Houses

ASHMEAD

House Events

Ashmead is always buzzing with excitement thanks to the amazing outings that take place almost every weekend. The House families are always excited to come together in friendly, bonding competitions such as the Olympic competition that marked the start of a great first term. Another favorite is our annual Christmas Dinner, which we celebrated with Leconfield. We had a blast, dancing for hours and eating our delicious meal. Our regular ethnic-themed food nights were a treat that everyone looked forward to. This year we had the first-ever family quiz and curry night where all year groups came together and participated in a general knowledge quiz whilst enjoying a lovely homemade curry. Trips further afield included seeing the musical Six and a Severn Stars netball match.

Charity

This year we raised £1,600 for Winston’s Wish which is a charity dedicated to helping grieving children. In addition to a charity auction night with Newick, we put on a performance night in which all year groups took part in preparing a group act together, followed by additional acts formed by friends. All in all, it was a really joyous and heartwarming evening.

Sport

Demonstrated by our small but hardearned trophy shelf, House pots for Ashmead is never really about winning. We go out to the pitch, court and pool with all we have to represent our House. This year however we did take back some trophies thanks to the amazing and enthusiastic sportswomen of Lower College. Special mention must go to El CharlesJones, who was placed second in the qualifiers for nationals in fencing and who is currently representing the South West.

Drama and Music

Whether in Chapel each morning, Sunday services or House Singing, when it comes to singing, we certainly give it our best shot. For House Singing this year and with Arabella Hoodless as our leader, we loved performing a very uplifting mash-up of three popular Queen songs. We cannot forget the many talented girls who excel in Drama and Music. Special mention should go to Lara Scudamore, Sophie Fowler, Georgina Hamer and Edie Doherty for participating in the school musical Margaret’s Mind. This year Ashmead and Newick House put on a very entertaining production of The Witches with pupils from all years, including Sophie Fowler, Georgina Hamer and Edie Doherty as the eponymous villains, coming together to create a wonderful night full of laughs and proud parents.

Farewells

This year we say goodbye to our wonderful Upper Sixth. They never failed to bring joy and happiness to the House, in particular Honor Skelding who has been an inspiring Head of House. Olivia Elliot has been an incredibly supportive Deputy Head of House and Amelia Kitson has looked after the Third Form brilliantly. We also want to thank all the Prefects for their contributions. They have worked hard to bring us closer together and make Ashmead the wonderful community that it is. We also sadly say goodbye to Georgina Hamer as she leaves to pursue her drama. Another farewell goes to our wonderful Olivia who returns to Spain after a lovely year with us. A very sad goodbye goes to Mr Preston who is leaving the best House he has ever been in, but we are pleased that we will still see him around College. Thanks also to Miss Tew and Miss Edgington Rooley. You will always have a place in our hearts and will be missed dearly.

Thank you!

We would like to say a huge thank you to the whole Ashmead team for making our House feel like a second home. Special mention of course goes to Mrs and Mr Leach who are always there for us. We really appreciate all the love, care and time that they dedicate to Ashmead.

House Editors: Tomiris Marabayeva and Emer Hughes

BOYNE HOUSE

House Events

We have enjoyed a great year. The annual Clan Walk and BBQ on the first weekend was a great way to welcome the new Third Form and allowed them to get to really know everyone. The annual Spring Superstars event was another highlight with some brilliant clan activities run by the staff including human hungry hippos, Mallard’s Mystery Muck and of course the infamous multi-catch. Enjoyable weekend activities have included the Eastnor Castle mudrun and the trip to the Airborne trampoline park.

Charity

This year we were pleased to continue to work with the amazing James Hopkins Trust. We visited the centre regularly to help with cleaning, playing with the children, maintaining the fantastic memorial garden area, and helping them prepare for their annual Memorial Celebration Service. We continued to send messages from Easter onwards while a number of boys also got involved with writing letters to those in isolation. Others fundraised by setting themselves physical challenges. Fortunately, we managed to fit in our Contact the Elderly high tea earlier in the year which was received extremely well.

