House Reports

Clifton

It’s been a typically good year for Clifton house, with success in every facet of school life. We bolstered our tutor group as Mr Smith (head of chemistry) joined from Linton in a swap deal for Mr Battersby.

Heads of house Sam Elliot and Amelia Bell impressed both within and outside the house, the former being an integral part of the first team rugby, hockey and cricket whilst Amelia starred for the girls’ first XI hockey as well as on stage. Freddie Heijbroek captained the first team hockey in a joint role with Alex Martin and was awarded the St Peter’s award for his outstanding hockey prowess, which has earned him international honours. The upper sixth boys, George Davis, Paddy Hayes, Angus Barrick and James Hanley – as well as lower-sixth Charlie Tannahill – helped the rugby first team to a hugely successful season that catapulted St Peter’s to fifth in the rugby schools rankings with an unbeaten domestic season. Steven Jones and Freddie Heijbroek’s tennis first team doubles partnership was formidable as it contained both last year’s captain (Steven) as well as this year’s captain. Harry Contreras, Jack Amsden (both lower sixth), Ben Lodge (fifth form) and Chris Wood (fourth form) all represented the school in the first XI cricket team.

Clifton girls have had a very successful year with the senior girls winning both house hockey and netball. This was largely possible because of the number of fifth- and sixth-formers within the house who were part of the first X1 hockey and first team netball. The girls nearly completed a hat-trick; however they narrowly lost in the house rounders final, reluctantly taking second. The junior girls also had a good year, with them supporting the seniors in the house hockey, but they just missed out on the netball final and comfortably took third. However Clifton didn’t quite have the same success in racquet sports, although they put up a good fight as always. Finally Clifton girls showed their true talent and competitive nature when diving head-first into the swimming pool, pulling another third out of the bag.

As a strong academic house, the senior house challenge team that lost last year in the semis to the eventual winners were disappointed that a rare logistical error led to an early exit. Not so for the juniors however: spearheaded by India Harrison and Hebe Turvill, they performed strongly, beating Linton and Dronfield. The senior boys were robbed of a great opportunity to retain a trophy when the senior boys’ hockey was cancelled. The senior boys’ rugby team was knocked out by Linton (the eventual winners) thanks to a masterclass from Charlie Rae, who spent his first year at St Peter’s in Clifton. The junior boys experienced unrivalled sporting success, dominating both cricket and hockey for two-thirds of what

seemed a likely triple. However, having blitzed their group in house sevens they fell in the final against School in an encounter that could have gone either way.

House singing brought great fun and house spirit as it always does, and many felt we were robbed of a place. House dinner was a wonderful occasion as all year-groups enjoyed the food and company on offer. These two events show off the spirit of the house, further develop bonds between the year groups and live long in the memory. They are our personal highlights.

We look forward to another successful 2017-18 year.

Edward Turvill and Emilia Proctor, LVI

Dronfield

The best things that happen in Dronfield are when we do things together. It’s very often the simple things, such as waiting for each other in the mornings before heading off out of the door to start the day. I love the spirit shown in house events and competitions; I admire the commitment and involvement in concerts and plays and other teams, and I feel privileged to watch the girls enjoy and challenge themselves. It shows courage when individuals opt to be a part of a house team – debating and cross-country to name just two – particularly when you don’t consider yourself good enough. It is the taking part that means the most. There are many other examples of the good things that the pupils do together, and the individual contributions they make to the school and to the house.

The Lister Trophy is presented annually to a girl in the house who has contributed to house sport during her time in Dronfield. Emma Nelson and Olivia Calvert have been passionate in their support of the house, and particularly through their sport. It was only right that the Lister Trophy be shared between these two outstanding Dronfield girls.

At the end of the year we said farewell to Mrs McKie as she takes up the reins in Queen’s house, and thank her for the kindness and support she has given to all of us in Dronfield. We also said goodbye to Margo, ManYi and Bethany who have chosen new paths for their sixth form. Our upper-sixth leavers in Dronfield this year have come together over a period of ten years at St Peter’s, and from different parts of the world and different parts of Yorkshire. Old friendships have remained strong over the ten years, and new friendships have blossomed in these last two years. We wish all twelve of our uppersixth leavers the strength to meet the challenges of life after St Peter’s, and all the happiness in the world. We thank them for all the very great memories they leave with us. We thank our tutors and domestic staff for keeping the house on its feet, and we wish Mrs Brough well as she starts her maternity leave, and we say a special thankyou to Anna Muirhead, who has done an exceptional job as head of house.

