Bunyan

Houses

Bunyan pulling together

BUNYAN HOUSE REPORT

WORDS BY Miss Sophie Bamber, Bunyan Housemaster

It seems like only yesterday that I welcomed everybody to my first Bunyan assembly. I will admit to being both nervous and tremendously excited to take on the role of Housemaster, and I am so proud of everything we have achieved this year.

The academic year was, for boys in Bunyan, an opportunity to push themselves out of their comfort zone, stand by commitments, collaborate with boys in other year groups, be gracious in defeat, and humble in success. We have enjoyed a resoundingly brilliant year, and it is my honour to share some of the highlights.

First of all, I must thank and congratulate my House Officers without whom we would not have operated with such efficiency and gusto. Organised and reliable, Ashwin Curtis has been a fine House Captain and I thank him for his hard work leading Bunyan House. The enthusiasm of Vice Captain, Harry Adams, is contagious, and he has been instrumental in the organising and running of House assemblies and events. Bunyan Sports Captain, Ben Maddaford, along with Vice Sports Captains, Finley Miller and Jack Sivills, have been outstanding in their efforts to prepare and organise teams for a range of House sports competitions – you three have been superb, and I have appreciated your abundance of energy and enthusiasm. Drama Captain, Charlie Gibson and Vice-Captain, Cormac Ghallaghar kept us organised during the inaugural

Houses

House Drama Curriculum Collapse Day, and helped to ensure Bunyan’s gave their best and most Fantastic Mr Fox performance. Sammy Rawlings, a young man brimming with integrity, has been exceptional in his role as House Charity Captain; helping to present last year’s charity with the funds raised, and working hard to promote this year’s charity, Road Victims Trust, Sammy has been an excellent role model.

Now we turn to House sports competitions which kicked off in November. Coming second place, the Year 7 Bunyan badminton team represented the House brilliantly, and Mr Lincoln commented on how well Year 8 sports captains ran the event. Next up, we

The Tug of War Team

had House rugby. Year 5 played skilfully and showed much resolve on the pitch and after points across three leagues were totalled, the Bunyan team drew with Harpur – a fantastic competition for all involved.

In the spring, Year 3 Bunyanites gave a terrific account of themselves in the House Run with overall second place and the Year 7 team winning their House Run outright. Excellent effort, boys.

Clearly Bunyan boys like their squash because they came first in the Year 6, Year 7, and Year 8 competitions. A superb achievement for all involved and a big well done to Jake Woodrow, Isaac Johnson and Ben Maddaford for organising the teams. By March, Year 3 Bunyan boys were dominating the House Football competition showing high level skill and precision when scoring our winning goals.

Moving away from sporting accolades, although there are many more, attention must be given to our fantastic performance in the House Pancake Race. While we didn’t win this hilarious and highly competitive annual event, Robert Lammie, Jeremy Dunn, Henry Hillier, Hugo Vincent, Harry Maling and Ben Maddaford gripped their frying pans with vigour and hurtled up and down the Astro to the resounding chant of ‘Let’s go Bunyan! Let’s go!’ while bits of pancake scattered liberally across the pitch. A hilarious event with Bunyan boys doing their absolute utmost to support and cheer one another.

Possibly the most exciting and highly anticipated House event of the year is the illustrious tug of war competition. This year’s tournament was no exception. Such was the prowess of the Bunyan team that I was asked what training programme and protein-rich diet the boys had been following in order to heave the rope with such Herculean might. The bar has been set very high and we’re already back in the gym to make sure we can give a similar performance next year. Well done Ciaran Donlevy, James Workman, Toju Olajide, Rossi Noto, Freddie Barnes, and Sunny Ye.

However, Bunyan boys are not just known for their brawn; they’re known for their brains, too! This year, after winning their individual class heats, Milan Qureshi, Jeremy Dunn, Nikhil Das Gupta, Alex O’Cearbhaill, Arthur Fitzpatrick, and Jack Sivills represented the House in a gripping General Knowledge Final. Under the glare of stage lights and in front of the entire school, the Bunyan team were quick on the buzzer and triumphed thanks to their quick thinking and teamwork. Well done.

By summer term, Bunyan geared up for our fundraising challenge. Raising over £700 for our House Charity, Road Victims Trust, boys collectively swam, ran 100km, and rowed almost 30km (tripling their 10km target!). Boys gave it their all in this unforgettable physical endurance challenge, and I could not be prouder of each one of them. It’s safe to say that the cookies were well-deserved at the end!

After such a phenomenal year being Housemaster for Bunyan, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Guest, Mr Heaney, Mr Lee, Ms Bowis, Mrs Valentino, Mrs Leeson, Mr Satchwill and Mrs Turton for their support with assemblies, events, and some rather ambitious challenges and photo shoots. You have been incredible this year, and I am sure I speak on behalf of all the boys in extending an enormous thank you for your help. One last thank you remains to be said, and that is to the boys for being just so marvellous. This year, you have shown your ability to be both part of a team and successful on a team, and you should be proud of your accomplishments as well as the lessons you have learned along the way. Being in a House isn’t just about winning. It is about showing the values that you represent: being humble in victory, gracious in defeat, and kindness – always. Well done, Bunyan.

Running for Charity