DAILY TRANSPORT & ROUTINE
RHS uses Vectare, a specialist school transport management company, to manage the school bus and taxi services.
We continue to work with our long-established partner companies, Tendring Travel and Manorside Travel, but Vectare is the main point of contact for bookings and queries.
All bookings for school bus routes are made via an online booking system, which can be accessed at royalhospitalschool.vectare.co.uk, and any enquiries can be directed to their team at royalhospitalschool@vectare.co.uk. This means that you no longer need to complete any paper forms.
TRANSPORT GUIDE 2024-25
All routes are subject to change depending upon demand. Outward and return times are subject to changes.
DAILY TRANSPORT FOR DAY PUPILS
The school operates a network of daily bus routes throughout Suffolk and Essex. The routes are currently as per the guide above, but routes may change each year dependent upon demand.
Timetables are set to ensure that pupils get to school each morning from Monday to Saturday by 08:20. They depart in the evenings at 18:10 from Monday to Friday, enabling pupils to take part in after-school prep sessions, activities and practices before going home.
TAXIS
The School Day
The school operates a six day teaching week although pupils in Years 7 and 8 have one morning and two afternoons of games per week. Pupils in Year 9 and above have two afternoons of games and one afternoon when they take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme or Combined Cadet Force. Saturday lessons end at 12:10 followed by sport and inter-school matches for everyone in the afternoon.
Day pupils can arrive between 07:30 and 08:20 in the morning and may leave at the end of their school commitments although most will stay until 18:00 on Monday to Friday in order to take part in after-school activities, practices and prep sessions. Both day pupils and weekly boarders are free to depart after their sports commitments on Saturdays, which is normally around 15:30 to 16:00, depending on fixtures.
From September 2024, Year 7 will not take part in formal Saturday lessons but an engaging sports and co-curricular programme will be provided for our boarders, which will be optional for day pupils.
Daily Schedule
The general pattern of the day is as follows but this may change subject to age group and personal commitments:
07:45 Breakfast for boarders.
08:20 Day pupils arrive by this time.
08:30 House registration.
08:35 Tutor time, assembly or Chapel.
09:00 Lessons start.
10:50 Break.
11:15 Lessons.
13:05 Lunch.
14:05 Roll call.
14:20 Lessons or games.
16:10 Prep sessions, practice sessions and activities.
18:00 Supper for boarders.
18:15 Day pupil transport departs. Supper for boarders.
19:00 House meeting for boarders followed by prep (or activities for Year 7 & 8 boarders).
Weekends
On Saturday evenings there are always a number of different activities and social events on offer for boarders, including discos, film nights, house entertainment and barbecues.
Sundays are normally quieter when brunch allows for a little longer in bed, and social and recreational activities tend to be house-based. Some will make use of the sports facilities and there are also regular excursions such as trips to the beach, shopping, roller-skating, ice-skating, sailing or dry skiing.
There are some events held on weekends that are compulsory for all pupils. These may include Sports Day, Remembrance Service, Carol Service, Speech Day and other whole school events.
Midway through each half term there are ‘Quiet Weekends’ when fewer commitments are in the calendar and boarding pupils can go on leave-out. The houses do, however, stay open for remaining pupils. These weekends are extended to include all of Saturday for pupils in Years 7 and 8. There is one full exeat weekend in the Michaelmas Term. Full details on timings can be found on the Term Dates page.