It has been a good year in Dronfield. I leave the rest of the house notes to two of our new boarders.

Mr Jon Whitehouse

In September I joined Dronfield as a new third-former, moving from St Hugh’s where I had also been a boarder. I live in Italy so had already been a boarder for a year before to moving to St Peter’s.

One of my favourite parts of this year was the house dinner. I liked it because I got to sit and talk to some other people in the house who I don’t usually sit with. Also I liked the getting-ready part beforehand. Another part of my first year which I enjoyed is that compared to my old school, which was a tiny community, Dronfield feels like a big family and you have lots of new sisters. And just like sisters you have your moments, but they also comfort you and guide you when you are stuck. There have been many weekend activities, like going to the cinema and the trampoline park. I particularly liked the indoor skiing at Xscape, as you got to race each other.

Hannah Costin

In my upper sixth year, I both entered and left Dronfield which I believe gives me a pretty unique and yet bittersweet perspective on what it really means to be part of this house. Aware that my time was limited I sought to remember every moment, create as many memories as possible and, immersing myself totally in this community, take away as much as I possibly could. Becoming a boarder is an odd thing: day pupils enjoy fooling themselves about the reality of boarding life, pitying the curfews and the perceived lack of family and freedom and while for some this may be true, boarding life is so much better than I could ever have imagined as a day pupil. Your family becomes the people around you and home comforts become crowded, gossipy sofas and sleepy smiles. Leaving Dronfield will not be easy for me. Growing up I dreamed of leaving the bubble of school, I felt like I was too big for this small pond. It turns out I was just in the wrong pond! As this year draws to a close, hugs become longer, words carry more meaning and we are all filled with that uneasy excitement that leaving school brings. It is so easy to talk about the clichés of a girls’ boarding house, but truly Dronfield is filled with warmth and laughter, the young women who live here are witty, beautiful, intelligent and strong people. It has been a pleasure to live among them and a privilege to become one of them.

Alice Jackson

Hope

Hope house has enjoyed another successful year: tucked away on the edge of the campus, it’s rarely in the thick of it, and this year was no exception. But, that said, there was still much activity and a regular stream of loyal visitors to swell the numbers, make full use of the kitchen facilities and join in with the odd game of common room football, which, despite the ever-increasing collection of confiscated balls of various shapes and sizes in Hope’s office, still remains a firm favourite at breaks and lunchtimes.

Having been asked just days before the start of the Christmas Term if I would take on Hope in Miss Ullstein’s absence, I was rather cautious about how best to proceed. Whilst running a house isn’t new to me, looking after Hope most certainly would be. I opted to speak with the old hands, Livi Whitehouse and Ed Bottomley. As newly appointed heads of house they offered sound advice and set me off in the right direction, for which I’m most grateful.

With the new term, the upper sixth took control of the big common room, which they dutifully shared for house meetings on Saturday mornings. Meanwhile, the lower sixth took the room down the hall and up the stairs, newly furnished with corner sofas (sounds better than it actually is) and, thanks to Charlie Higginbottom, a makeshift table tennis table, on which they played until people were either bored or irritated by it. The fourths and fifths moved up, leaving the common room closest to the office for the new third formers. They settled in quickly – very quickly, helped I’m sure by a trip with Livi and Ed to Mega Bowl, where Toby Search proved to be particularly able with a bowling ball and Paul Townend enjoyed his chips.

Hope has once again thrown itself into house activities. This year we have been fortunate to have so many (almost all) sports captains in our midst: Ted Patmore (cricket), Jack Coulthard (rowing), Rowan Tait (Tennis), Phoebe Phillips (netball), Joe Simpson (rugby) and Ed Bottomley (football). Along with Livi and Katherine Spencer rallying the troops, our performance at inter-house events has been enthusiastic and in many cases successful. Hope came third in football, and the senior sevens team fared better than the juniors after beating School, drawing with Linton only to lose to Queen’s in the semi-final. The girls’ squash team came third, the junior netballers came second and the girls’ badminton team were overall winners, as were the girls’ swimming team. Inter-house cross country, a perennial favourite with the staff and loved and loathed in equal measure by the pupils, took place on a beautiful autumnal October afternoon. Runners dodged cyclists, dog-walkers and cows to make their way round the Ings course with some notable individual performances from Hope pupils.

Hope performed well in interhouse debating and made the semi-final in the junior challenge, thanks to some sterling performances from – amongst others – Henry Butters, who even without his socks proved to have the answers to some of the more obscure questions. The end of the first half term saw Hope come a very respectable second in the inter-house singing: thanks to Ella Day and Rowan Tait’s choreography we gave a fair rendition of Trouble Maker that Olly Murs himself would have been proud of, supported by Harriet Edwards on the trumpet, Katherine Spencer on the piano and Ed Morrison on the drums. Hope was the top day house; we were rightly proud! In the library, Hope’s library committee members, Felicity Edwards and Jack Hargrave, helped put together a wickedly challenging literary quiz. Hope came second – by just one point! – thanks to knowing rather too much about Harry Potter…

Sports day was once again postponed because of poor weather, but a junior event took place towards the end of the summer term. Whilst the boys didn’t feature in the top three, the girls came a very

respectable second. Particular congratulations go to Maddie Wylie for her 300m run and long jump and Elicia Race who won both the high jump and 1500m. In rounders the senior girls were victorious over Clifton and the junior cricketers beat The Grove but lost out to The Manor in the semi-final. The girls performed well in tennis to come second overall.

Hope was well represented in the senior and junior music festivals: Harriet Edwards played the trumpet, Katherine Spencer and Jack Hargrave both played the trombone, Katherine and Felicity played the piano and Felicity also played the harp. In the juniors, Jennie Durham and Toby Search sang, whilst Sophie Clarke played the euphonium and Jodie Leon played the piano. Toby was winner of the brass section.

The end of the school year saw the announcement of next year’s roles and responsibilities. Congratulations go to Charlie Higginbottom, Jack Hargrave, Phoebe Hall and Annie Ellis who will be school monitors. Annie will also take on deputy head of school responsibilities and I wish her well. In music, Jack Hargrave is head chorister, Phoebe Hall is head of band and Felicity Edwards is leader of the swing band. This time of year can prove to be a difficult course to navigate for all hard-working and aspiring individuals and I am reminded of Lt Col Caroline Lewin’s words at Commemoration – ‘it’s nice to be important, but far more important to be nice’. I wish all Hope pupils with responsibilities this coming year all the very best in their duties and leadership.

As housemaster of Hope house for just one year, I am aware just how important to St Peter’s the house system is. May I thank Ed and Livi for keeping things ticking over and particularly Livi, who sustained her commitment to the very end. May I also thank Hope’s loyal team of tutors. Mrs Lisa Middleton steered and cajoled the third form, ensuring that their bags were packed, top buttons were fastened and shoes – not trainers – were worn for lessons. Mrs Ella Mallard fed chocolate to the fourths to keep them keen and merit-rich – with impressive results! Mr Howard Bowden’s daily appearance in house was significant in seeing the fifths through the most challenging of years. The double-act that is Mr Keith Wright and Mr Bob Shread helped the lower sixth make the smooth transition to the sixth form. Assistant housemaster Mr Mark Edwards showed persistence with the upper sixth which will I’m sure have paid off as they move on to pastures new. Finally, many thanks to Hope’s wonderful cleaners, Carol and Susan, who have ensured that socks stay in lockers, rubbish goes in bins and microwavable popcorn becomes a thing of the past! I have enjoyed my year in Hope and wish Mr Noy Scott all the very best as he takes up the mantle, ably supported by next year’s heads of house, Phoebe Hall and Charlie Higginbottom.

There is however, one other person who deserves a mention. Miss Libby Ullstein, whose wisdom and calm demeanour have helped steer a generation of Hope pupils through St Peter’s. Despite her absence, she has very much been a part of Hope this year, keeping a watchful eye on the pupils – and me! After talking to current pupils and old Peterites, it’s clearly apparent that she’s recognised as a caring and intuitive pastoral leader. Whilst Miss Ullstein leaves Hope, she most certainly is not leaving St Peter’s. I thank her sincerely for her support this year and wish her well as she returns to running Geography, supporting Community Action and mucking in with the D of E. Thank you, Libby!