Sport

We showed our true worth in rugby House pots, coming away with another win for the Senior team. Congratulations go to Sebastian Blake who was offered a professional contract with Gloucester Rugby Club and to Luke Wiles who continued with polo as part of the England team and competing for a number of high goal teams. We also had a very strong showing within the water polo team. Freddie White, Guy Thomas, George Duff and Ethan Tsang were involved in a number of matches representing College in U18 championships under the watchful eye of Dr Hawkins.

Academic

We welcomed a number of talented academics at the start of the year: William Staunton received an academic scholarship and Milan Thapar an academic exhibition. Luke Wiles was also awarded an academic scholarship in the Lower Sixth as well as receiving his Full Colours along with Charlie Heardman.

Drama and Music

We have seen a number of musicians getting involved in concerts throughout the year. Ryan Lam received his music Full Colours blazer and in Drama, Henry Cane put in a brilliant performance in College’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. We look to see him flourish as an actor in the future.

Farewells

Sadly, we have to say farewell to Head of House Cameron Stevens and the rest of the Upper Sixth, who have been exemplary role models and have contributed to building the legacy of Boyne House. We also sadly say farewell to other stalwarts; Dr Mallard and Dr Hawkins move to Clifton College and Cheltenham Ladies’ College respectively. They have been hugely popular, approachable, diligent, generous, compassionate and inspirational in equal measure. Dr Copeland-Jordan steps back from his role as Resident Tutor and Assistant Housemaster. We will miss his dry sense of humour, high standards, occasional blast on the drums and sense of fun. Fortunately, he stays on the tutor team! Finally, Mr Delbrooke-Jones leaves us to move east with Miss Knowles as she takes up a job at Eton College. With Miss Knowles living in and Yavi having been born here, Boyne House has long been part of his extended family. The whole family will be sorely missed for their fun, youthful energy, dedication and fancy dress!

House Editor: Edward Calder

CHANDOS

House Events

This year we have taken part in many House family competitions which always have a great atmosphere. Mrs Poulain tested our skills with her marshmallow challenge, which unsurprisingly ended up with our floor being too sticky to walk on! As always Christmas Dinner proved to be a fun night during which, as tradition dictates, staff and pupils alike all relax and begin to unwind from a long, stressful term. Despite the somewhat patchy Secret Santa, the night ended with a great speech and a lot of laughs; typical of our lightheartedness and sense of family.

Academic

Chandos is a House filled with determination. Full Colours were awarded to Rachel Zhang, Emily Fowler, Frankie Pinchard, and Half Colours were awarded to Lydia Newman, Robin Wang, Mia Naylor and Julie. The achievements clearly show that Chandos girls have been working to their full potential.

Charity

Our chosen charity this year was the Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, which we worked hard to support. Lydia Newman, known for her cooking skills, was extremely helpful during our bake sales which have always ended with a great amount of donations and happy stomachs. In the Spring Term the whole team took part in the charity swim which involved a total of 1,344 lengths in order to swim the distance from England to France. We raised over £1,000 – well above our target! In addition to this, Molly Krauer in Fifth Form made scrubs for NHS workers in Cheltenham.

Sport

Chandos girls are known for their amusing times during sport events; we may not always win but we certainly end it with a laugh. In the Summer Term we did our own form of sports at home. Several girls including Poppy Williams and Beatrice Cornwell took part in the virtual 5km races while others followed the sports activities set by Mr Marsden. Everyone took part with a smile on their face!

Drama and Music

Chandos has been fortunate with the number of members who are gifted in the performing arts. Frankie Pinchard was given her Full Colours for Drama while Lala Krairit worked on her Music diploma. Many of the girls, including Emma Chan and Lala took part in the lunchtime concerts, which showcased their incredible talents. Duniya Banda was placed first in a prestigious College singing competition where international opera singer, Mr James Gilchrist, acted as judge.

