Accommodation

Papdale Halls of Residence can accommodate up to seventy students in two wings made up of 4 residential areas. Two of the areas, Gairsay and Huip, have been allocated for boys and the other two areas, Fara and Swona, are for girls.

Allocations Policy

For isles pupils in the Kirkwall Grammar School (KGS) catchment area, a large number have no feasible alternative to residing in Papdale Halls of Residence in order to access KGS as follows:

• Pupils from Sanday, Stronsay, Westray and Papa Westray who normally transfer at the beginning of S5; and
• Pupils from North Ronaldsay and Eday who transfer at the beginning of S1.

There are other pupils who attend KGS, who do not need to stay in Papdale Halls of Residence but may request to do so, as follows:

• Pupils from Hoy can opt to attend Stromness Academy or KGS from the beginning of S1.  Daily travel from Hoy to Kirkwall leads to an extremely long day, consequently pupils may request to stay in Papdale Halls of Residence. A similar situation applies to pupils from Flotta and Egilsay.  This involves being off the island between 10 and 12 hours per day.
• Pupils from Rousay and Wyre, again daily travel leads to a long day of between 9 and 10 hours.
• Pupils from Shapinsay are expected to travel daily as a general rule.

There is a need to prioritise entitlement and consequently priority will be awarded as follows:

• Pupils whose attendance at KGS can only be facilitated if they stay in Papdale Halls of Residence;
• Pupils from Hoy, Flotta or Egilsay who wish to attend KGS but do not wish to travel daily;
• Pupils whose parents make placing requests with a compelling case, for example their child requires courses not available at the junior high school (particularly for S4);
• Pupils from Rousay, Shapinsay or Wyre who do not wish to travel daily; and
• Pupils from Norway who are part of the exchange programme.

Our Allocations Policy provides more details a copy of which can be found in the related downloads section on the left hand side of this page.

Room Allocation

In determining room allocation we take on board our students' personal requirements and wishes to try and ensure that we are as fair as possible within the constraints of room availability and operational needs. Students may then be allocated single, twin or an accessibility bedroom all of which are en-suite.

Your Room

All bedrooms are equipped as study bedrooms with a bed with under bed storage, lockable wardrobe, bedside cabinet, bookcase, shelving and a desk and chair for each student.  Bedrooms have door locks and a returnable key deposit is requested on arrival to the Halls.

All residents are welcome to personalise their room with posters, pictures, cushions and throws etc. We ask that you use the pin boards provided for putting up posters and pictures to avoid damage to the walls.  Bedding and towels are provided and laundered within the Halls, however, students may use their own personal bedding and towels but these items do have to be laundered at home. All bedrooms have controllable central heating.

Fire Safety

Fire safety is of paramount importance and to that end all room furnishings are fire retardant, smoke detectors have been fitted in bedrooms and room doors have been designed with fire safety features. We have a modern fire sprinkler system. Regular fire drills are carried out a number of fire safety initiatives including specific fire safety training is carried out in partnership with the Scottish Fire Service.

In accordance with Local Authority policy and legal requirements there is a strict no smoking policy both within the halls and the wider campus.