Spotlight On: The year in boarding at MCM
With two new boarding houses opening this summer there’s plenty to discuss with our Head of Boarding and Housemistress of Gaia, Mrs Rebecca Jarrett. In this week’s Spotlight we delve into the events of the past year within our boarding community and uncover the benefits of boarding at MCM.
- How long have you worked in boarding at MCM?
This is our fifth year in Malaysia and I took over Honan (now Gaia) in 2020. Previously, I was a housemistress in the UK for five years in a mixed sixth form house. Mr Jarrett and I have been in boarding for 15 years so all our children were born in a boarding house – they’ve never known anything different.
- What do you most enjoy about being Head of Boarding?
As Head of Boarding I have really enjoyed being involved behind the scenes in some of the decision making as to how we expand and move boarding forwards, and I like showing off our boarding facilities at Open Days and on tours because what we have is really special. Most of all though I love it when the whole boarding community comes together for dinners, assemblies and Beagle Hashes.
What I enjoy most about being a Housemistress is of course the Gaia girls – sharing their highs and lows and being a part of their growing up. I have lived with some of them for several years and it’s always hard when they finish Upper Sixth and move on.
- What have been some of the highlights for you this year?
Lots of highlights – life in boarding is certainly never dull. The highlight this year was probably winning the House Shout – I may have had a little cry then! I was so proud of the girls because I knew how much time and effort they had put in behind the scenes to perfect their performance. There’s the big events like that but also little things like catching up with the girls in the brew room after they’ve had a difficult day, doing Just Dance late at night or celebrating their birthdays and university offers with them. Sometimes it’s just celebrating someone getting a merit in a subject you know they have found really hard but have persisted with.
- How does boarding at MCM benefit pupils?
Boarding is a brilliant way to improve your organisation and time management, and I find that boarders are usually very welcoming, friendly and sociable people. It must be amazing to live with your friends and have access to all the facilities in the evenings and weekends. At MCM we have several academic beaks on duty in each house every evening which is a massive added benefit – it means the boarders can often work through their prep with a subject specific beak, or have access to extra support from people like the Head of Universities or the Head of ToK or CAS – all of whom do duties in boarding houses.
- Any plans for the future?
It’s really exciting that we’re expanding and are able to open two new boarding houses this summer and I’m excited to have more staff joining the boarding team as a result. We’re planning a big welcome day in August to celebrate the opening.
If your child is in Year 5 or above and you are interested in a trial board for them, please contact Admissions by emailing admissions@marlboroughcollege.my or find out more by visiting our webpage here.