Mr Chris Hall

Linton

Linton house has had a very successful year: under the leadership of the upper-sixth boys many successes were achieved, for example:

• Inter-house senior rugby sevens winners • Senior boys third in inter-house cross-country • Winners of the modern foreign languages quiz • Winners of senior house debating • Semi-finalists of the St Peter’s Challenge event

At the end July 2016 we said goodbye to our upper-sixth boys. The last day of term is the hardest for everyone, and as we say goodbye to the leavers it is hard to imagine that they would not be returning to the house in September. Luckily for them their names remain for at least the first half of the Christmas term as we refer to their old rooms by their names – and, as you can imagine, the new members of the house find this very confusing! The 2016 leavers moved on to a host of different universities in the UK and abroad. It is always lovely to welcome them back to the house and humbling to hear them speak so fondly of their time in Linton. At the house annual dinner I spoke of the qualities we expect from the boys in Linton and said that, whilst achieving a full string of excellent grades is fantastic, it is only really half the picture. Importantly the boys who were kind, honest, respectful and good humoured are remembered long after the A-level grades they achieved. On a daily basis I am lucky enough to witness boys being kind to each other, as well as looking out for each and displaying both integrity and honesty. Brent, Isaac Burley, Ed Jackson, Kingsley Lou and Matthew Ng joined the third form, Francis Zhang joined the fourth form and Schepay Dong, Ethan Stone and James Ellis the lower sixth. Hanno Brach joined the fourth form for a year from Germany and Gideon Wakelin joined us from Clifton house. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly they adapt to the routines of the boarding house.

The first term saw a host of successful events for Linton. In the annual cross-country competition the senior boys came third and for the second year in succession Ben Hobbs came first in the junior event running an impressive race. Congratulations to the boys who were part of the modern foreign languages quiz: Rory, Hanno, Matt, Ethan, Niall, Anthony, Gideon. To beat off the nearest opposition by 40 points is a great achievement! The final of the senior house sevens competition was against Grove house. The Linton boys showed their true grit and determination, plus undisputable teamwork and house camaraderie, resulting in them beating The Grove 12-10.

In the annual inter-house singing competition the boys performed a fantastic rendition of Five Years’ Time by Noah and the Whale. Sadly, and surprisingly, they were not placed. Also at the end of the Christmas term Matthew Ramalingam and Joseph Raper performed in Grease. They were both brilliant, with Matt’s singing and guitar-playing deserving special mention. Matthew Ng continues with the musical tradition and progressed to the final of the junior music festival. Also in the first term the St Peter’s Challenge competition takes place. Following from the success of last year’s competition the pressure was most certainly on the Linton boys, but pleasingly they progressed to the semi-finals where their run in the

competition was sadly halted and I would like to thank all the boys who took part. In the inter-house debating competition the senior boys progressed swiftly and skilfully to the final: Niall Collinson proposed the motion This house believes that governments should provide a guaranteed universal basic income and was ably supported by Gideon Wakelin and Joseph Raper. Mr Vann commented on the professionalism of the boys and was impressed by their conviction and their thorough planning: well done and thank you on achieving the first place. I would like to personally thank Gideon for organising the boys and ensuring that the team was well prepared: his help was invaluable.

Academic extension out of the classroom has also been popular this year. Jerry Tam and Matthew Ng must be congratulated on being chosen to represent the school at the UKMT mathematics competition. Jerry also gave a short presentation to the York Astronomical Society on the limits of space travel which was enthusiastically received by the audience. We were delighted that Jerry was awarded the mathematics prize at Commemoration. Sean Shao also took part in the ‘F1 in school’ competition, winning the regional round, and was placed fourth in the national final which took place at Silverstone race track. He was also part of the winning team at the Physics Olympics organised by the University of Liverpool. At the end of term I was lucky enough to see the artwork produced by a lot of the boys and am looking forward to having Jonny’s work adorning the walls of Linton.

In the sporting arena a number of the boys represented school teams – Ethan Leigh-Howarth was a member of the under-15 rugby team who progressed to the quarter-finals of the NatWest Cup; James Black and Charlie Rae represented the school at first-team level for cricket and rugby; Jonny Jaworski captained the water polo team (I am delighted that Tom Charge will be taking over this role from Jonny!) and Charlie Rae and George Ingall were part of the team who reached the semi-finals of the Rosslyn Park rugby sevens competition. James Ellis and Charlie Rae were also in the first XI football team. On the river Elliot Millman had a successful season: he trialled for the GB rowing squad and took part in the British rowing championships held in Nottingham. At the national schools’ regatta the J16 quad, which Elliot was in, reached the semi-finals and Hanno Brach reached the semi-finals in the J18 double. Ben Hobbs continued with his training for the triathlon, was a member of the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy and competed in the Super Series events.

I would like to say goodbye to the upper-sixth leavers. They will be missed: George, Jonny, Titan and Will have been together for the past five years and in that time I never witnessed them have a cross word with each other. I wish them well as they embark upon the next chapter of their lives and look forward to them visiting Linton whenever they are in York.

Finally a big thank you to all the support staff who keep the house (and the boys) functioning, day in, day out. Matron, Tracey, Georgina and Dawn keep the house spotless and their efforts are appreciated by all. Thank you to all the tutors: Paddy, Lee, Mr Battersby, Mrs Chisholm and Mrs Tooby-Smith.

Mrs Justine Williams

Queen’s

As another year passes we wave goodbye to our upper sixth and welcome in our new third- and lower sixth-form members to the house. This year the house was ably led by Eleanor Graham and Helen Ford, who helped to organise house teams and events and lead the Queen’s pupil body.

Once again the house has participated eagerly in the St Peter’s Challenge competition at junior and senior levels. The juniors had a particularly successful run, narrowly missing out to School house in the final. It has been great to see so many pupils competing in this area, and hopefully this success will inspire future cohorts to take up the daunting challenge of flaunting their knowledge in public.

There was a large turnout for the inter-house cross-country competition, with Queen’s winning the junior boys’ competition, and stunning performances by Charles Barry (first in the senior boys) and Will Coggrave (second in the junior boys). The interhouse singing competition was once again a triumph of enthusiasm, with a gutsy performance of Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves, although placing remains elusive. Many students also took part in school productions this year, and house tutors have done an excellent job of helping their tutees to balance their workloads.

The summer began with the unfortunate cancellation of sports day because adverse weather conditions made the grass track unsafe. However, the event was run for junior pupils later in the term, resulting in an excellent afternoon of sport. Activities continued despite the obvious emphasis on, and absence caused by, exam season, with enthusiastic participation in inter-house tennis, rounders and cricket competitions.

And so we come to the end of another year of activity, and look forward with anticipation to what next year will bring under the new heads of house, Clare Hornby and Jack Williams.

Mrs Cath Hempsall

School

As another year passes, it is quite amazing to reflect on the depth and breadth of experiences, progress and successes during another year in School House. As ever, the house has provided plenty of opportunity for pupils to thrive beyond the classroom and the highlight reel is long and full of success. On the European Day of Languages Lily Martin, Lucy Lovisetto, Cosmo Forbes, James Mahon, Lucy Lawrence, Mathis Piquiot and Harry Jones finished runners-up in a much enjoyed quiz evening of European knowledge. In the St Peter’s Challenge competition, the quartet of George O’Neill, Rose Gabbertas, Cosmo Forbes and Jamie Dunsmore successfully saw off The Grove in what was an excellent final to ensure School reclaimed the senior trophy whilst the junior team of Harry Jones, Rachel Padgett, Ben Dunsmore and Tom Hatfield also ran out as overall winners in the summer term.

The senior debating team bowed out at the semi-final stages against The Rise but it was fantastic to see the very high standard of public debating skills on display and particular credit to the squad of Chris Hall, James Guyer, Cosmo Forbes and George O’Neill for doing so well. The junior team included a number of new faces taking to the debating floor for the first time. Third-formers James Hatfield and Ed Fricker, alongside fifth-former Tom Uren, made their debuts alongside experienced ‘pros’ Jamie Dunsmore, Tom Hatfield and Sam Beighton. In the final against Hope house and in what was a terrifically high standard of debating, we successfully opposed the motion This House believes that after meeting their basic needs, individuals have a moral responsibility to donate their wealth towards poverty alleviation to become junior inter-house debating champions. In perhaps the best house event of all, we came together for the house singing competition to deliver Michael Buble’s Haven’t met you yet. Cassie Bythell and Charlie Corner led the singing superbly, but the judges didn’t place us in the top three; however, great fun was had by all.

