For many pupils their relationship with their housemaster or mistress is central to their life.
"Housemistresses know absolutely everything about our love life - they're like mother hens, permanent emotional therapists. It's so easy to be with them."
Pupils and teachers at Bedales are on first name terms. For pupils, this can be confusing. "You're not exactly sure where you stand with them because they're there to enforce the rules, but they're also there to be supportive and to be a kind of parent-figure".
Tessa's housemistess is Avril. "Avril's never tried to be my mother and I've never let her be my mother, that's my mother's role. Sometimes I'm more open with Avril than my mother, Avril is someone to talk to about my family."
For Avril, her role is a balancing act. "Many things overlap with the commitment of being a parent but you also have a relationship with their parents. Quite often you're an intermediary between the child and parent and between child and teaching staff. You're in the middle of a triangle. It's quite complicated."
