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Boarders at DC Suzhou part of a family
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Alex Colenso, his wife Gabrielle and their one-year-old son, Nathaniel, moved to Suzhou in August 2013. Unlike most other expat families trying to fit their work into the new life, the Colensos live and work in the same place in their roles as housemaster and matron of Alleyn House, the new boarding house at Dulwich College Suzhou.
Alex is not new to Dulwich, with more than 15 years’ experience in boarding at Dulwich College London. In September, the school opened its boarding house at the Senior Campus, becoming the first international school that offers boarding in China.
With their own child and eight students living in the house, the Colensos have established a special family in the huge, new Alleyn House. “It was daunting moving into a big, empty, brand-new building, with all its quirks, but we soon settled in,” Gabrielle said.
The house has the air of a real home with adopted older brothers and sisters, especially with the Colensos’ one-year toddler padding around. The family eats in the school restaurant, provided for by Chinese chef and new friend Bruce, and they have learned a lot of Chinese from the local staff. Apparently one of the most important phrases is “take away” — da bao.
Lunchtime is the busiest time at the house, as each day a different year’s group makes use of the common room. The pool table is popular though challenging when the most of the kids are in Year 7 and can only just reach over the edge of the table. Football, or table football, and table tennis are also favorites, but the Xbox gets the first prize without a doubt.
On weekends, the family gets away to the countryside or to neighboring cities to learn more about the region. The family also takes full advantage of sporting facilities on campus.
“We like to think we’re all much fitter living a stone’s throw away from the new campus, which has outstanding gym facilities, including its own swimming pool,” said Gabrielle.
Based on the long and rich history of boarding at Dulwich College London, the Suzhou counterpart is trying to appeal to busy expat parents who work in a less-convenient location or always travel.
“Boarders at Dulwich London usually achieve 50 percent more A+ to A grades than non-boarders because they take full advantage of the school facilities without the hassle of commuting,” Alex pointed out, based on his knowledge as an ex-boarding-master at DC London.
This seems to be confirmed by parents. “We thought we could support our daughter better at home than if she was away at school. But we have to admit that she is more concentrated on her studies at boarding,” said Jeany Tong, mother of Diana Tong, who is a weekly boarder.
Boarding is also believed to develop self-confidence and a global perspective by living together with classmates of various backgrounds, which will become more true in the house next year. With a foundation of strategic relationships with local chambers of commerce, participation in many regional trade shows, and offers of trial stay-over nights to students, Alex said they have gotten a lot of positive feedback, and the house will definitely see more boarders starting in January.
“The advantage of boarding can be seen as easily in Suzhou as it is in London.” The Colenso family believes they will be kept extremely busy in the coming months.
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