studentfocus Demi and Oge – Boarders at St Catherine’s School. As you progress through the boarding houses, you gain a lot more independence My name is Demi and I joined St Cat’s in the Sixth form. Joining St Cats was a thrilling yet terrifying experience as I came straight from Nigeria to the UK. On one hand, coming from a British-curriculum school in Lagos, it was easy to understand the teaching style. I have to be responsible for managing my own time effectively and revising so I’m adequately prepared for exams. From a non-academic perspective, boarding definitely gave me an advantage as I formed closer relationships in boarding - everyone has become my second family. I love how St Cats is internationally diverse and it’s been great meeting other Nigerians like Oge here who have made me feel more at home! Hello, my name is Oge and I am Head Boarder. I joined St Cat’s in Year 9, and like Demi, I am currently in L6. I can definitely say that I have enjoyed my boarding experience at St Cats and I will be very sad to leave next July. What I like about boarding is that as you progress through the boarding houses, you gain a lot more independence. Lower down, we would be allocated an hour and a half to do our prep in the library, but now, in Sixth Form, it is up to me to organise my time - it is great preparation for university! Another thing I have 12 grown to love about St Cats is the fact that we’re a boarding and day school. Even though of course, I have friends in day school, the bond we boarders have is truly special; we all know what it feels like to leave home and we all share similar experiences. One thing we all miss is of course, jollof rice!! But don’t worry, once a year we prepare a dinner for the whole of boarding, consisting of different Nigerian delicacies. Everyone loves it! UK SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 2019/20