Farewells

We said a sad farewell to our Upper Sixth. Mrs Poulain hosted a bitter-sweet Zoom meeting with the girls in which they experienced their journey through College in a beautiful Powerpoint, eliciting both tears and laughter. Head of House Tuesday Roberts sent us all her farewell speech, which was guaranteed smiles and tears. Chandos will be different without these girls but we know they are moving on to the next chapter of their lives, and we wish them the best of luck in the future.

House Editor: Poppy Williams

CHRISTOWE

House Events

Despite being apart for the Summer Term, the past year was a very successful and busy one. Christowe continued to build its strong sense of community through numerous events, such as the House family football and dodgeball tournaments. Matrons Mrs Jenni Hyde and Mrs Clair Parker-Butler put up a good fight in the House pool tournament. The Christmas Dinner was highly amusing and enjoyed by all once again, and there were great speeches by Piers Morgan, Gus Milton and Constantin Loesche. Meanwhile all year groups had the opportunity to participate in weekend events, such as minigolf and laser tag.

Charity

The Prefect team met with representatives from the House charity, Teenagers in Crisis, and established a good relationship with them. Through the sale of Christowe branded hoodies and other merchandise and with the pool tournament entrance fee, we were able to raise more than £60. At the time of writing Christowe had raised more than £1,300 for the whole school charity: a school hall for Gogar Primary School, Kenya by means of the mini-migration 10km challenge. We look forward to building up our charitable efforts in the coming year.

Academic

Head of House Piers Morgan was awarded his Full Colours and Thomas Chu is off to University College, Oxford to read Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular). Congratulations to all the Boyceites for their efforts and successes and we look forward to celebrating the coming year’s accomplishments.

Sport

Once again, Christowe’s sporting success does not lie in the main College sports. The House secret lies in the hidden talents of swimming captain Thomas Chu, basketball fanatic Marco Colombo and badminton supremo PK leading us to third, second and first places in House pots badminton, swimming and basketball respectively. We are looking forward to coming back hard this coming year to build further on our domination of the House pots rowing event.

Drama and Music

First place still eludes us in the prestigious House Singing competition, but for the third year in a row, we have been the top-ranking boys’ House; this year performing an excellent rendition of ‘Hey Jude’. The House musical talents do not end there. Henry Green joined JIG in his first year at College and along with three other Boyceites, Stanley Mok, Jasper Chaing and Alex Chow, comprise the biggest House representation in JIG of all the 11 Houses.

Farewells

As well as the thoroughly entertaining Upper Sixth leaving this year, we are saying goodbye to three members of House staff: after more than 30 years of service to College, Mr Cook leaves us to take up an exciting leadership position at Peponi School, Kenya; and our Resident Tutors, Mr Freedman and Mr Wilson, who have brought such fun and enthusiasm to their roles over the last three years, are leaving for Australia and the Seychelles respectively. House Editors: William Hechle and Simon Oates

COLLEGE LAWN

House Events

This was the first year that College Lawn had all five year groups. From trying circus skills in the garden, to falling off the climbing walls at Lunar City, it is safe to say that we had our fair share of good fun. Particularly memorable was the Christmas Dinner where everyone, no matter how stressed or tired from school, came together for a good time. We’ve had loads of evening activities too, particular highlights being Mr P’s baking nights and Mrs M’s nacho nights.

Academic

It would be a huge understatement to only call the girls in our House clever; they are so much more than that. We are proud of Donna French, who was awarded a Class Civ prize for her outstanding performance of a passage from Medea at the Gloucestershire Classical Speaking Competition. Fourth Form gained awards in the Biology Olympiad while Half Colours were awarded to Immy Jones, Steph Lau, Victoria Chan, Joyce Lam, Louise James, Sam Wam and Ruby Coull. We are also very proud of Louise, who has been awarded an Academic Exhibition for Upper College.

Charity

To raise money and awareness for our chosen charity, Cheltenham Open Door, we bought and re-sold handmade chocolates from a local chocolate-maker to raise funds for our charity. At the end of the Spring Term, we collected food to send to the local food bank run by the Trussell Trust.

