House Notes

QUEEN'S

Queen's House is only one term old, and it is a little self-consciously that we elbow our way into the School magazine between the Manor and the Rise. It is probable that no one even knows our colours— royal purple and black; we have no cups on our shelves; we have not yet even won a House match. We are very young; but we have the enthusiasm of youth and are already showing signs of vigour.

If we were defeated in the junior and senior rugger House matches, there was sufficient cause for satisfaction in the keen spirit with which both teams played. Hopwood led a hard-working junior pack with unflagging energy; and both Hopper at scrum-half and Bytheway at full-back promise to be useful assets in future years. The senior match—appropriately with Temple—was bitterly contested. A replay was necessary before the superior speed and co-ordination of the Temple pack carried them to victory. Behind the scrum we were the better side. Junior colours were awarded to Netherwood, Hopwood, and Bytheway, and senior colours to Herring and Bough.

Meanwhile the House is already making valuable contributions to School games. Bough gained his rugger cap and has been appointed School Captain of hockey; while members of the House have represented the School for fencing, shooting, chess and squash.

Within the House table tennis is as popular as it was before we broke away from Temple. There is also, however, an increasing enthusiasm, especially among the juniors, for squash and chess. Thanks to the tuition of Bough there are now few juniors who do not play squash, and in Hopper, Swain, and Thorpe we have three very promising players. We held the usual competitions this term and the winners were as follows :—Squash : Morton (Senior), Thorpe (Junior); Table tennis : Bean (Senior), Jesper (Junior); Chess : M. T. Carter.

If the House is to prosper healthily it needs to distinguish itself in other activities besides games. It is therefore particularly gratifying that, thanks to the initiative of King, we have a flourishing Discussion Group which meets on Thursday afternoons. It has already held seven meetings, of which one was run jointly with Temple. It should prove a valuable training ground for the Debating Society. Netherwood and Baines acted in the School Play, the latter in particular giving a very good performance; while R. Atkinson and Bloomfield were in the quartet which provided the interval music. So far we are third in the Work Cup competition and hope to do still better.

On the whole we can claim to have made a confident start. If we have not yet convinced our rivals of this, there is still plenty of time ahead of us. 'We shall have our successes.

Meanwhile we must regretfully say good-bye to our first Head of House, Herring, who in his quiet way has done a great deal to foster

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a happy spirit among us. He, and the other two leavers, R. B. Atkinson and 'J. R. Dodsworth have served us well in their short stay with us. We wish them well and hope they will always think of themselves not only as Peterites but also as Queensmen.

THE RISE

Thanks to the comparatively hard-working senior members of the House last year, we were awarded a cup on the first day of term. This was the Work Cup, which we have not held since 1942 and which was the only tangible reward that the term afforded us.

Under the admirable leadership of Kettlewell, the senior XV beat Temple in a semi-final match, the remarkable thing being that we were losing at half-time. We hope that this new-found spirit of recovery will also be present in the future. In the final we were well beaten by a strong School House team. Again there was a determined, if somewhat tardy, rally and we were far from disgraced. The junior XV, led by Stubbs, beat Queen's comfortably and lost to Grove in a closely fought semi-final. We congratulate those Risites who distinguished themselves in the School teams, details of which will be found elsewhere.

Remembering that Rise colours are awarded for general rather than single achievements, we record that Wheatley and Kettlewell were awarded their senior House colours during the term and Stubbs his junior colours. We have recently initiated a book in which all House colourmen shall informally sign their names. This was mainly done to provide a certain record, as there have been many embarrassing doubts in the past.

The termly craze seems to have been for canoes; two very superior ones have been completed. Fencers (now in double figures) have shown a remarkably improved enthusiasm under Nendick. Squash, too, has had its keen adherents. Lewis has managed to keep the rungs of his ladders in constant circulation !

Finally we have to say farewell to Oldroyd, Head of House, and our sole leaver. We shall miss his steady influence and fine example, and his endeavour to keep alive many of the better traditions that he always upheld.

SCHOOL HOUSE

We should first of all like to extend a hearty welcome to our new Assistant Housemaster, Mr. Gregory, and trust that he will spend some happy years with us. We also welcome the new boys to the House : Baxter, Beaumont, Brooks, Hick, J. K., Macpherson, D.G., Rice, T. D. L., Robinson, Stones, Taylor, K. H., and Wilson, D. A. We feel that they have quickly settled down and have already contributed to the House.

On returning to School at the beginning of another year, we were pleased to discover completely new changing rooms, five new studies and a Quiet Room, all of which are a vast improvement on the old. The Quiet Room, coupled with certain restrictions on wireless, has contributed towards some improvement in the work of the House.

We would congratulate Nelson on his appointment as Head of the House, J. N. T. Howat and Holmes on their appointment as School Monitors, and McCallum, Griffiths, Stork, and Gardner as House Monitors.

In sport, the House was given an excellent start by the inclusion of at least four of its members in each School team :-

1st XV.—*Nelson, *Macpherson, D. A., tWetherell, tBell, N. J., f Gardner, tRidley, f Peat. 2nd XV.—tGriffiths, McCallum, Pacey, Clayton; Young (also played). Senior Colts.—tWillstrop, tRobbins-Jones, Marshall, Sharp; Kirby (also played). Junior Colts.—Macpherson, D. G., Robinson; Baxter (also played), Butler (also played).

* Cap. t Colours.

Owing mainly to all this talent in the House we won both the junior and Senior Rugger Cups, despite two very close games with the Manor in the senior semi-final. As a result of these successes, +Holmes, Griffiths, McCallum, and Willstrop gained their House colours, and Marshall, Worsley, Ruddock, and Clemons their junior House colours.

