Yule (b)log - well, what did you think I was going to call it?

In the words of Noddy Holder: It's Chrisssssstmassssss! Well, not quite yet, but the countdown has begun and there's a real sense of yuletide anticipation in the air. Not least in the boarding community, as our adventurous learners head back home for a well-earned rest (yes and some revision please Year 12!)

Nowhere was the festive feeling more abundant than at the boarders' Christmas party and disco that took place in the refectory on Sunday night. Before the fun and frolics could get under way however, there was the small matter of laying out tables and decorating the hall. Mr and Mrs Single, Mr Vaughan, Mr M and Mr K were aided and abetted superbly by a hardworking team of helpers. Many thanks, Vlada, Bruce, Sascha, Yana, Summer, Summayya and Danielle for making the dining hall look so stunning!

Talking about stunning, as the students began to arrive, it was as if the Oscars cermenony had decanted into Ashford School, such was the glitz and glamour on show, none more so than little Adeline who wowed all in a gorgeous red and whited spotted number. The boys scrubbed up pretty well we all thought and the girls were simply spectacular ("Big smile! Big smile! Just one more!") Special mention must also go to Mr Vaughan whose natty waistcoat was the pick of the bunch and who proudly told AIB that it was the same dinner suit he'd been bought at the age of sixteen (how do you do it Mr V?).

Once seated everyone enjoyed a delicious meal laid on by Phil and the catering team, thank you very much to you all! This was accompanied by a medly of Chrismas tunes brought to us by the renowned Harry and his Groove Train (yes, Mr Single, we all know you requested all the Cliff Richard tracks!). Crackers were banged, toasts were clinked and jokes were groaned at and as the laughter (genuine, I'm sure) had died down after Mr Single's speech, it was time for the dancing.

Now, Harry admitted to AIB later that evening that he usually keeps a box of tricks aside to encourage reluctant dancers to hit the floor. None such was needed, however, as just as the first base beat thumped into the life it was full scale Sunday night fever!

It would be impossible to talk about all the massive moves busted on that floor that night, but there are some that just couldn't be left out. Thomas, Bruce and Justin popped better than a five-year old with a sheet of bubble wrap (there were dance-offs everywhere!). Vlada circled the arena on her own dance conveyor belt while Yijin crackled with kinetic energy. However, for AIB, the star was Savio. Remember please that earlier this term, this young man dislocated his knee in a rugby accident and is still wearing hefty support strapping. Did this stop him? No, sir it did not! Injured limb held carefully just above the floor and weaving his arms and shoulders to the rythm, this boy let it rip. Don't worry Savio, we won't tell the Med Centre (oops!). Mr K and Mr Dudley would now like to take this opportunity to request that no photos of their moves be published on certain social networking sites as it would infringe copywrite laws.

A little while in, Caviar interrupted the craziness to advertise the sale of the Young Enterprise goodybags and if the entrepreneurial spirit of Polo, Sumy, Michael and co. can even halfways match the hilarity brought on by their Christmas headgear, these guys and girls are going to be worth knowing in the future!

As the clock ticked on and tired toes found high heals to much to bear, enter Gentleman Gleb (tie barely loosened) and his princely posse to give thankful tsarinas the best seat in the house.

When Wham's 'Last Christmas' marked an end to proceedings those who had remained pushed their exhausted legs into one last effort to help Mrs Single and co. return the refectory to a state of normality. The Groove Train pulled out (thanks Harry!) and everyone agreed a fine night had been had by all. Massive thanks of course must go to our boarding heads, Mr and Mrs Single for their endless enthusiasm and wish to give their charges the most fun it is possible to have.

Other Noteworthy notes:

- Last Thursday a number of our musical talents (including Howard, Jerry, Norman, Yana and Anastasia) took part in the annual Christmas Music Concert, the highlight of which was the rendition of several well-know film themes including The Lord of the Rings. Well done to everyone involved!

- Our first XV rounded off a very successful season by thumping a Cranbrooke XV 37-0 before wowing us all with their resounding chorus of 'Swing lo, sweet Chariot' in Monday's assembly. A noteable season boys, well done!

Finally, if there was any question as to how much our boarding students give to Ashford School, it can be well an truely answered by a look down the list of end-of-term award winners, on which they feature strongly. Well done to all, you do us proud!

Well we've had a great first term people and here at AIB we'd all like to wish our staff and students a wonderfully restful holiday (safe journey all) and let's look forward to more of the same come January.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

The Nature of Nurture

Imagine, if you could, the feeling. The feeling of a 13 year-old boy, five and a half thousand miles from home, stood in a strange environment, surrounded by smiling, laughing children from many nations, but not his own. He is different, alone.

Well, not exactly alone, but the feeling of loneliness is palpable as he enters the bedroom of his boarding house that first night. He is the youngest in that house and in this room of three, the other two are already fast friends. They speak a common language, common to many of the boys in the house, but not to him. It is a hard first night.

The following day, school starts for real and the boy throws himself into his work. Hard work is part of his country's culture, but it's hard to work on your own all the time. To his pleasant surprise, however, his colleagues don't see him as a stranger and welcome him into the school community. He makes friends fast. The helpful staff also look on him as any other and do their best to ensure the new boy learns the ropes and becomes a part of the school.

But it's still hard from time to time. All the other foreign students go around in little groups at break time, talking, joking and reassuring each other in their own language, it's natural, but not him. There is no-one. He has to make do, to be tough, resilient.

This matters less and less, however, as the year goes by and the boy, made to feel safe and secure by those around him, has grown confident and comfortable in his new environment. "Anyway," he tells himself, "there's bound to be someone from my country next year." To his disappointment, there is not, nor the next year, nor the year after that. He gives up any hope.

By this time, however, he is seventeen, in his last year of A-levels, a prefect, a well-respected member of the student community, and thanks to his tenacity and the nurturing environment in which he has lived, an erudite, polite young man with aspirations to achieve in higher education. He even wants to become a British citizen. Imagine his joy then, when, on the first day back in the boarding house, he learns that two boys from his own country have just joined the school!

You would forgive this young man, therefore, if he chose to spend his time with his compatriots, conversing in their own language, cooking and sharing national dishes with them, catching up on what he has missed. And indeed he does; with one sizable addition.

He takes the new arrivals, still unsure themselves of what to do and how to act and feeling much as he did, under his wing. He shows them around, introduces them to his friends of many nationalities (even those who are much older), ensures that they would not have to go through the same uncertainty as he did and that they would feel the way that he has grown to feel, that this is home.

"Who is it you're talking about?" you ask.

No names are required. He is a friend, a schoolmate; an Alfred man; an Ashford boarder.