We go to great lengths to ensure our boys and girls receive the best life experience at Giggleswick.
Tom Fisher:
Having been at School in Dubai for several years, I decided to re-enter the British schooling system to do my A-levels, and after having looked at a range of different boarding schools around the UK I realised just how much I was missing out on. The main reason I wanted to return was for the quality of education that is based upon many years of experience, from teachers who excel in their personal teaching professions and more importantly really have a passion for what they teach. I thought that this would give me the best chance of excelling in my A-levels, in preparation for university and, more importantly, life.
The opportunities I have had here have been endless. I specifically wanted to go to a school that had a Combined Cadet Force as I am very interested in a career in the armed forces. At Giggleswick I have had the chance to take part in a winter mountain survival training expedition up in the Cairngorms in Scotland for my Gold Duke of Edinburgh reward, also entering into the BTEC scheme via the CCF to earn even more qualifications. To play very highly competitive team sports such as rugby, hockey, squash, basketball has been fantastic and I have been able to improve my skill levels further thanks to the highly dedicated staff. Finally I’ve experienced new sports I’ve never considered, such as kayaking, fell running and judo.
The Sixth Form at Giggleswick is a great place to be; we are treated with a lot of respect by all of the staff and they trust in our abilities to be ambassadors for the school in our leadership and conduct. Although school life is very busy with lots of interesting activities and timetabled subjects, the atmosphere is very relaxed and light-hearted, everyone just seems to get on with what needs to be done. The social side of the Sixth Form is great, with the Dutton Sixth Form Centre open to us during the week, and providing social events, such as discos, at the weekend.
The thing I most enjoy about Giggleswick is the house unity, in all events such as house hockey, football, squash, rugby, quizzes and, most importantly, the Singing & Speaking event, where everyone is there to do there very best to make their house proud; this creates a very unique and special bond within each house between pupils of all ages. This makes the Boarding aspect of the school a great thing to be part of as everyone gets on well and is here to have a laugh.
As I only came to Giggleswick in the Lower Sixth, to be appointed Deputy Head of School made me feel very proud and satisfied to be chosen for my strong leadership abilities that have been developed over the last year, thanks to the Combined Cadet Force. I see it as my chance to really put my mark on Giggleswick. I hope that we three Heads of School along with the strong and dedicated team of prefects, will continue to help the school evolve over the next year, to make it an even better and more exciting place to be for future and present pupils.
Lorenz Caspar-Bours:
Lorenz Caspar-Bours joined the Sixth Form at Giggleswick from his school in Germany. He took A-levels in Maths, French, Economics and German and AS Chemistry and is now studying for a BSc in Government and Economics at the London School of Economics. During his Upper Sixth year, Lorenz was Deputy Head of School. He writes:
“It wasn’t easy to leave the comfort zone of my school in Germany to go abroad for the Sixth Form. However, looking back, I am glad to have taken that decision. I wouldn’t have expected at the beginning that I would be so sad to leave at the end!
"I’ll never forget the hours I spent running between sheep and walls on the Yorkshire hills, the crazy parties in the Sixth Form centre, the inter-house singing and speaking competitions, the Russia trip with the Languages Department, the services and concerts in the beautiful chapel or even the rather unusual sense of humour of my Housemaster. In this environment, lasting friendships are formed – two of my Chinese friends even invited me to China, and now that all of us go to university in London, we still meet up regularly in Chinatown to discuss the latest developments in the Far East.
"The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a German newspaper, recently described boarding school life as a constant school trip with lessons, and I think that hits the nail on the head. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to experience the Giggleswick way of life personally; it's interesting trying to explain such things as boarding houses or school prefects to my German friends!”
