“Boarding at Dulwich College has opened up for me not only London and British culture, but also something bigger: the ability to get oneself organised, make perfect toast, strip the bed sheets.”
W hen I arrived at Dulwich College, it was the first time I had ever been in England or in London. My good Polish friend, Filip, awaited me at Heathrow airport. Together, we took the Underground to eventually arrive at West Dulwich station. That’s how it started. Living in Ivyholme is a source of experiences that must be common to every boarding house around the world. It doesn’t mean though, that Ivyholme and Blew haven’t got anything original: I would say exactly the opposite. Meeting Old Alleynians who used to board here is seriously interesting, as you can hear old stories from the boarding house about boarders, visiting tutors and housemasters. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as a boarder at Ivyholme. Whether it was the resounding victories we had against Blew House, winning 5-1 in the football (all goals coming from Ivyholme, thanks to Alan’s own goal) or simply sitting back on the sofa, watching football on a Tuesday, surrounded by pizza and cans of coke, settling in has not been a problem. This all down to the fact that in the boarding house, everyone there is part of your new, very ethnically diverse, but caring family, making the boarding house simply a second home. The boarding house is a hub of interesting, fun and diverse people from many different backgrounds. However, I think the spirit of the boarding house is best summed up by what happened on my first day there. I was invited to play a football match by a group of six or seven complete strangers, none of whom knew each other, yet we instantly enjoyed ourselves and became friends. It is this spirit of community and friendship that has characterised the year in the boarding house. Every week Big Mike, Tat and I are seen on the football fields at least once, and we are now being joined by a growing number of boys as the weekly Friday after-school football between boarders and day boys has become ever more popular. It is now common to see at
Boarding at Dulwich College has opened up for me not only London and British culture, but also something bigger: the ability to get oneself organised, make perfect toast, strip the bed sheets, know what the house meeting is, learn how to write a letter to a girl living far away, and how to say basic phrases in Cantonese. These things make me feel that I have joined a larger group of people, which includes all the peers who ever boarded as well as those older Alleynians, appearing in the faded photograph from the 19th century, hanging on the Common Room wall.
OSKAR KOCOL (YEAR 13)
“...the spirit of the boarding house is best summed up by what happened on my first day there. I was invited to play a football match by a group of six or seven complete strangers, none of whom knew each other, yet we instantly enjoyed ourselves and became friends.”
least one day boy nearly every lunchtime come to challenge someone (usually me, because of how bad I am) to a game of pool, or to simply come and spend time with the boarders. It’s great that day boys and boarders have no problem mixing and we are keen to welcome them in to our home. Every year there is a competition between the two houses known as the Gordon Bowl trophy. Up to now, it has been a tight contest: Ivyholme won both football matches and the General Knowledge round, but Blew edged ahead of us to the title with victory in basketball, chess and pool. Competition aside, however, Ivyholme and Blew are constantly mixing, and having a good time. Whether it’s a match of Fifa on the Xbox, trips to London or further afield, or simply enjoying a meal together, I’m happy to report that everyone has got on with each other very well this year. I would like to say a huge thanks from everyone in our boarding house to Mr Pelly, Mr Henderson
and Mrs Maguire who all take such good care of us, as well as to all of the other staff who help to run the boarding house and have made it another successful year.
ANDREAS CANDIDO (YEAR 12)
27
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker