House Notes

THE GROVE

At the beginning of this term we lost Mr. N. J. Dunstan, who had been with us for a year, and we all wish him well in the future. In his place as resident Assistant Housemaster our welcome is extended to Mr. J. F. Hayes.

U. A. Alexander, R. G. Bruce, C. Henwood and C. J. Territt were appointed House Monitors, while J. C. G. Wheeler, J. P. R. Harris and W. E. Jones remain at the helm from last year. We also welcome nine Juniors to The Grove.

We all noticed with pleasure the re-decoration and extensions which have been made during the summer holidays in No. 18, giving us an extra Common Room and dormitory, while on this side of the road we have a new linen room which holds its own in the School.

Although our successes on the Rugger field were short-lived as far as House matches go, we had 14 representatives in School teams.

In the Junior Long Run event we quietly fancied our chances, but did not set ourselves a high enough standard, and only R. J. D. Wilson (3rd) fulfilled the promise we always expected of him.

C.G:F. seems to have become our forte, however, for this term we added the Dronfield Trophy to our three cups already on the shelf. We note that School House have not yet relinquished the trophy to us !

Members of The Grove took part both behind and in front of the scenes at the successful performances of the School play, when C. J. Territt, C. G. Evans, P. W. Quickfall and R. J. D. Wilson were among the cast.

D. C. D. Rees is our only leaver this term, and we wish him all the best in whatever paths of life he chooses.

Once again we thank Mr. and Mrs. Harding for their hospitality at the House proms, which we hope will continue to flourish.

THE MANOR

We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Pease as an Assistant Housemaster; his enthusiasm and knowledge of Rugger have already proved very valuable.

We had to be content with sharing the Senior Rugger Cup after a very hard and even game with School House. Hewitt proved himself a very keen and able Captain, and McCallum and Lewis were awarded House Colours and Junior House Colours respectively. With three leading parts and a near-monopoly back-stage the House contributed fully to the successful School Play. Bywater is to be congratulated both on his performance in the play and on his appointment as School Captain of Boats. The Discussion Group met three times and two House Proms were held : support for both these 9

ventures is so far disappointingly small, but we are very grateful to those who make the effort to run such valuable House activities. A successful Table Tennis Tournament was organised, run and won by Pearson after a very well-fought final with Nettleton. Pearson was only just prevented from carrying off the double by R. A. Wood, who defeated him in the final of the Chess Tournament.

Mrs. Smith, for many years the Matron in No. 2, has left this term and she was presented with a travelling clock in recognition of her much appreciated work. Stark has also left and we wish him success in his career.

QUEEN'S

This term we welcomed Mr. Holbeche as our new Housemaster. His lively influence quickly made itself felt in the House's many activities, not least on the touch-line. We hope his stay with the House will be long and prosperous.

The term has been very successful in all respects, but it came as something of a surprise to learn that at the end of it we were leading by two points in the Oxford Cup. With only one member in the 1st XV and two in the 2nd, it was perhaps not surprising that the Senior Rugger team lost in the first round to The Grove. But our talent lay mostly in the younger players, and we are proud to record that the House won the Junior Cup, the first Rugger trophy we have ever obtained. A very powerful pack under Cossins' inspiring leadership, together with the skill of Jesper, the captain, carried the team through its three rounds, nearly always with a comfortable margin. Daniel, Cloughton and Slade were awarded their Junior House Colours.

The Junior athletes showed their ability again in the new Junior Long Run. Seymour's stamina and enthusiasm combined to make him the first individual winner of the race, and in recognition of this he was awarded his Junior House Colours. The team as a whole did well to come second to Temple with a very good lead over their nearest opponents. In Chess, too, it was Temple who defeated us in the final.

Queen's continues to play a prominent part in the School Societies, and the House Societies are also flourishing. The Antiquities Society held five meetings, all of which were very well attended. Perhaps the most notable was one which was open to the whole School, when a film on Historic York, taken by Mr. Saville, was shown. The Discussion Group, Areopagus, had a very good term; the system of electing a chairman for each meeting produced visiting speakers on a wide variety of topics, namely Punishment, Crime and Criminals, Psychology and Kenya. The House Junior Debating Society was restored and proved very popular among younger members of the House.

Amidst the wealth of other activities, mention must not be omitted of the largest of our eight trophies, the Work Cup, which came to us at the beginning of the term. Our present position this year of second in the junior forms and first in the senior, suggests that this cup may well be retained for a second year. A good lead has been established for the Seniors by the splendid achievements of Fairclough and Hawkins in gaining an Open Scholarship and an Open Exhibition in Classics to St. John's and Keble College, Oxford, respectively.

THE RISE

With the dawn of the new school year we welcomed Mr. Wilson as Assistant Housemaster, and were sure that the House would benefit from his many and varied interests. Kirkus, Fawcett, T. P. N., Pattinson and Robson, A. C., sported multi-coloured jackets for the first time.

The air raid shelter became The Rise "property", and was used as a Games Room, with activities ranging from shove ha'penny to table tennis. Poynor, as Chairman of the Games Room Committee, organised billiards and table tennis competitions, the winners to play each other at darts for the "jackpot".

Despite the weather, Kirk drove his two House Rugger teams to a peak of fitness. A 9-0 defeat by a star-studded Manor team in the Senior semi-final was compensated for to some extent by a place in the Junior final, which was convincingly won by Queen's. Nevertheless, such a fine spirit was shown by both teams that Kirk was awarded Senior House Colours, and Fawcett, H. G. N., Newhouse, J. L., and Shepherd Junior honours.

Kirkus trained a team for the new Junior Long Run, in which Eatough did well to gain fourth place; the team, a very young one, came 5th.

From time to time almost half the House attended the morning readings of The Rise Discussion Group, led now by Parker, C. J. Evening meetings were addressed by Mr. W. N. Richards (the founder of the Group), Rev. John Robson and Mr. Curnmin. We thank all these for setting alight much fruitful discussion.

The Model Railway Club, under King's guidance, established a Dublo and Triang track in its usual development area, and a House controller added to its assets.

The "numbers" came and went, and the "Home" reminded us that Hemsley and Franklin were leaving to take up temporary appointments before going to university; at the end of the holidays we learned that Kirk was leaving to enter the Fleet Air Arm. We thank them most heartily for their service to the House over the years, and we were delighted to hear that Franklin had gained a Minor Scholarship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and that Hemsley had obtained a place at Trinity College, Oxford.

A long and wet term was generally enjoyed by all; and the sense of responsibility shown by the Seniors made it a profitable period.

SCHOOL HOUSE

We welcome Mr. Gailey to the House and to our dormitory annexe at No. 8 St. Peter's Grove. In company with some of the huge gaggle of Juniors he has already been most helpful in the redecoration and re-fitting of the Hobbies Room, which must now, surely, be the best in the School. The help of several parents in this respect has also been greatly appreciated, and it is pleasant to put on record that the Hobbies Room has been used to full capacity at all possible times of the day. "No. 8", in the second term of commission by the House, is proving very popular with the Senior members, and much use has been made of the Kitchen and Common Room there in the evenings. School House is the only House which can now offer its Head of House a private bed-sitter.

The Ecclesia, the House's Society for Seniors and Monitors, continues and we have had several successful meetings this term. The House Proms, too, are well attended and, organised by Alderson, have enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Howat.

This term there has been a Friday Evening Discussion Group for Intermediates in Mr. Howat's room, and this has proved a very popular innovation and many interesting topical subjects have been discussed. Also, Collins has started an extremely enthusiastic Debating Society for Junior Middles and Juniors, and this will prove to be an admirable training ground for the School Debating Society.

The Senior House Rugger team played with a wonderful spirit and determination. Although not at full strength, both Collins and Sutcliffe being incapacitated, the team beat The Grove comfortably and, in the final, when Groundwater, too, was unable to play, they had a most enjoyable hard-fought struggle with The Manor, which ended in a draw. We were happy to share the cup with The Manor. Much credit must go to Robinson for training and leading his team to this success.

In recognition of his services to the sport of the House, Groundwater was awarded his House Colours. We also congratulate Hodgson, Routledge and West on the award of their Junior House Colours.

This term we say goodbye regretfully to F. I. Watson and W. H. McBryde. McBryde leaves earlier than he should, but the pressing claims of being articled to a solicitor were his very sound reasons for not staying longer.

F. I. Watson, who has broken into his seventh year at St. Peter's, has been an excellent Head of House and has set the tone for the whole year. He has been a confident and thoughtful Monitor and his departure will be regretted by the whole House, who wish him the best of luck in his future life.