Day pupils » A day in the life of a day pupil
A day at Rydal Penrhos
by Lloyd Parry-Williams, year 9
I arrive at school by around quarter past eight, which gives me time to put my sports kit bag in my locker and speak to my friends, who will usually be in the Quad – a large, open area similar to a Quadrangle found at many colleges and universities, which is adjacent to almost all of the major buildings on the Rydal-Penrhos campus, making it the hub of all student activity.
A couple of minutes before 8:25, I will make my way up to my form room which is on the second floor of the oldest building on the campus – Old House. At 8:25, registration takes place, this being the first of two in a day. My form tutor will sign us all in and read out any announcements and notices, which will range from student specific notices to some which concern the entire school.
After this is done, we go to chapel. The service varies, but there is always one constant – the entire student body stand during the entrance and exit of the Headmaster, Chaplain, Deputy Head and Deputy Head,(Academic).
On Mondays, the Headmaster gives his weekly address to the school along with the reading of any sports reports by the Deputy Head.
Tuesdays feature no Chapel – instead the time is devoted to either house or year group assemblies or a tutor time where students stay in their form rooms.
On Wednesday, the Chaplin will speak to the school. On Thursday, a department or year group will have their chance to speak, whilst on Friday a guest, usually a religious figure or a philanthropist speaking on behalf of a charity, whose actions may affect people in the local vicinity or Worldwide, will speak to the school.
After chapel, I go to our first lesson of eight in a day, each forty minutes long. Maths and English are the lessons I have most frequently during a week, both having four periods in the timetable schedule.
Break will come after the first three lessons, during which a free snack is offered to every pupil, along with bacon or sausage baps at £1 each.
The three sciences have two lessons each. Languages – each pupil has the choice at the end of year eight between French and German, which they have four lessons each week from year nine onwards. However, Welsh and Latin are also available as extra-curricular activities.
I personally study Welsh and I find that having it between 4:30pm and 6:00pm has allowed us to go on excursions to many places of Welsh cultural and historical importance to broaden the extent of our study of the language and country, all in preparation for GCSE exams.
Lunch is between 12:50pm and 1:50pm, and after enjoying a tasty meal from the almost never ending choice of options I have the chance to do homework in the library, play sport or go to my social area – the Grange, which includes a pool table, ping pong table, table football, computer room and a seating area, perfect for slumping into after a tiring session of sport. The Grange also acts as a place where day pupils can relax at the end of the day to wait for parents to arrive to pick them up.
Clubs and societies in general are excellent with lots of choice. On Tuesdays I have Badminton, which I particularly enjoy. Thursdays are devoted to Games whilst on Friday clubs are between 1:40pm and 2:20pm because school ends at 4:30pm and during this time I play chess.
Wednesdays are almost entirely devoted to Clubs and Societies, with the entire afternoon including activities that are different to normal lessons. It’s a nice change to being in the classroom and I have had the chance to try a wide variety of activities in this time – including photography, radio club, squash, gardening, cosmetics club and fives – which I can best describe as “squash without a racquet”, although I know the many in the school who have taken up the sport almost religiously would hate me using that description!
On a Monday afternoon I have Outdoor Education, which can include climbing, kayaking, cycling, mountaineering, coasteering, sailing and training for the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
On Thursday I have Games – which includes Rugby, Hockey and Cricket for the boys. The sports change every term.
By 5:10pm (or later if you have an activity that runs on later than this) it will be time to go, and so I bid goodbye to my friends and leave, looking forward to the next morning, knowing I will be a `full on` day in school again!
A day at Rydal Penrhos
by Georgina Pullman, Year 10
I arrive at school at about 8.20 in time for registration at 8.25, where I chat with my classmates until my form tutor Madame Healy (who also teaches us French) calls us to order and takes the register before reading the daily bulletin. Once done we make our way to Chapel.
Chapel takes about twenty minutes and in addition to the hymns, prayers and readings there is often music from the students. I especially like it when one of the students sings for the rest of the school, which happens every now and then.
On a Wednesday after Chapel I make my way to my favourite lesson of the week, Drama. We are currently learning and practicing a play called ‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ by Winsome Pinnock. We have all learnt our lines and we are staging the scenes at the moment, deciding on where to stand and where to move. Drama has always been my favourite subject and that’s why I chose it for GCSE.
Forty minutes later and it’s time for a double lesson of History (another of my choices for GCSE). We are currently learning about World War 2 and have had many interesting class discussions with our teacher, Mr Bennett about the subject. Next is a 25 minute break which I spend in the Dining Hall with my friends, where I can grab a quick snack while chatting about our next netball game.
At 11.35am I make my way to a Physics class where Mr Baxter is teaching us about the speed of sound. We have a test next week so we’re just going over how to calculate speed and today we stretched out a spring to the size of our desk and moved it from side to side watching the sound waves move up and down. After Physics we have French with my form teacher Madame Healy where we revised the tenses.
On a Wednesday my year group is in for lunch first so after French we make our way up to the Dining Hall. There’s a wide variety of food to choose from ranging from baguettes to salad to hot food. My all time favourite lunch is sweet and sour chicken with chocolate fudge cake for dessert. Lunch lasts for hour and after eating I can spend time in the quad, the library or at our social area – The Grange.
Every Wednesday afternoon we take part in activities until 4.30pm before we go on to our chosen clubs until school finishes at 5.10pm. For activities I have netball followed by hockey practice and then I make my way to my club, which is Amnesty International. At the moment we are writing letters to people in foreign countries to offer support. Although most clubs finish at 5.10, Amnesty carries on until 6pm, but I don’t mind, it’s a great end to my school day.