In other sports we were again in the fore, providing the main part of the squash team—Nelson (Captain), Willstrop, and Macpherson, D. A.—and Griffiths and Gardner represented us in the shooting team.

The House "Proms." have again continued successfully throughout the term. The programme included two gramophone recitals, a most promising piano recital by J. C. M. Herring, of Queen's, and finally a piano recital by Mr. Waine, who gave us a delightful selection which he called "Family Favourites".

The Hobbies Room has again been put to good use and an excellent model railway constructed. M. I. L. Rice and Kirby were the leading enthusiasts. The railway was dismantled at the end of term but we understand that this had no connection with the threatened railway strike. The Hobbies Room is to be used for carpentry next term.

At the close of a very successful term the weather deteriorated rapidly, in the last week preventing all outdoor games. The House accordingly set to work to entertain itself by means of competitions between studies and common rooms. Eighteen members of the House were taking part in the School Play, however, and they were kept very busy in preparation for this.

We finally come to the sad task of bidding farewell to Young and P. W. Middlebrook, who are leaving us this , term. We thank them for all they have done for the House and wish them every success in the future.

TEMPLE

Temple House came back to horrible reality on the 23rd September to find themselves evicted from the old stamping-ground in the New School Building; thrown out into an indifferent world without even the ancestral table tennis table and chess ladder. We were not destined to wander long, however, for the powers-that-be, briskly banishing School House to quarters as yet, we assume, untrodden by Peterite feet, offered us the former School House studies, the dungeons underneath, and a half-share in the Biology room in exchange for our former accommodation.

And so, in pastures new, Temple have passed their first term as one of two day-boy Houses. We started with a disappointment : we failed to win the Work Cup, something which, in Temple, should cause considerable concern. As a result of the exams. last term, Timms is to be congratulated on winning a North Riding County Major Scholarship and Taylor on being awarded a York City Exhibition.

Turning now to more earthy topics—referring, of course, to rugger—the big event of the term was undoubtedly the first round clash between Temple and the new boys, or Queen's, as they designate themselves, in the senior House rugger. Such . a draw, almost too good to be true, could only result in one thing, another draw, 3-3 to be exact, and the two teams left the field to the strains of 'Air. Harding's vehemently cursing all teams thoughtless enough to draw so near the end of term. Preparations for the replay were grim. The Temple captain thought of calling on Svengali and Rasputin for assistance, while Queen's, it was reported, began to view Faust as a man of some initiative and to wonder whether the devil was still in that line of business. Whatever the preparations, it is with fiendish glee that we here place an record that the decadents beat the upstarts 9-6 in a most exciting match. Unfortunately, that was as far as things went, Temple regretfully allowing themselves to be coaxed out of the competition in the semi-final by Rise. As a result of their efforts, Welsh, J. M., Timms, Beckitt, and Welsh, .M., were awarded House colours. The junior team also won their first round match, beating Manor 13-9, but in the semi-final School House rather wiped the Colt's field with them, 46-0. Welsh, M., the captain, was awarded his Junior House colours.

In the realm of School sport, Temple had quality if not quantity, the 1st XV captain, Taylor, P. G. Welsh, J. M., was a member of the 2nd XV in which, at less frequent intervals, appeared also Sutton, Beckitt, and Dobson. Templars, always glad to be in on a good thing, 13

formed no less than 40% of the 2nd Game outing to Ampleforth, or 3rd XV, as it so proclaimed itself, Sutton, Beckitt, Dobson, Timms, Welch, and Staines being numbered among those present. Welsh, M., played for the Senior Colts and was awarded his colours. (Errol) Ward, of the flashing sword, became captain of fencing.

The first term in the new quarters was not as chaotic as one might have expected. Table tennis soon started again, the usual competition being won by Welch (senior) and Sanderson (junior). Chess somehow never seemed to recover from being cut off from the fountainhead, but nevertheless it exists. The discussion group also appeared somewhat moribund at the beginning of term but it revived towards the end, and while on the subject of the spoken word, Johnson must be congratulated on becoming Secretary of the Debating Society. Staines, of course, practically carried the School Play on his shoulders, while Sutton, as first secret, black and midnight hag on left, performed with gusto and looked, dare one say it, bewitching. Welch played a sinisterlooking object in the orchestra.

In conclusion, we bid farewell to Ward, C. M., and Shaw, to whom we wish the best of luck in the future.

THE CHAPEL

In order that boys may be acquainted with the normal Sunday services, we have this term had Matins on two Sundays, including Remembrance Day, instead of Evensong. We also had to change our "Parish Communion", since that is exactly what our Sung Communion is, from All Saints' Day to St. Andrew's Day. Every boy, therefore, when he leaves the School should be familiar with all the services he is most likely, in these days, to find in his Parish Church.

Remembrance Day is always a memorable occasion, though the highlight of any Christmas Term must be our Carol Service on the last Sunday. This followed the traditional and now familiar lines : but was, as ever, a worthy Act of Worship and, we hope, a valuable preparation for Christmas.

Our visiting preachers were the Revd. Paul Ashwin, of the S.P.G.; Canon Marsh; the Revd. T. W. I. Cleasby; and the Dean of York. It was the Dean's first visit since his illness and his first, therefore, for a year, and it was a special joy to welcome him back. We thank them all.

Collections during the term amounted to £73 13s. 9d., and the produce from our Harvest Thanksgiving was sent to St. Stephen's Orphanage, York, who very greatly appreciated the gifts they received.

Our thanks are due to the Chapel Monitor and to our loyal band of Servers, many of them new to this privilege this term. They never failed us even in the darkest days of December. C.P. 14