Drama and Music

A major accomplishment is that we won the annual House Singing competition despite being the smallest House! Our efforts and hard work of rehearsing every lunch break and evening definitely paid off! In other news, in the College singing competition, Sam Wan won first place in the Musical Theatre category. Molly Prothero sang the solo in the Christmas service, Donna French sang in Jazz Band while others performed in the jazz concert and Verdi’s Requiem. JIG members of College Lawn also performed outside our House during the Cheltenham half-marathon, to cheer on those who participated. Nine girls from College Lawn took part in the superb College play, Margaret’s Mind. We mustn’t forget Zara Shaw’s fabulous performance in the Scholar’s Play Love in Idleness. Lastly, other congratulations go to Sam Wam who earned a place at the National Youth Theatre.

Sport

Our pupils made impressive progress in sport. Millie Weale and Maria Cowing won Gold in the indoor regional rowing competition and Dina Nejkic participated in the TAP. Honor Huggett and Gaby Bifulco played for the 1st XI hockey, and Honor has been awarded an Upper College Sports Scholarship. Hockey players also won the Plate competition, while in House netball pots our Senior team came third and the Junior team came second. Our Fourth Form came third in the inter-House rowing competition, and the Third Form won the inter-House cross country at the start of the year.

Farewells

This year we said goodbye to our very first Upper Sixth: Liv, Iona, Immy, Sophie, Gemma, Zara, Anna. We could not have hoped for a more talented, caring and fun first set of Upper Sixth leavers. We’re sadly also saying goodbye to Freya Haddon who was one of the founders of College Lawn when she joined us in Third Form. Freya has brought so much fun and laughter to the House. Lastly, we say goodbye to Miss Kramer who has cared for us all as a tutor for the last two years. We’ve loved having you in House Miss Kramer! It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to the people who have been very dear to our community and we wish them luck in their new beginnings. Keep in touch; you’ll always be a part of College Lawn!

House Editors: Julia Gellere and Joyce Lam

HAZELWELL

House Events

Over this past year and under the wonderful leadership or our brilliant new Housemaster, Mr Hayes, Hazelwell has truly flourished. We have made College headlines in a number of fields, thus highlighting the breadth of talent that we have in the House. Whilst individual successes will be reported here, it is the continued spirit and atmosphere of Hazelwell that makes it such a wonderful place to live. From the support in the audience at this year’s performances and the defiant determination on the rugby field in House pots, to the small acts of every day kindness around the House, every boy should be proud of their contribution to the Hazelwell community. Huge thanks to the Hayes family for all they have done for us this year.

Academic

Greenites were very successful in the classroom and adapted well to the new world of remote learning. Bill Ko and Saul Kim earned their Half Colours whilst Nicolas Mediato Diaz received his Full Colours. Nicolas was invited to the British Physics Olympiad training camp at the University of Oxford and is off to the University of Cambridge to read Natural Sciences at Gonville & Caius.

Sport

House resilience and determination was on display across all House pots with both Senior and Fourth Form rugby teams, the Junior swimming and the Senior badminton teams all coming second. Individually we saw success with Fin Wellstead winning the U16 hockey Player of the Season and Will Gilderson finishing as the top goal scorer. Luke Shuttleworth was chosen to represent Gloucester U18 at rugby academy level whilst Tom McCormick signed a professional contract with the Ealing Trailfinders rugby club. In cricket, Will Gilderson represented the Best of Bunbury playing against the West Indies U15 and he has recently joined Gloucester rugby talent pathway, alongside Benjamin Cunningham. Alex Chan represented Gloucester Saxons basketball club and made his senior national league debut. Most notably, skier Jack Cunningham represented Great Britain at the 2020 Youth Winter Olympics. His highlight was competing in the Olympic Super-G and finishing in the top 20 in the world. Jack is now committing to a full two-year program with Team GB and we wish him the best as he leaves College.

