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	"Haberdashers' was a lovely school, liberal yet disciplined; free-thinking - but they inspired you."
	Doug Watkinson, Script writer for TV detective series including Poirot and Midsomer Murders.

School rules

The School Grounds are defined as the area within the perimeter fence and walls of the Boys' School as well as the park pitches.

No boy may go outside the school grounds during the school day without an exeat or other official permission.

The roof of any building, the woods and water gardens are out of bounds.

Boys are forbidden to possess or use tobacco or alcohol. In the case of senior pupils alcohol may be consumed in moderation with parental permission and under staff supervision on appropriate school occasions specially announced in advance. In any case of infringement of this rule parents will be informed and boys must expect to be suspended from school.

The school will not tolerate possession or use of illegal substances. Any boy who possesses any illegal substances while under the jurisdiction of the school must expect to be expelled.

No boy may be at school before 8.00 am. Boys should not remain on the school premises after 4.15 pm except with the permission of a member of staff responsible for him throughout the period in question.

Except for short periods exemption from games or physical education is granted only on receipt of a medical certificate.

Boys in the Upper Sixth may bring motor vehicles to the school only with the written permission of the Head of Sixth Form.

Boys must treat support and teaching staff as well as each other with consideration and respect. Bullying in any form is not tolerated.

Boys are expected to be committed both to their academic work and to the extra-curricular activities of the school. They have an obligation, if selected by the school, to take part in school games and other out-of-school activities and to attend practices and meetings on schooldays, weekends and before term unless special exemption has been granted.

Unless granted written exemption by the Head of Section, boys must conform to the dress regulations currently in force.

All boys must attend school and all timetabled activities punctually and regularly. Except in the event of illness, no boy may be absent from school without permission previously obtained from the Head of Section or the tutor in the Sixth Form. Such permission is granted only in urgent cases.

Requests for leave of absence for days of religious observance should be made to the tutor at least one week in advance.

There is no right of leave of absence for parental holidays in term time. In exceptional circumstances the Headmaster is prepared to consider a request made to him in writing before any commitment or booking is made.

In cases of illness the School Office should be informed by telephone on the third day of absence. A note, signed by the parent or guardian, explaining a boy's absence must always be brought to his tutor on his return to school.

Any boy late for morning registration must sign the Late Book.

Gambling is forbidden. Limited small-scale "exchange and mart" activities are allowable but those exceeding £10.00 are not permitted unless authorised by the Head of Section.

Snowballing is not permitted:

• in the coach park and all car parks
• in the vicinity of all paths and roads
• in the central quadrangle
• in the vicinity of all school buildings

Boys should treat visitors to the school and members of the public with courtesy and respect.

Contact with the media in the name of the school is forbidden without the approval of the Headmaster.

Any action which might bring the school's good name into disrepute, such as contributing to a scurrilous website, is forbidden.

All pupils must take a pride in the appearance of the campus. Litter should be put into the waste bins provided.

Food should not be eaten inside school buildings other than the Bates and Sixth Form Common Room. Chewing gum is not permitted.

Unless authorised by a member of staff, the following areas are out of bounds:

• the vicinity of the Headmaster's House,
• the games fields, except for pitch 5 or the park pitches as indicated by the Director of PE,
• the staff car parks.

Books, apparatus or school property lost or damaged must be paid for or replaced. All damage to school property, of whatever kind, must be reported at once to a member of staff.

All garments and articles of personal property must be clearly labelled with the owner's name. Boys taking part in games must store their belongings in a locker. Money and other valuables should not be left unattended other than in a secured locker.

Any boy who steals must expect to be expelled.

Boys when at school may not use personal audio equipment. No item of equipment that runs off mains electricity may be brought into school without prior written permission of the Headmaster.

Outdoor garments, including hats and scarves, must be placed in a cloakroom or locker on arrival at school and not worn or carried inside and between buildings until departure at the end of the school day.

Mobile phones must be secured in lockers and not used during the school day. In an emergency boys may ask a member of staff for permission to use a school phone.

All boys are expected to take a pride in their appearance and to be smartly dressed. There is no uniform requirement for the sixth form but sixth formers are required to dress in a manner that is, in the opinion of the school, formal and restrained.

Hairstyles must be moderate and well groomed, of an even cut and natural colour, not excessively short and off the collar. Earrings, studs or other facial adornment are not allowed.

Only the facilities provided by the school may be used on the school network. No unauthorised equipment may be attached to or removed from the school network.

All users are responsible for the protection of their own network account. Passwords must be kept secret. They should be changed whenever users suspect that they are known to anyone else. Always log off when leaving a workstation for however short a time.

Users may use only the email account set up by the school. Use of other email facilities (such as HotMail) is not allowed. Users must uphold the highest standards of courtesy in any communications. They should report any cases of abusive language that they encounter.

Use of chat rooms and newsgroups is not allowed. Users may not download or install any programmes or software; only ICT Support may do this.

Floppy disks sometimes contain viruses, and if a virus cannot be removed the infected document will be automatically erased.

The computing facilities must be used responsibly. Access to the facilities is granted for the purposes of educational research and learning. Unauthorised use of internet-based and other games is not permitted.

Any member of the school who breaches theses rules or who knowingly commits any of the following offences will face disciplinary measures:

• hacking;
• introducing viruses to the network;
• accessing pornographic or other offensive material;
• sending offensive material or messages;
• spamming (sending emails to many users simultaneously or sending multiple mails to one user) - unless authorised by the Head of IT;
• using other members' accounts or accessing files or network areas which are not allocated for your use;
• wilfully damaging ICT facilities or compromising network security.

WARNING: All usage of the computing facilities is logged and monitored.

Enquiries about these rules should be sought from ICT Support or the Head of IT.