Welcome back!

Welcome back to AIB everyone and to a new year of excitement and fun at Ashford School boarding community! We hope you’ve all had an excellent summer and have returned refreshed rejuvenated for another fantastic year!

Also we would like to extend a warm welcome to all those joining us this year. Along with our recognised Russian and Chinese/Hong Kong contingent, we’re thrilled to have new boarders from Latvia, France, Germany, Albania and Thailand. All of us in Brooke-Refuge, Alfred and Brabourne are sure you’ll settle in well and have a great time with us.

Before going on to other news, AIB would like to congratulate all our returning boarders who took their GCSE and AS levels last term. Looking at the results you did a brilliant job. Special mention should go to Shirley and Vicky from Brabourne who scored an average of 90% in their exams, amazing stuff girls! As Mr Thomson said in his sixth form address Thursday morning, these are results that inspire.

Boarders from last year will have recognised some old faces in new places this September. Mrs Williams is now housemistress of Brabourne who, along with Miss F-H, will be ably assisted by new girls’ Boarding Captain Yana. New boys’ Boarding Captain Daichi and Head of Alfred, Shanahan will be sure to provide support to Mr Vaughan and his house tutor team, headed by new Assistant Houseparent Mr Hinton. Congratulations Yana, Daichi and Shanahan on your appointments!

We at AIB like to keep abreast of things here at Ashford School and so we linked up with Mr Hinton and some of our new boarders, to hear what they think and feel about the year ahead.

Norwich born, new AHP Mr Hinton has plenty of experience in foreign climes, having just come back from a 13-year stint in South Korea and Hong Kong. An expert on S.E. Asian shopping centres by the sound of one conversation and a keen dragon boater, Mr Hinton has been an instant hit with the Alfred boys, who have appreciated his combination of good humour and discipline.

There's definitely a sense of fun there. Indeed he describes himself as "Friendly, incredibly annoying and generally pretty approachable." AIB didn't ask about the 'annoying' but could only presume it might affect boys who might not be the best at cleaning their rooms. When asked what he hopes to bring to his role Mr Hinton adds: "I will hopefully help the students realise that study, whilst being incredibly important, can also have a fun, more light-hearted side to it as well." AIB saw him at work, welcoming the boys back after a long week and saw just how much they appreciated this. What's Mr H. looking forward to this year? Getting to know the boys for one and in his own words."getting stuck into life in Alfred." We think you already have sir, welcome!

Now for the new boarders and in the true spirit of AIB we have a truly global input as Calvin from Brooke and Germany, Nicka from Brabourne and Russia and Garren from Alfred and Hong Kong all kindly agreed to tell us about their first impressions of their new life in the UK. 

It was plain to see what mattered to all three, academic improvement. Calvin feels that he has everything in the boarding house to help him thrive in his work; Garren looks forward to achieving high grades at GCSE while Nicka's wish is "to speak English as if it was my first language!" 

What made the biggest impression on these new faces? Well, Garren was very impressed with the school's sporting facilities (we've seen you making good use of them Garren!) and how he was made to feel instantly at home by the senior boys in his house. For Calvin again the welcome was what made it: "The staff really care about each person in the house." he says. For Nicka too it was a feeling: "It's not about the things," she enthuses, "it's about the atmosphere that you [the staff] have created." Calvin is already looking to give back some of that good feeling: "I also want to help where I can and be a role model to other students." We can see all three of you fitting in well here. Thank you for your input and we hope you have a wonderful time in Ashford school.

Well, that's about all for now, but with the year well and truly underway, you can be sure that AIB will be at the cutting edge as far as our boarders are concerned. So, watch this space because as the song goes "You 'aint seen nothing yet!"