“I tell people that I live in a house with 110 children.” – LWC Junior Houseparent, Pete Maidment’s take on settling in new joiners, learning to love wild camping and Crocs.

For someone who has been a Houseparent for little over a year, Pete Maidment is very at home in Junior House. He is seemingly less comfortable with getting his Crocs in camera shot. “I got them because we all wear slippers in house and these work”, he’s keen to offer as an explanation.

Mr Maidment is a familiar face at LWC. He attended the college as a student before eventually returning to become chaplain more than nine years ago. “We concentrated on humanism, believing in people, lots of mental health. There was a big focus on well-being and listening. I’ve done counselling training in order to improve my listening skills because I was doing so much listening.”

These are skills that stand him in good stead as a Houseparent for LWC’s youngest cohort. “For lots of them, this will be the first time they’ve boarded”, he says. “So, from day one, we’ll get into routine together. We’ll brush our teeth at the same time, we’ll have supper at the same time. We induct day pupils and boarders together. Even if they’re day pupils, we’re still going to tell them how the house works for boarders because that’s part of having empathy and seeing what life is like for them.”

“Our three words in Junior House are ‘Appropriate, Respectful and Empathetic’. We teach those words in everything that we do… We’re helping the children to learn so much more than maths and English.”.

— Pete Maidment

Anyone who wants to talk is likely to discover a willing ear at Junior House. “There are five of us living in-house and we have two incredible Matrons who are here just after the children get up, until just before they go to bed”, he adds. For those who might struggle with being away from home at the beginning, Mr Maidment and the Junior House team are well-versed in helping to alleviate worried pre-teen minds. “We might just sit at the top of the stairs and let them talk it through to get it all out of their system. We often say you’ll never solve anything after nine o’clock at night and so sometimes it’s not a case of fixing it now. At which point, we’ll have another go in the morning.”

For those who opt to board at LWC, Mr Maidment believes the benefits are huge and can conflict with stereotypes. “I think they get lots of independence. There can be a real misunderstanding that you go to boarding school and everything gets done for you. It’s the exact opposite. They learn to look after themselves and each other which can be really lovely to see.” Whilst the tweenagers in his care may not initially warm to the prospect of domesticity, he believes they are firm fans of the social benefits of boarding. “You’re with your friends all of the time. In the evening, there may be ten of them gaming, 15 of them out playing football or three sitting in a prep room doing some artwork. You’re spending all of your time with your friends and that’s great.” For parents, he also believes that the LWC life for day pupils and boarders offers real peace of mind. “Lots of our parents work really hard. They can get on and do a full day’s work knowing that their child is being really well looked after. Actually, the lessons are just a small part of what we teach. We’re teaching life skills.”

When he’s asked to recall some of the most memorable moments during his Junior House tenure so far, his face cracks into a broad grin. “We do sleepouts quite often, which involves going up to the woods to spend the night. This was not my idea of fun and by the third one, a colleague pointed out that I did actually have to do one. When I eventually did, I loved it. The children were outside of their normal situation. It’s proper wild camping, outside and under tarpaulin. We light a fire and it’s just the most brilliant evening.”

As a Houseparent, it’s no surprise that Mr Maidment’s family is as immersed in LWC life as he is. Whilst his daughter will be leaving campus to study at Southampton University this term, his son Josh will be starting 5th Form and his wife is Headteacher at nearby Long Sutton Primary School, “which means her commute is almost as short as mine.” Josh regularly helps out with the tuck shop at Junior House and on weekends, the lines between family and boarding life can blur. “We quite often come and eat with the children. My family have built up some brilliant relationships here.” For those who are unfamiliar with boarding life, this is a job which can prove difficult to describe. “I tell people that I live in a house with 110 children”, he jokes. “They often can’t believe it.”

It’s clear there’s a warmth to Junior House that you feel as soon as you walk through its impressive Neo-Georgian doors. But Mr Maidment is clear that there’s a strong ethos underpinning everything that happens there. “Our three words in Junior House are ‘Appropriate, Respectful and Empathetic’. We teach those words in everything that we do – so ‘what impact did that have on someone else and how did that make you feel?’ We’re helping the children to learn so much more than maths and English.”

Mr Maidment has a goal to make a huge impact on students in their two years at Junior House and he admits that he would, “love to see Juniors go on to become Heads of College.” As for his own job satisfaction, his years of listening have developed a keen sense of self-awareness. “When I got the job, I came home and was very excited. My wife said to me, ‘You’re going to love the job because you need to be needed’ and she wasn’t wrong.” Little did he know that it would also result in a new-found love of wild camping.

For more information on joining Junior House, click here