Making up 20 per cent of the school’s pupils, day girls are an important part of the Cheltenham Ladies’ College community – benefiting from all the fantastic activities and facilities as boarders, as well as their own dedicated Day Girl Centre with three housemistresses.
SoGlos spoke to a Year 9 student at Cheltenham Ladies’ College to find out what a typical day is like – and how the school helps boarders and day girls to get the most out of their time together.
About the student – Eleanor from Cheltenham Ladies’ College
Eleanor is in Year 9 at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, where she studies as a day girl – taking full advantage of all its fantastic facilities and co-curricular activities, while still living at home with her family.
The prestigious independent school in Cheltenham welcomes girls aged 11 to 18-years-old on a day and boarding basis, with both flexi and occasional boarding available. Cheltenham Ladies’ College also operates a bus service for day girls with pick up and drop off points across Gloucestershire.
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
At around 6.30am, I wake up for school and get dressed into uniform.
How do you get to school each day?
My dad usually drops me and my sister off at the Day Girl House on the way to work and we are usually picked up by our mum at the end of the day. However, in the summer we often walk home.
Describe a typical school day for you.
A typical school day for me starts off in the Day Girl House where I can relax with friends in the LC3 (Year 9) common room. At around 9am we start lessons down at the College, which is a few minutes’ walk away from the house. Break is at 10.55am, and during break we get snacks and can catch up with friends before our next lessons begin.
Lunch is at 1.10pm and, as a day girl, I walk to the Bayshill Court Dining Room where both junior and sixth form day girls get lunch. After you have eaten you can go back to the Day Girl Centre and either go in the garden or the common rooms with friends.
At 2.30pm afternoon lessons begin, and we finish the school day at 4.30pm. At lunch and after school there are always clubs and extras for both the boarders and day girls.
Are there different lessons for day girls and boarding pupils, or do you learn all together?
All my lessons are, and have always been, a mix of day and boarding pupils, so you are never separated during lessons. Due to Covid-19 our classes have been a bit more separated so we can keep to bubbles but even then, the classes are all a mix of day girls and boarders.
What’s your favourite part of the school day?
My favourite part of the school day is lunch! It’s a good time where you can relax and talk to friends in house.
Do you take part in any extracurricular or after school activities?
I take part in rowing club after school on a Tuesday and Sinfonia (orchestra) after school on a Friday. I also have cello lessons during lunch and piano after school.
There are over 100 clubs at CLC which means there is something for everyone!
Is it easy for day girls and boarding pupils to spend time together?
I find it very easy to spend time with the boarding pupils. I often go out at the weekends into town with my boarding friends and I have dinner arranged with a friend who is a boarder soon.
Normally you can go to boarding houses for lunch and before matches – that has only been put on hold because of Covid-19. Boarding students are also normally allowed sleepovers for birthdays which the day girls can attend.
What’s the best thing about being a day girl at Cheltenham Ladies’ College?
I think that the best thing about being a day girl at Cheltenham Ladies’ College is being able to go home at the end of the day while still getting an insight into life as a boarder.
Coming from a local primary school to a school with students from all over the world is also a great opportunity to learn about and experience lots of different cultures.
