timed and checked by tutors who stay on campus.
JSS pupils have 75 minutes, SSS pupils 105 minutes. Tutors check every planner.
Lights out
Lights out, house by house
A last call home on house phones for younger pupils on Fridays, then lights out. A housemistress or housemaster sleeps in every house, and the night nurse is on call.
Phones are kept by house staff and handed out on Friday and Sunday evenings.
Weekends
Saturday and Sunday are different
- Saturday 08:00Lie-in and brunch
Rising bell is an hour later.
- Saturday 10:00Matches and clubs
Fixtures, rehearsals and trips.
- Saturday 16:00Free time
Films, games and the tuck shop.
- Sunday 10:00Worship and rest
Time for faith, family calls and letters.
- Sunday 19:00Week ahead
House meeting and a short prep.
Exeats
Going home
Two exeat weekends each term and a half-term week. Pickup times are staggered to keep the GRA roads calm.
| Weekend | Leave | Return |
|---|---|---|
| First exeat | Friday 14:00 to 16:00 | Sunday 16:00 to 18:00 |
| Half-term | Friday 12:00 to 15:00 | Sunday 15:00 to 18:00 |
| Second exeat | Friday 14:00 to 16:00 | Sunday 16:00 to 18:00 |
Example times. Request exeats in the parent portal.
How do we stay in touch?
Pupils call home on Friday and Sunday evenings. Parents can message house staff any day through the parent portal.
What if my child is unwell at night?
The night nurse is on call in the sanatorium and the housemistress or housemaster calls you straight away.
Is there free time?
Yes, every day after games and before supper, and most of Saturday afternoon.
See a day for yourself
Open days include a lesson, lunch with pupils and a walk through a boarding house.