Armaclare is our most recent addition to the boarding houses and is a small annexe of Tower, our Upper Sixth House. Mirroring the ethos of Tower, the girls enjoy an independent lifestyle and have a small and homely environment in which to make the most of their final year.
Slightly closer to the centre of the campus, Armaclare is another period House with large and airy rooms, a kitchen, IT room and very welcoming sitting room. Girls move between the two Upper Sixth Houses and can make the most of the benefits of each. A central House Meeting brings all of the girls together on a Friday evening, as the serious business of cooking gets started in the Tower kitchens!
Miss Lucy Herd is our AHM here, working closely with the HM of Tower, Mrs Val Hutton. Miss Herd and her dog Smut have been living and working at Harrogate Ladies’ College for over a year, working with boarders from prep 5 through to upper 6. When she left HLC as a boarder of 4 years, she went to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Lancaster University and obtained an upper-second class honours degree in musicology. Miss Herd has always had an interest in camping and walking and regularly takes off during the holidays on another exciting adventure; she is a keen musician playing both French horn and Bassoon.
Girls elect to move into this House as they begin their final year of school and the current group are delighted with their choice. A perfect marriage between ‘not too close’ and ‘just far enough’ enables the business of preparing for university and campus life to get started. At the same time the girls are close enough to be involved with some of the junior Houses and use some of their boarding experience to support our younger boarders.