One Final #1

19 January 2024Inara W, Hope ‘24

The excitement from being back on campus after a three-week break, coupled with the blisteringly cold weather has made for a crazy week here at Brentwood. This is even more true for Hope House, who found out they would be having a guest #1 inspection with Mr Patel only five days after the break.

For all of you who are unaware, a #1 inspection is a long-held tradition at Brentwood. We students have to clean our rooms top to bottom: dusting every surface, vacuuming, organizing, and dressing in a pristine, full #1 uniform – ties, kilts, pressed pants, the whole 9 yards – and await inspection by the Prefects on duty. Now, if it’s not hard enough to get a group of teenagers to clean their rooms, this delightful tradition takes place, bright and early, on Saturday mornings.

But every now and then a special #1 inspection takes place – a guest inspection. This could be anyone from house alumni to staff, but on this particular Saturday, it was Mr Patel. Our Head of School was coming to inspect our house. This meant the high standard regularly set by Mrs Hedquist would be that much higher.

And thus, chaos ensued.

The intense cleaning on Friday night, the weekly ‘rock paper scissors’ between roommates to decide who has to empty the trash and who has to vacuum, and deciding on bribes (yes, we bribe to win). The Saturday morning rush of final touches, and Mrs Hedquist, strolling down the hallways reminding us to “Open your door, and pull up your socks”. The house quiets, and finally, he has arrived.

The inspections were hard but were not really the focus of this particular guest inspection. As you know, Mr Patel is retiring at the end of this year, so this would be his last Hope House inspection. Mr Patel mentioned in the house meeting after the inspections that “It’s all about seeing you in your environments.” He went on to say that seeing the houses and the culture within them are some of his favourite parts about his job. It might not be his last guest inspection, but it’s the last in Hope House, the one boarding house born under his Headship. So really it has come full circle.

Inara W, Hope ‘24

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