Givendale House
Givendale is situated in the original manor house, up the main staircase of the beautiful building, and it has the most amazing views over the rolling Dorset countryside. We are a large and happy house, where everyone is involved in a variety of activities. We have scholars, sportswomen, equestrians, craftswomen, musicians, artists, public speakers and charity workers. In the words of the girls, a Givendale girl is gifted, inspirational, vivacious and intelligent!
As the new Housemistress, I am thrilled to be part of Givendale and would like to encourage the girls to be the very best that they can be, whilst living in a caring and nurturing environment. The most important thing is that girls are happy, enjoy school life, whilst also working hard. We are also looking at introducing new activities for the girls, in order to maintain a healthy balance and to ensure that they get a buzz out of school life - please keep checking the website to see the sorts of things that the girls have been doing.
The thing that has always impressed me about the girls is the strong sense of community and care for each other that they have. This is helped by the School’s Guardian Angel scheme where girls help others to settle in and look out for each other. The house has a lovely atmosphere and in common with other Houses, girls are free to socialise with other Houses at any time unless in study or bed. This freedom enables friendships to develop, through-out the years and across the school, outside of the academic school day. It is important to the warm, convivial atmosphere of the school for both Boarders and Day Girls to meet and mingle in this way.
I am proud to be House-Mistress to such a great group of girls and I live in Givendale in order to look after them. I will also be keeping busy teaching RS in the school up to A level. My husband is a Deputy Head and works in the private sector as well and we have two children, Harry and Isla. Originally from the Yorkshire Dales I have previously lived in Dorset and am thrilled to have the opportunity of working at St. Mary’s due to its superb reputation. The House runs wonderfully, largely due to the kind and caring House- Assistants Mrs Pat Sealy and Mrs Audrey Hannam, both of whom have a wealth of experience. The fabulous LVI team are also given responsibility to help assist with the House and this helps to make it have a warm, well run and caring atmosphere.
The new term is an exciting prospect, not least because we will have opportunities to see the girls and to listen to their ideas about Givendale and how they can make the best of their life here. I look forward to meeting you. Be assured you are always welcome!
Heather Savile
