It’s been almost 5 months since I first arrived at Fyling Hall and I have enjoyed working here and living in beautiful North Yorkshire. I first arrived here in the middle of winter but was glad it ended up being quite a mild winter so it was not too much of a shock – although I did get to see a little bit of snow, which was something different! Recently, I have been loving English spring weather and watching all the flowers and trees blooming – I am looking forward to the heather in the moors flowering later in summer.

My weekdays are mostly spent with the junior students, in particular, form one. With the Junior School I help out in the classroom and after-school club, supervise breaks and go with the kids to their swimming lessons. Some highlights of being in the Junior School this year so far have been helping form one learn about maintaining their oral health (this is the field I am trained in Australia), visiting the Railway Museum in York, catching the steam train from Pickering to Goathland and watching the students perform their poems at the Eskdale Festival in Whitby.

On weekends I am apart of the boarding staff and get to work with the international students. Recently Fyling Hall has hosted a group of Spanish students and I got to join them on a walk along the beach to Ravenscar to see the seals, a day trip exploring Whitby and a visit to Falling Foss where we visited the tea garden and waterfall. It was nice getting to see the kid’s excitement about being at a different school and experiencing a different country.

Now we only have half of our summer term left, and I am looking forward to the summer activities and returning after a break to start the new school year at Fyling Hall. So far, working here and living in beautiful North Yorkshire has been a pleasure!

Shane Henderson, Gap Student