Drama and Music

On the stage, Charlie Froud and Freddie O’Neill starred in As You Like It whilst Edward Hartley and Alexander Taylor were both outstanding in the Scholars’ play Love in Idleness. Thomas Bridge and Charlie Froud were male leads in Margaret’s Mind whilst Alexander Taylor, Bill Ko, Bryan Luo and Oscar Chan all played supporting roles. Full Colours in Drama were awarded to Oliver Coker and Edward Hartley. Our contribution to College music continues to be strong with Bryan Luo, Murphy Lee and Oliver Callon Hine notable performers. Travis Ip and Oscar Chan were awarded Full Colours in music. After being named Gloucestershire’s Young Musician of the Year, Bill Ko performed the The Viola Concerto by William Walton with the Gloucestershire Symphony Orchestra at the Pittville Pump Room before accepting a place at the National Youth Orchestra.

It was sad to see the Upper Sixth leave but they certainly made their mark in Hazelwell and we wish them all the very best for their future endeavors. We also send our best to Mr Dodd who is departing College to teach in Singapore. We would like to thank him for his contribution to Hazelwell as a tutor and the positive role he has played in supporting the House scientists.

House Editor: Alexander Taylor

LECONFIELD

House Events

Despite Porcherites being unable to return for the Summer Term, there were many fond memories made by all. There were two new additions to the House team: Mrs Thomas as matron alongside Mrs Groves, and Mr Diamond who took up residence on the top-floor, stepping into the big shoes left by Mr Lovell. Both new members made great impressions on the boys and their help is appreciated by all.

In terms of improvements, our beautiful orchard was re-designed and there are plans for the downstairs snooker room to be turned into a more communal space with a billiards table.

At the beginning of the year, the whole House got together for a game of ‘Hunted’ around the College campus which allowed our large intake of new Porcherites to familiarise themselves with the grounds as well as with other members of the House. Several weeks later, the Third Form hosted their counterparts from Hazelwell and Ashmead for a Safari Dinner which certainly enlivened the House that Saturday. We also thoroughly enjoyed our traditional trip to JDR Karting in Gloucester early in the Spring Term and somehow managed to leave with no injuries despite little use of the brakes.

Charity

Always at the forefront of generosity, Leconfield raised an impressive £2,015 for the whole school charity: a school hall for Gogar Primary School, Kenya, and despite not being able to walk together, many Porcherites completed their 10km challenge during the sweltering weeks of May. Additionally, the House decided to support The Barefoot Project which provides sports equipment to developing communities. So far, Porcherites have donated over one hundred pairs of good quality hand-me-down shoes which was greatly appreciated by both The Barefoot Project and Mr Evans.

Academic

Milan Macdonald-Bradley, Pan Vongsurakrai, Matthew Sun and Leo Jamous all gained Sixth Form scholarships. Maths supremo William Gibson is off to read Maths at Pembroke College, Oxford. Although there were no Speech Day prizes to congratulate this year, I’m sure Leconfield would have swept up the awards considering the depth and breadth of talent across the House.

Sport

In recent years, Leconfield has had a tough season on the sports pitches. However, not this year! In the Autumn and Spring Terms, Leconfield vanquished their opponents in both the Sports Hall and on the football pitch as Porcherites battled their way to victory in both the badminton House pots and retained the football Eminson Cup for the second year. Our Senior hockey team narrowly lost out to Newick House in the final.

Drama and Music

As one of the largest Houses in College, there have been many individual achievements worthy of recognition this year. Thomas Hesketh made an appearance, along with Harry Dawson, Finn Cutts and Ariyan Mediratta in College’s musical Margaret’s Mind. Ariyan also competed in the national ‘Teen Star’ singing competition and, with support from fellow Porcherites, made it to the regional finals. On the music front, despite immense coaching and absolute devotion to practise, Leconfield were once again pushedaside in House Singing– although wounds were salved by pizza afterwards.

Farewells

It was with great sadness that Leconfield said goodbye to its Upper Sixth who excelled during their years at College. Head of House Harry Stewart and his Prefect team were both excellent role-models and friends to everyone in Leconfield and the whole House wishes them the best as they move onto bigger, more exciting fields. Leconfield also says goodbye to Alvaro from Fifth Form and we wish him the best in Spain.

