At the start, coming to boarding school at the age of 12/13 years old is very daunting and scary and many girls do get homesick.

 I mean, imagine your parents shipping you off to a new school and a new home. There is definitely no more home-cooked meals, a kiss goodnight from the parents, the freedom to do what you want when you want or trying to pull a sickie when your homework is due. Oh no, but at Acland they do a pretty good job, with amazing food 99.9% of the time, the “love ya lots” when Jill is putting us to bed, the daily questions about where, when, who, what, how and why you are requesting leave as it's all for our safety, but trust me when Gail is on, there's no way you are pulling a sickie on that day!

Hostel girls are all very lucky as we have incredible facilities that accommodate all our needs, from tennis courts, a pool, gym, trampoline, a small field, hoops, common rooms for each year group and even a ping pong table. One thing that the hostel girls have on the day girls is the bond. Because every year group lives together, you learn so much about one another and the friendships that are made are incredible. You see each other at their best and their worst. You go through fun times and some not so fun times, including being dragged into the matron's office for being caught up out of bed during lights out. These are the kind of opportunities that the boarders are extremely grateful for as it is ultimately life skills, and being at Acland does make you grow as a person.

But trust me, it's not all rainbows and kittens. There are few situations when it gets rather hairy, but that's hard to avoid when living with 20 other girls just a curtain or door away. I know it sounds cringe and that we have probably been paid to say it but the hostel is really just like a big family, and there is always someone to help, whether that's helping girls with homework, sports, homesickness, outside of school commitments or a 2am grind in the morning trying to finish an 8 credit Geography internal together.

Alice Ridgen