We are Maia Rhys-Davies and Theo Mag, the Heads of Boarding at St Peter's, Cambridge, for 2023. Here is a little about ourselves and our experience as boarding students at St Peter's.

Hi, I’m Maia. This is my fifth year of boarding at St Peter's, and before coming here, I spent two years boarding at Southwell in Hamilton. I am in my second year of perfecting in Wrigley House, and despite only living an hour away, boarding has become my home away from home. 

Growing up an only child meant the jump to a big boarding school with suddenly 50 other ‘sisters’ was a big adjustment. However, throughout my seven years in boarding, I’ve met so many incredible people and (despite how cliche it sounds) made life-long friends. In fact, I met my best friend on my first day in boarding school when I was 10. 

Boarding is a unique experience that truly sets children up with lifetime skills such as communication, tolerance, independence, and the ability to set boundaries and make time for themselves.

Kia ora, I’m Theo; this is my third year boarding at St Peter’s. Growing up, I spent most of my life before coming to St Peter’s in Hong Kong with my Mum and Dad. But I always wanted to come to my mother's country of birth to go to school and play rugby. Since the moment I started here, I've never looked back. Boarding is more than a place; it's a home.

We both believe we are uniquely positioned to make changes in the boarding community that will benefit those both within and outside of it. As heads of boarding, we have established regular meetings with the heads of each boarding house alongside Mr Haines. In these, we hear each house's voice, plan upcoming house competitions, look into more charity services within boarding, and try to improve inter-house relations. Thus, our key focus has been establishing a strong St Peter’s boarding culture.

A personal highlight for both of us has been the establishment of the boarding charity relay that was recently run to fundraise for Cyclone Gabrielle victims this year. This was the first time the boarding community had collectively hosted a large charity fundraiser. We are proud to say it was a big success. We look forward to seeing this continue to be run annually from now on.