On the sports fields, the cross-country competition was the first house event in the calendar and the junior girls, led home by winner Phoebe Holmes, finished in second place overall whilst the junior boys, led by Joe Baker in 14th place, also finished as runners-up. At senior level, Jamie Dunsmore (fourth place) brought the boys home as they finished third overall, whilst a sparkling first (Maddy Bennison), second (Nicole Moir) and third (Lucy Lawrence) – with good support from the other girls – meant we finished first and took the trophy as winners of the senior girls’ cross-country. The girls continued their success in the inter-house hockey competition, where we qualified comfortably from the group stages with particularly impressive debuts from third-formers Lucy-May Robinson and Hannah Aubrey. After a good semi-final win we came up against a strong Clifton team who ran out deserved 3-0 winners

and we had to settle for the runners-up position. In inter-house volleyball, our sixth-form team of Nicole Moir, Izzy Cotter, Rose Gabbertas, Cassie Bythell, Vicky Brook, Anabel Chan and Lydia Palmer reached the semi-final stages to finish fourth. Success came soon after on the squash courts, with the squad of Izzy Cotter, Ellie Spencer, Lucy Lawrence and Anabel Chan qualifying unbeaten through the group stages before defeating The Rise in an excellent final to become house squash champions. Although the senior girls couldn’t reach the final stages of the netball competition, the junior girls (fourth-formers Amelia Blackburn, Rachel Padgett, Megan Ford and Maisy O’Neill, with third-formers Lucy-May Robinson, Hannah Aubrey, Khushi Jain, Phoebe Holmes and Emily Barker) made it to the final and a stunning victory over Hope meant we became junior house netball champions. The girls continued their success in the pool as collectively they put in a phenomenal performance to qualify in every single event for the final rounds of house swimming, and although we led at the half-way stage, strong performances from Hope in the relays saw them snatch the trophy whilst we finished as runners-up. Nevertheless this was a fantastic achievement by all the girls involved with special praise going to captain Nicole Moir who organised the team superbly and Maddy Bennison who broke a school record in the 25m freestyle event: well done to all!

Over on the rugby pitches, the senior boys of Charlie Corner, James Guyer, George O’Neill, Charlie Hudson, Nathan Goyea, James Mahon, Matt Ubhi, Zak Darbandi, Tom Hatfield and Sam Beighton gave their all but narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals but the juniors managed to go one better. Facing a much-fancied Clifton team in the final, the boys saved their best until last. Led superbly by Tom Robins and other fourth-formers Callum Prince, Harry Jones, Corey Ledden and Will Guyer and third-formers Joe Baker (who scored the winning try in the final), Charlie Bramley, Joshy Bennison and Max Darbandi, they produced a real team effort, working incredibly hard for each other to become junior house sevens winners.

When the cricket season arrived, a youthful squad of Charlie Bramley, Joshy Bennison. Max Darbandi, Harvey Gration, Joe Baker, Will Guyer and Corey Ledden reached the final of the inter-house plate competition before losing to Temple and finishing as runnersup. The girls meanwhile were making excellent progress over on the rounders pitches where the combination of fourth-formers Amelia Blackburn, Rachel Padgett, Abi Shaw and Megan Ford, and thirdformers Phoebe Holmes, Hannah Aubrey, Lucy-May Robinson, Khushi Jain and Emily Barker, reached the final where we managed to defeat The Grove and become junior house rounders champions.

In the penultimate week of term there was enough time to fit in a junior sports day (the whole school event having been defeated by weather just before study leave). The boys finished in second place overall with some strong results across the events but particular praise should go to Callum Prince who won the discus event and Tom Robins who (again) leapt to victory by matching the school high jump record of 1.75m. The girls finished in fourth place on the day, again with strong performances in most events with special praise going to Amelia Blackburn for winning the javelin.

At our final house assembly, I took the opportunity to thank our outstanding team of tutors and to pay compliment to Mr Vann’s outstanding work in School house before he returns to the world of law. To Mandy and Fay who keep the common rooms so clean and tidy the pupils owe a great deal of thanks as well, and we passed on our very best wishes to our upper-sixth leavers, whom we will miss dearly. George and Izzy have led the house superbly and we wish Anabel Chan and Matt Ubhi well in their new roles as heads of house next year. As we say goodbye to such a strong year group, it is reassuring to know the future of School house is in such good hands – roll on September!