Appointments

Krish Patel was appointed Head of House for the coming year alongside deputies Charles Hellens and Jack Szeto. Krish said: ‘I’m sincerely grateful for this position and hope to not only build on Harry’s legacy but to re-build the House spirit after such a long time apart.’ House Editor: Charles Hellens

NEWICK HOUSE

House Events

It was another fantastic year for Newick with many individuals achieving various different feats and the House as a whole really coming together and having numerous successes across many aspects of College life. This clearly shows the immense talent that the House currently possesses across all year groups. House events included the paint balling trip and the annual trip to the Cotswold Water Park which were both great fun.

Charities

Newick decided to support the charity Maggie’s. This charity provides support for those with cancer and their families. Maggie’s in Cheltenham is only a short walk away from Newick which allowed members of the House to see where the money that we have raised is going and how much it is helping the members of our local community. Our main fundraising event for this academic year was the charity auction held at the Newick and Ashmead House play in the Autumn Term which raised £1,390 for the charity.

Sports

Sport has been one of Newick’s main successes year after year and this year has certainly been no exception. Newick was represented at the highest level by numerous Muglistonites across an extremely wide variety of different sports. The Juniors won their rugby House pots whilst the Seniors made it to the final, only losing narrowly. In addition to that success, both the Seniors and Juniors won the House swimming galas. Being represented by some members of the House who had never swum competitively before made us especially proud. Finally, the Senior hockey team finished off by winning the House pots very impressively.

Drama and Music

The main event of the past academic year for Newick was the House play, The Witches, performed with Ashmead and skillfully directed by our very own Resident Tutor, Mr Hollingbury. The play allowed the whole House to get involved in one way or another and was great fun whilst raising a lot of money during the charity auction for both Houses’ chosen charities.

Farewells

Newick said goodbye to an Upper Sixth, who were brilliantly led by Dominic Kelly and his deputies, Guy Beazley and Max Sutton along with the whole Prefect team. Sadly, their final year was cut short and there were certainly mixed feelings about not being able to sit the A Levels! Newick also says goodbye to one of our long-standing Tutors, Mr Davies. Mr Davies was Resident Tutor in Newick (2013-2017) and having stepped down from that role three years ago, he has remained very much part of the Newick family and is regularly seen on duty in the evenings every couple of weeks. He will be missed by all of the Muglistonites (especially those who were very grateful for his guidance in the gym!) and we wish him good luck as he leaves College to start a great new job with the prestigious English Institute of Sport. We also say goodbye to Mr Horn who has always been great fun on duty in the evenings. We wish him well as he moves next door to Christowe to become their Resident Tutor.

House Editor: Tom Beazley

QUEEN’S

House Events

We started the year with a friendly yet competitive game of family rounders, a Halloween party and many informal in-House lunches or evening ‘Werewolf’ games. We enjoyed preparing for House Singing, and we came second, but our favourite event always is the performance evening in the Spring Term. There is so much talent in Queen’s, ranging from singing, LAMDA pieces, funny sketches, Zumba and video montages. Parents joined in the fun and it was a night no-one will forget.

Charity

Queen’s chosen charity is the Secret Garden Hub, which is affiliated with Lilian Faithfull Homes. They provide day care to people with dementia and we have visited them regularly this year to join in with activities such as quizzes, carol singing and barn dancing but the highlight was when we brought our dogs. This allowed them to reminisce about their past and childhood pets. We raised about £1,000 with our House BBQ, auctions and charity stalls and then a further £250 by hosting a Zoom charity quiz.

Academic

In true ‘all round education’ style, Queen’s girls have flourished and contributed to all aspects of College life but academic congratulations go to Grace White and Freya Coull who received their Full Colours and to Scarlett Jinks, Niamh McBride, Sophie Iles, Georgia Morling and Arabella Finch who received their Half Colours. Everyone showed the effort and commitment that is so representative of Queen’s girls’ hardworking attitude. Arabella Finch and Grace White also received prizes for their entries in the Fifth Form essay competition.

