Charlie joined Christ's Hospital with an Academic Scholarship in Year 9
/
Charlie in his Christ’s Hospital uniform, which he says is “surprisingly comfortable”!
Compared to other pupils, I started looking at options for my next school quite late. We only started thinking about it at the beginning of Year 8, whereas others in my form had started in Year 6 and 7. We had a few schools in mind but the two top choices were Our Lady of Sion School and Christ's Hospital.
In the end, I chose Christ's Hospital (CH) because I wanted to try to be more independent. I decided it would be the best option for my future. You don’t need a scholarship, but you do need to pass two entrance exams and a verbal and non-verbal reasoning test. I didn’t find the verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests difficult. The Maths and English entrance exams were hardest.
Now I’m really enjoying life at CH. It’s been such a new experience but everyone here was so supportive from the start.
“Not being able to go home every day at the start was hard. At first, I found it tough to settle in. When you join in Year 9, a lot of the friendship groups have already been made as a lot of pupils join CH in Year 7. So you just have to make your way into them. After about two weeks, I felt completely different and was much happier. Now I hardly want to go home! I like staying and having fun and playing football with my friends. ”
The school felt huge compared to the small family feel of Sompting Abbotts. There are 100 children in my year now and about 45 pupils, of different ages, in every boarding house. Homesickness was a huge issue at the beginning. I’m not very social and so the first week I was just in my room and it was hard to make friends.
I got a great roommate though. He helped me understand the routines and once I was familiar with them, things were much easier. I found the best way to cope with everything was to get on with the schoolwork and force myself to be sociable even when I felt nervous.
“I like that we have a designated prep time (from 5-6pm) that we have to go to.
Plus that a tutor is in the room whom you can ask for help. The shorter days and more focused lessons are great. I like, too, that there are ‘actives’ that you have to do every day when you have opportunities to try different sports and activities. ”
Our school terms work on a three-weekly cycle. Every third weekend is either a leave weekend, a half term break or an end of term holiday. Saturday nights at CH, there are always organised activities. Things like film nights, discos, talent shows, quizzes. Sundays are very relaxed. The afternoons are a good time for pupils who are lucky enough like me to live locally to meet up with their parents.
The uniform here is definitely different! But it isn’t hard to get used to. Actually, I enjoy wearing it because it’s surprisingly warm and comfortable.
“I don’t have to work that much harder than at Sompting Abbotts (SA). I found that I was ahead in all the core subjects which tells you something about the standard of teaching at SA.
This year, in many ways, has been a kind of revision year of most subjects. But I’ve started some new ones from fresh, like Spanish and Design Technology. I’ve done well in my end of year exams. The difference is now I get a bit more prep so I do have to try and stay on top of that. ”
Weekdays, I’m up at 6.30am and breakfast is at 7.10am, with lessons starting at 8.30am and continuing until lunch at 1pm. Then we do marching for the Band Parade.
Some days, lessons finish at lunchtime; others they go on until 3.20pm. But there are always ‘actives’ afterwards, when you do sports or a club. I’ve been playing different sports, swimming and am part of the Spanish Society. Christ’s Hospital has fantastic sports facilities, sports teachers and coaches. I’m starting to learn the drums next year too.
Dinner is at 6pm, then you can be outside until 7.30pm in the summer and 6.30pm in the winter. Then you can relax in the common area with your friends or do prep if you need to until lights out at 9. (We have to hand in our phones or devices well before that).
My lessons end at either 2pm or 3.20pm and then you have your actives and prep time afterwards. We do have lessons on Saturdays but they end at 11.10am, with either actives or matches afterwards.
“I am so proud of Charlie getting into CH! But as his mum, I was very nervous for him knowing it would mean him moving from home. I worried about him making new friends and how shy he is in new environments.
The first week was so tough and I had to make myself be strong for Charlie. He was calling me in tears and telling me he felt lonely and lost.
I let his housemaster know how much he was struggling and he was amazing. He spent a lot of time talking to Charlie and to the other boys in his house.
The next week was completely different. By then, he’d become familiar with his timetable and the school’s routines. He'd also made his first friends and it expanded from there.
Charlie’s home leave means he can come home on a Friday and go back to school Sunday evening every three weeks. But we’re allowed to see him or take him out for the day every Sunday too. That really helped in the beginning with the settling in.
Now I hardly hear from Charlie as he is too busy with his own social life and enjoying school. He has grown up so much in the last school year. But now when I see him, we still have our hugs and appreciate our time together even more.”
– REBECCA, CHARLIE’S MUM
The other students come from lots of different schools. There’s a lot of ethnic diversity. Students come from everywhere in the world, which makes it really interesting.
The food here is pretty good. There’s lots of choice. Mondays are meat-free. Catering must be a big job. The kitchen staff have to cook for around a thousand people! We eat in a huge Harry Potteresque dining hall.
For my GCSE's, I’ll be doing English, Maths, three Sciences, DT, French, History, Spanish and PE. I am not 100% sure yet what A-levels I am going to take. But I've a rough idea of what I want to go on and do. That's to study to be a vet, possibly with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
Christ’s Hospital
The ISC says: “Christ’s Hospital is a remarkable school, it is the UK’s leading charitable school and largest bursary charity. The school was established in 1552 and provides free or greatly reduced cost places to over 630 of its 900 pupils – this is more than any other organisation in the UK. Christ’s Hospital provides each pupil with stability and the opportunity to thrive. 98% of pupils go on to university and leavers take with them the confidence they will need to achieve success at university and beyond.”
Tatler says: “Parents are drawn by the diversity, with one claiming it is ‘the most ethnically and socially diverse boarding school in the country’ and lauding the fact that this ‘enables pupils to make lifelong friends with people they would never have come into contact with otherwise’.”
The school is located outside Horsham, West Sussex.
Charlie (top row, centre) with his fellow Year 8 Scholarship winner pupils at Sompting Abbotts
“I had a wonderful education at Sompting Abbotts, where I started when I was five, with so many brilliant and dedicated teachers. It was lovely to go back recently to visit and to see that it’s all the same. It felt very small compared to Christ’s Hospital! Sompting’s a very special school.”
Interested to see more leaver interviews?
Next steps
Charlie won an Academic Scholarship to Christ’s Hospital and joined in Year 9. He now boards full-time and although homesick at the start, now rarely wants to go home!