Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Hi all,
My twins are starting LE in 2 weeks!! Plus, we are meeting our DG in 2 days! Really excited as he's an Old Blue, am sure with lots of stories to share!
I have a couple of questions to ask the school but as it's holidays, I haven't got a reply. Can anybody here help?
1. The sports list states 'rugby/football boots' as well as 'a pack of studs'. According to my son, if he needs a pack of studs, it means that he will need a pair of metal football boots, not his prefered plastic ones. Does that mean only metal studs allowed in the fields?
2. do pupils need a folder for every subject? I know we need to bring school bags
3. how strict is the code for swimsuit? my daughter has a navy swimsuit which has a light blue panel. Will that be ok? We really don't want to spend unnecessarily.

Thank you!

Hi

Welcome to the forum. I’m afraid the parents section has gone very quiet in recent years, so I can’t guarantee a current, or recent, parent will be along to answer your questions.

Many years ago, when I started I had a non standard swimsuit and suffered a lot of teasing and almost abuse from fellow pupils. I know that doesn’t answer your question about official policy, but I know if it were my daughter I’d try to get one that conformed to the rules having had that experience myself.

I hope your twins will enjoy their time at the school, and that you will cope with the enormous gap in your home life.

Welcome to The Forum.

As a Moderstor and and an 'Oldie' on here I'm afraid I can't help much either.

Just keep ringing The School. I'm sure there will be someone there at some point.

Like Katherine and JR, my knowledge may be a little outdated, but back in the 90's...

1. definitely need boots with removable studs and aluminum screw ins. The idea was that plastic ones can easily become sharpened, never deliberately of course, and so are a risk for rugby.

2. I only remember having folders for a couple of subjects on my LE. Most subjects up to GCSE still had note books handed out for easy grading. I particularly remember the hard back books we got for Chemistry, which were really cool. If you want to play it safe, get a bunch of the thin ring binders for the time being.

3. We only had mass swim lessons in PE on 2nd and 3rd form in my day so having a swimsuit that deviates slightly from "official" standards probably wouldn't have been a huge problem.

HTH!

Hi - current parent here! I have no idea about football/rugby boots (sorry - only have daughters) - but I do know that as long as the swimming costume is predominantly navy it will be fine. Sussex Uniforms are good for supplies of this nature. With regards folders - you honestly don’t need any at this stage - they will be provided with exercise books for each subject.

Wishing you and your children all the best for September. My eldest has just left C.H. and my youngest is going to be a Dep in September - so big changes in my household!! I can confidently say with my hand on my heart they have loved their time at C.H. - my eldest’s unrelenting tears at Beating Retreat said it all - and it was not just about saying goodbye to friends. If I can be of any further help - please feel free to message me - I remember how daunting it is for a parent - sweating over name tapes, etc, there’s just so much to think about!

Regards.

Thank you for your help, everyone!

Had a lovely lunch with our DG, he's supporting both twins for the next 5 years! What a blessing! He too shared about tears at Beating Retreat!

I am not a current parent but I do manage a U18 girls rugby team and play myself, all rugby boots have to have correct IRB aproved studs (which are usually metal) and most of those for sale in the UK do meet those criteria other than some boots in Decathlon some refs can be sniffy about. I would suggest you look at a site like lovell-rugby or Morrant and go to the sale section.They is unlikely to lose studs if properly screwed in so dont worry about spares too much (definitely not a pack each) - to give you an idea I keep a small pot of studs removed from old dead boots to replace any lost during games (or deemed sharp by a ref) and last year the entire team borrowed 2 off me in a season lasting Sep to May with training every Wed and a match(or training) every Sunday. If your twins are fast backline players they may get away with football style boots anyway but the CH pitches are pretty heavy clay so the longer metal studs are better and if they are forwards they are imperative (and if they are you should look for boots listed as 6 or 8 stud SG - which means for soft ground stud number will partly be a function of foot size as you cant get 6 front studs on a small boot)

If you shop around they need not be too expensive - definitely cheaper than football boots. Also mouthguards wise if the school no longer do them cheaply themselves then an Opro Silver (minimum) or Shockdoctor Gelmax are fine boil and fit type ones, useful to bear that in mind if ordering online as a mouthguard is a useful extra if you need to bump up an order for free delivery. Also if they have ever needed dental work following an accident ask your dentist as my son smashed some teeth in a cycle accident when 7 and when he started rugby the dentist said she would do him a fitted one on the NHS for preventative reasons