Sport

We had a strong start, being placed first in the Third Form swimming gala and second in both Junior and Senior hockey House pots, with Imogen Cutts saving a few goals in her goalie debut. Rebecca Cook was awarded her shooting Half Colours and took the first place in the House shooting competition. Scarlett Jinks gained her netball Half Colours and Meg Knight was awarded her netball blazer, despite recovering from surgery last year! We were placed second in House netball. It was so close; it went down to goal difference. Sadly, we were unable to display our athletic prowess for Sports Day but we are looking forward to making our mark this coming year.

Drama and Music

As always, we were strongly represented in the Variety Show with Molly Ropner, Coco Haycraft Mee, Sophie Essenhigh and many more. Arabella Finch took the lead in the Scholars’ Play, Love in Idleness and was awarded her Drama blazer, along with Bella Wilkinson and Taya Suleyman. The school musical, Margaret’s Mind starred Grace Tyler and Niamh McBride, who received their Drama Half Colours. Sophia Vivian was awarded a Sixth Form Drama scholarship and won the Classical singing competition. Niamh McBride and Eliana Hale took to the stage and performed a powerful piece for The Vagina Monologues. However, it is not all about the polished performances; girls can be always heard singing, dancing and playing the piano. The future is bright for the performing arts in Queen’s.

Farewells

Mme Bates organised some virtual Speech Day drinks. This was a chance for us to say goodbye to Mrs Mech aka ‘the wonder-woman of College’ and the Upper Sixth, described as a ‘talented, feisty and loveable bunch of girls who have now turned into amazing women’. Speeches were very emotional and meant a lot for all of us, as we remain a community, even when we cannot physically meet. Bella Wilkinson and Tabby Barnes positively referred to ‘the beginning of new chapters in all the leavers’ lives’. We will miss them so much!

House Editors: Darcey Norman, Grace White, Anabelle Wells and Freya Coull

SOUTHWOOD

Charity

This year, together with Queen’s, we held a BBQ to raise money for Insight, a Gloucestershire based charity. This year, we were able to raise £900 for Insight, which will help them to promote social inclusion and provide facilities and recreational activities, along with advice and support to those who are blind or partially sighted. Earlier in the year we hosted a coffee morning for Macmillan Cancer Support, and we raised £130 from our cake sale. Southwood also raised £772 for the whole school charity: a school hall for Gogar Primary School, Kenya.

Sport

The House has had another very successful year on the sports fields, as we proved superior in the Junior Colts’ rugby; a category Southwood has dominated since 2012. The Juniors went on to win the House hockey pots and were runners up in the swimming pots and rugby pots. Southwood was also runner-up in Senior football pots. We’d like to offer massive congratulations to Louis Hillman-Cooper, for his place in the England U18 rugby squad and for being offered a professional Academy contract with Gloucester Rugby. Congratulations must also go to Ed Carter for being selected for the England Hockey Bristol performance centre and Isaac Tagg, who was selected to be part of the Emerging Players programme at Gloucestershire county cricket. Congratulations too go to James Boyle for being this year’s captain of golf, hockey and cricket and for his Full Colours in hockey. Max Pinkham has been awarded Full Colours in swimming while Charlie Anton-Smith was awarded Half Colours in hockey. Final congratulations go to Jasper Lowde for being captain of College’s boat club, Will Buttress as Head of Corps for CCF, Max Morris as Head of the Army section, and Paddy MerheimKealy as Head of the Navy section.

Academic

A huge well done to Southwood’s Third Form scholars, Ed Carter and Tom Unsworth, and Sixth Form’s Jude Bridge for his Art Scholarship. George Hardy achieved Full Academic Colours, and was also a part of the very successful Maths Challenge team who were able to be placed second in a national competition of 22 schools. In the national Biology Challenge, Luke Richardson received a Gold award, Ben Rathbone and Angus Wragg obtained a Silver award, and Jamie Reid received a Bronze award; congratulations to you all!

