The Exeat System
Lawrence College operates a structured exeat system that allows students to visit home at regular intervals during each term. The word "exeat" comes from the Latin meaning "let him go out" — and the exeat is a formal permission for a student to leave the school grounds and spend time with their family.
The exeat system is carefully designed to balance two equally important priorities: the immersive boarding school experience that is central to the Gallian formation, and the vital family bonds and home life that every student — no matter how well settled at the college — needs to maintain.
Typical Exeat Schedule
Specific dates are confirmed at the beginning of each term and vary by school year.
Younger students typically have regular exeats allowing them to maintain close family contact during their early adjustment to boarding school life.
Prep school students follow the standard exeat timetable, building the independence and boarding school rhythm that prepares them for Senior School.
Senior students may have slightly greater flexibility, though the academic demands of the Senior School mean that study takes priority during busy examination periods.
Leaving and Returning Procedures
The exeat system is administered with care and discipline. Students leaving on exeat must have formal permission from their parents or guardian, confirmed with the housemaster. The college maintains a record of all students on exeat and expects them to return by the specified time and date.
Late return from exeat without proper notification is treated seriously — it disrupts the structured environment that makes Lawrence College function so effectively, and it undermines the trust that underpins the exeat system. Students are expected to be responsible in their management of exeat permissions and return times.
Weekends at the College
For students who are not on exeat, weekends at Lawrence College are a valued part of the boarding experience. Weekends offer more relaxed time for sport, leisure, social activities and personal interests. House activities are organised by housemasters, and students have greater freedom to pursue their own interests within the bounds of the college grounds.
Some of the most memorable moments of the Gallian experience occur on ordinary weekends — informal cricket matches, house common room evenings, walks in the Murree Hills, and the deep friendships forged in the free time of boarding school life.