So this winter we’ve escaped the snowdrifts, although we had enough for some snowballs – and some transport concerns. 

As a boarding school, our default state is always “open”. Perhaps to our pupils' disappointment, we have stopped lessons just once in many years (during Storm Desmond) but even then looked after lots of boarders on site. 

But once per half term we do close completely for exeat weekend. 

This time, as luck would have it, was on the snow weekend. 

So on Friday there were boarding families snowbound in Cumbria, trains disrupted (more and more of our boarders travel from Euston by Virgin direct) and rumours of cancellations further south.

Most of our boarders managed to get home. Some stayed with friends. Thank you to families who gave them a weekend to remember, some in deep snow a few miles away! 

And about twenty were stranded and stayed at school. Thank you to boarding staff who kept in touch with parents, checked and rechecked travel plans, kept the houses open, made a birthday cake, put the pupils first. 

That’s pastoral care. That’s our kind of snow day. Thank you!