Boarding pupils from The Orchard and The Mount came together in a joint Christmas outing this year, with a trip to Prison Island before heading back to Bethany for a takeaway and the annual secret Santa. Mr Davies, Housemaster of The Orchard, explains all…

It’s that time of year again, and so the boarders gathered in a state of magnificent excitement for the Christmas do.

A quick coach ride to Maidstone with the added frisson of a police stop (not us – some chap on the roundabout in town) and we arrived at Prison Island.

We were divided into teams of four and set off in earnest competition. For those of you not acquainted with Prison Island, it’s like the Crystal Maze without the jumping around in a windy greenhouse to try to grab fake cash.

Everyone tried to avoid being on Miss Fuller’s team because she’s quite terrifyingly competitive.

After an hour of fevered competition, it was unclear which team had won (well, ok, it was Miss Fuller’s team, but that’s not important now), but in second place were the Delinquents – Karen, Laurie and Ryan. We are all very grateful to Karina, Mandy and Mrs Young (the Twenty Somethings – I’m not being rude, that was their team name) for propping up the table and ensuring that none of the pupils had to face the humiliation of finishing last.

With the promise of takeaway when we returned, everyone embarked the coach home with alacrity, and we all arrived back in our respective houses for food: Domino’s for The Orchard, Chinese for Mount. Leftovers for breakfast, anyone?

Secret Santa then delivered his gifts, with one or two standouts as ever. Wilson was very pleased with his edible BBQ crickets, although most other people decided to give them a wide berth, and Hanseo received a fairly horrific mug. It was Alvin who received 2024’s Mildly Improper Present Of Which We Will Never Speak Again, which – of course – provided everyone with the most amusement.

And then it was done. Everyone had a great time and ate too much. Just like Christmas at home, really.

Mr Davies

Housemaster, The Orchard