Drama and Music

To add to Southwood’s successful academic and sporting year, Jago MacInnes was awarded a Drama blazer for his outstanding contribution to College Drama and Willoughby Cooke was awarded Drama Half Colours. Freddie Barr was awarded a Music scholarship. Southwood had another successful House music evening with eight wonderful performances from a wide range of year groups. In the Variety Show, there were some great performances from Alexander Knott and Freddie Barr. Thank you and well done to Jago for hosting the event.

Thank You

On behalf of the House, I’d like to thank our Matrons Mrs Hutchins and Mrs Thomas for brightening everyone’s mood with warm toast and hot tea and all our tutors for supporting us through the tough weeks. I’d also like to say good luck to Southwood’s next Head of House, Charlie-Anton Smith; we have every faith that he will lead the House to even more success in the coming year!

House Editor: Will Dangerfield

WESTAL

House Events

Westal held lots of trips and events which were a great success. Some of the highlights include visits to Gloucester rugby, Ninja Warrior UK, Gloucester escape rooms and Bath netball. Other exciting events included kickboxing, sushi making, the Sixth Form charity dinner, burger nights, BBQs, Dr Harris’s game nights and Mr Lang’s quiz nights. The Westal House spirit was not damaged by the time apart but in fact, grew stronger. Through the Summer Term, Westal had weekly challenges, bake-off competitions, and meme competitions as well as having a page full of great reading and song recommendations to keep the spirits high. A weekly magazine article written by Georgia Jones-Perrott connected us together by showing what everyone was up to. We enjoyed our Westal Weekly Challenge- usually set by Mr Lang and the creative approaches to all of the different activities. We were also very honored and proud to have been able to provide accommodation for the NHS workers during lockdown.

Charity

We chose to support Meningitis UK. In 2015, tragically, we lost one of our Westal girls, Abi Kelly to meningitis. To raise money, we hosted a casino night in Westal for the Sixth Form. We hired a blackjack table and a roulette table along with croupiers, and people enjoyed the social aspect of the evening. It was an enjoyable night and was a good opportunity to get the Sixth Form together. Everyone who attended donated to the charity and we managed to raise more than £1,100, of which we are extremely proud.

Sport

This year was a great year for Westal in terms of sports. We had great success in all House pots and we managed to win Senior hockey, netball, rackets, badminton and both the Junior and Senior swimming titles. Westal have had seven girls in the hockey 1st XI this year with Abbie Whybrow captaining the team with huge success. They even made it to the quarter final of the National Cup. We also had three girls playing for the netball first team under our Resident Tutor Miss Cook.

Drama and Music

In terms of Drama, many Westal girls took part in the whole school production, Margaret’s Mind. Victoria Brain and Geena Capps had their own solo numbers and we were all amazed by Mirabel Evans who took to the College stage as Margaret; the lead role. In terms of Music this year, Westal girls have taken part in a variety of musical events including Tezita Roy-Assen in this year›s harp concert and India Kay in the Variety Show and The Vagina Monologues. Sonya Mo and Aanya Patel took part in the singing competition with Sonya coming second in the musical category and Aanya getting a place in the final. As part of the larger musical groups, Westal girls have had a clutch of solos in choir performances including Victoria Brain, Sonya Mo, and Georgina Hiscock.

We say goodbye to a lovely Upper Sixth and we wish them the best with their life beyond College. We congratulate the new leaders in House with Georgia-Lili Robertson as Head of House, Izzy England and Talia Somen as Deputy Heads of House and Izzy Greenwood as Deputy Head Girl.

House Editor: Izzy England

Remembering Varvara Konyaeva

In April this year we learned of the tragic news that we had lost a very dear member of the Westal family. Varvara’s considerable achievements and many contributions to College life are easy to recall, and her genuine passion for learning, her clever sense of humour and, most importantly, her sincere kindness will reside in the forefront of every pupil and teachers minds when they think of her. She was a unique and incredibly stylish individual who matched intellectual flare and ambition with a friendly warmth and a kind and caring soul. We all miss her with great sadness. Our thoughts and prayers extend to Varvara’s family who will always have a home in Westal and in College, and to her Westal sisters and her friends across all other Houses, to whom she was so close.

Mrs Amy Lang, Westal Housemistress