A Year of George

Monday 23 May 2022 | By Megan Connor

It has been a year since Mrs Mackenzie brought arguably our most popular member of the THS family to join our community. This is of course our wonderful wellbeing dog, George!

Since joining us, he has brought much joy to students across the school, from Nursery to Sixth Form and staff. He is a regular attender to all our Forest School lessons where he loves to join in with the activities such as going on a bear hunt, Easter egg hunts, playing capture the flag, sitting in the dens and providing our younger ones with entertainment when he jumps over the log. In Prep School, George regularly attends Upper Prep Mathematics, English and IPC lessons and is often spotted dozing next to pupils feet under their desk! Our Lower Prep pupils thoroughly enjoy having George come visit them during their lessons, often stroking him as he walks around the classroom.

He has also been invaluable for students of all ages in helping those who have had a tricky day or have come to school feeling worried. Some pupils have taken him for walks and in Prep School, they have enjoyed playing with him at break time and lunch time with Mrs Williams. In Prep School, George is also used as a reward for great work or conduct with pupils being given the opportunity to play, pet or cuddle him. For the newest members of our family coming for a Taster Day, he often eases their nerves really quickly. He has also become popular with parents and staff when he has attended meetings!

In Senior School, a highlight of lunch time is going to find George. It is amazing how quickly the news gets around that he is out! Our Senior students thoroughly enjoy playing fetch with him and giving him cuddles. George is also very popular amongst our Sixth Form students. Especially when he comes to visit the Common Room and helps them to de-stress.

When we asked our students why they loved George, we had some wonderful responses:

“I love him because he comes to Forest School and he is great company.” – Aubrey, Reception

“George makes me feel happy.” – Gia, Reception

“We love George because he is lively, fun, energetic and cute, and makes us feel happy.” – Year 7 boys

“I got to teach him new things like paw.” – Max, Year 10

“He makes us happy. He is a very good emotional support animal and he smiles at you.” – Lily and Phoebe, Sixth Form

As you can see, George has had a wonderful first year being our THS well-being dog and we cannot wait to see what he gets up to next!

Miss Hopkins