I am not affiliated with these sites but all have boots at sub £20 on them which depending on how sporty they are and how fast their feet are growing should be good enough for a CH season as they stop rugby at xmas

https://www.lovell-rugby.co.uk/shop/Offer/Rugby-Boots
https://www.lovell-rugby.co.uk/shop/Col ... sort=price
http://www.morrant.com/rugby_equipment/ ... _384c.html

As with others, this is from memories of the 90's;

1: Yep, usually metal although as long as they are IRB approved they should be fine. I played as a prop (I wasn't much good though ) and got away with football boots for most of my time. Played a few house league games in trainers and mountain boots. I grew out of my boots long before the studs ever needed changing, but if your kids like scuffing them up on the asphalt they'll go through them quite quickly.

2: I just had one folder with dividers that I carried to lessons then a bigger folder back at house I put those notes into. I didn't like carrying round a lot of things. I can't remember ever seeing anyone with a bag.

3: Should be fine. As with most things on the 'official clothing list' close enough was good enough as long as it wasn't obviously different eg blue with a lighter blue panel was fine, red with green lightning bolts was not. If your kids play top team sport then the school may want them in official kit, but they'll tell you if you need that.

Puffinsplace (sounds like shades of Lundy Island!)
Seems to me that the ladies would be better equipped to help you and most have decamped to their site within the glories of Facebook. As a mere male I keep clear of femininity but I would suggest that you try to find the ladies' Facebook page. Perhaps Katherine, who appears here occasionally, can help you.

sejintenej wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:13 pm Puffinsplace (sounds like shades of Lundy Island!)
Seems to me that the ladies would be better equipped to help you and most have decamped to their site within the glories of Facebook. As a mere male I keep clear of femininity but I would suggest that you try to find the ladies' Facebook page. Perhaps Katherine, who appears here occasionally, can help you.

Katharine does indeed visit regularly.
It was her birthday a few days ago but I tend NOT to acknowledge birthdays on here nowadays.

J.R. wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 10:02 am

sejintenej wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:13 pm Puffinsplace (sounds like shades of Lundy Island!)
Seems to me that the ladies would be better equipped to help you and most have decamped to their site within the glories of Facebook. As a mere male I keep clear of femininity but I would suggest that you try to find the ladies' Facebook page. Perhaps Katherine, who appears here occasionally, can help you.

Katharine does indeed visit regularly.
It was her birthday a few days ago but I tend NOT to acknowledge birthdays on here nowadays.

Not only do I post fairly regularly, but I was the first to respond in this thread, and am glad to read that my experience of non-standard sportswear is outdated.

Yes it was my birthday yesterday, and I missed your greeting, JR, Mrs C’s birthday too.

I know it's going slightly off topic but as far as acknowledging birthdays on here, there is a possible small problem that could arrive concerning the Data Protection Act.

Having had three different sessions on GDPR training for my various voluntary activities, I should have thought of that!

scrub wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:29 am As with others, this is from memories of the 90's;

1: Yep, usually metal although as long as they are IRB approved they should be fine. I played as a prop (I wasn't much good though ) and got away with football boots for most of my time. Played a few house league games in trainers and mountain boots. I grew out of my boots long before the studs ever needed changing, but if your kids like scuffing them up on the asphalt they'll go through them quite quickly.

2: I just had one folder with dividers that I carried to lessons then a bigger folder back at house I put those notes into. I didn't like carrying round a lot of things. I can't remember ever seeing anyone with a bag.

3: Should be fine. As with most things on the 'official clothing list' close enough was good enough as long as it wasn't obviously different eg blue with a lighter blue panel was fine, red with green lightning bolts was not. If your kids play top team sport then the school may want them in official kit, but they'll tell you if you need that.

Scrub- we were there at a similar time and I remember carrying books and binders in my arms as we’d go back to house regularly throughout the day, but looking at the school website pictures many of today’s pupils are wearing rucksacks. With straps on both shoulders!

I first kitted out a 2nd former 9 years ago and then renewed her kit subsequently. Sports kit was fairly rigid in the early days but relaxed as the years went by. She was sporty and in a variety of teams and so used team kit (I never really got my head round that, but I never ended up paying for it). The school's thrift shop is/was excellent and I drummed into my youngster that any sports kit she grew out of went to the thrift shop. Actually - I reckon you could do almost all their kitting out from the thrift shop - anything without a label ends up there from the laundry I think; think duvet covers, pillow cases ............................