As our Heads of House reflect on this most unusual year, our congratulations go to Grenville on winning the 2020-21 House Cup!
Collingwood House
were not able to meet all years in person, but they did manage to spend time with each group virtually and tried to help the younger years as much as they could. They even managed to get into the First Year Induction videos at the start of the year. They were a great support to me and will be missed. They have been backed up ably by the rest of their year and, in particular, the House ViceCaptains of Connie Batt, Izzy Brower, Guy Drake and Louis Barrowcliffe, who have all been stars during their time in the House.
The Collingwood spirit remains strong and this was reflected by getting stuck into all the House Competitions that we were allowed, fulfilling our ‘no lane empty’ target - until all lanes became empty when the competitions were cancelled. We were well placed in the Academic Cup and we were just gearing up for another strong showing in the Sports Cup and Performing Arts Cup when global events got in the way. We did get stuck into the Sports Days in the Summer and I’m sure we all missed the enjoyment of a full programme but we will just have to work, run and play harder to enjoy next year’s competition all the more.
As ever we will miss all our departing students. I was pleased that we were able to say goodbye at the end of the year and hope to see you all again in the not too distant future. You leave behind a lot of memories of your amazing achievements. I hope you will look back with fondness on your time in the purple House and come back and visit to let us know how you are getting on.
Looking back on another “year like no other” I am struck by the way the Collingwood community has risen to the challenges that have been put in front of them; the student body have been consistently impressive with the way that they have not just coped but thrived and innovated in these interesting times. Collingwood staff have had to improvise, too, with challenges like working out new ways to do quizzes, online talent shows, scavenger hunts and more.
Mr B Seal
Drake House
Given the year group bubbles, our excellent House Captains Natalie Sparks, James Arnold and Eve Rushin
The final weeks of the academic year usually see the new cohort of First Year pupils in school for the day as the first part of the induction process, yet like many things last Summer, we had to come up with a Plan B, a plan
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The Churcherian 2021
that would somehow allow the new Drake pupils to meet each other and their Form Tutors and Head of House from the comfort of their own homes. And so came about the very first remote induction process, with the pupils and staff meeting online and then submitting video clips that were edited into the masterpiece that was the ‘Drake First Years 2020-21’ short film. The energy and enthusiasm with which the pupils threw themselves into the project was a good indicator of what to expect from the newest members of the House, and whilst it may be a cliché to say that first impressions count, in this case, the first impression of a warm, friendly, lively bunch of pupils was spot-on. As the academic year got underway, despite the tweaks and changes that were inevitably needed because of the restrictions, the First Year trip to Calshot, an annual event in the school calendar, still took place, albeit with no overnight stay, and whilst House assemblies were put on hold (due to the need for year group bubbles), the pupils in the lower years were still able to meet with the House Captains, Charlie and Kaitlin, via a series of remote Q&A sessions. As the second period of remote learning kicked in, the pupils once again rose to the challenge, with breakout rooms on Teams allowing