Mr Ben White

Temple

It has been a turbulent year full of surprises. First came the aftermath of Brexit, then the shock election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and the calling of an unexpected general election by Theresa May. However, the biggest shock of all came in March 2017 when Temple won the inter-house football competition, our first victory in boys’ sport for a number of years. It should not have come as a surprise though, as our team featured a number of boys – most notably Cameron Burdass and Tom Hawksworth – who had enjoyed a very successful season with the first XI. Cameron Burdass went on to enjoy a fruitful cricket season,

the highlight being his nomination for Cricket World’s Performance of the Week along with Ted Patmore for their unbeaten 243 partnership against Hymers. Other individual sporting successes over the year included Will Fordy who played rugby for Yorkshire Carnegie, Alex Martin who was joint captain of the first XI hockey team, Will Andrews who won the hockey stick for commitment to hockey during his time at the school, Matty Roberts and Joe Bates who made appearances for the first XI and North Yorkshire cricket teams and James Bramley who played for East Yorkshire. Matty, Joe and James helped the junior boys to win the house cricket plate event having been drawn again against their closest rivals, Clifton, in the first round of the main competition. Girls’ sport was played once again in the very best of spirits with all girls having to get involved at some point, because of the small number of girls in the house. The goodwill and enthusiasm with which they do this continues to impress me and we look forward to welcoming eight new girls into the third form in September, the largest number during my time in Temple. Special mention should be made of Julia Crowther who had a very successful season as captain of girls’ squash as well as taking charge of all the girls’ house sport for me. I would also like to congratulate Sophie-Rose Haslam on her appointment as captain of girls’ boats for next year.

Over the last few years, Temple has possessed considerable musical talent and this trend continued this year with the house represented in high numbers in the various choirs and ensembles as

well as the senior and junior music festivals. Jasmine Brimmell should be congratulated on her victory in the piano section of the junior competition and Fleur Booth (head chorister) and Amber Rose (deputy head chorister for next year) were highly commended in the girls’ singing section of the senior competition. Highlights of the year were the beautiful solos of Fleur, Julia and Helena Reeds at the Cabaret concerts, along with Ellie Richardson who starred on the flugelhorn with the Swing Band. Both Fleur and Ellie have been stalwarts of the Swing Band on the trumpet over the last few years and will be sorely missed. Fleur and Helena also sang solo parts in the concert in York Minster in March. However, the year will probably be best remembered for the production of Grease, which helped to turn thoughts to Summer Nights in the cold depths of

winter. It was deservedly a sell-out and it was good to see so many pupils from Temple involved. House singing should be included in the music section of my report, even though it is not always one of the most musical of occasions. Temple was not placed this year with their rendition of Mysterious Girl but we were able to blame it not on our singing but on Will Andrew’s loud Hawaiian shirt.

Volunteering is another really positive way in which pupils can use their time effectively in school and I was really encouraged to hear from Mrs Robinson recently that Temple had the most volunteers, doing a variety of activities such as helping with Maths, Science, Art and Rowing at St Olave’s. We also had plenty of volunteers this year for the junior and senior St Peter’s Challenge teams with the senior team, ably led by Luke Dunsmore, reaching the semi-final stage before losing to School. The junior team had a couple of wins and two narrow defeats before going out in the group stage but it was great to see a large number of both girls and boys keen to put their knowledge to the test.

There is much in the media today about the pressures young people are under and it is good to have time to reflect on those things which bring balance to pupils’ lives and help them to develop as individuals outside the classroom. However, I welcome the increased awareness of these pressures and I encourage all pupils, but particularly those leaving Temple this year, to continue to maintain that balance in their lives, to keep up their friendships and to value the power of talking. The upper sixth have been a wonderful year-

group, who have conducted themselves in an exemplary manner over the last five years and I will be really sad to see them go. I would particularly like to thank Julia and Will for their support as heads of house and congratulate Will Farr and Felicity Head on being appointed to continue their good work from September. We also say goodbye and good luck to Livvy Thew who is moving on to pastures new for the sixth form. Finally, it remains for me to thank my fantastic, supportive set of tutors and my assistant Mr Parr who are staying with me in Temple next year and are a regular presence around the house. Next year will be a significant milestone for me: my tenth year in charge of the house, and I look forward to the surprises another year will no doubt bring.

Mrs Jenny Houghton

The Grove

The end of the summer term marks a period of transition. In houses, it is a time when one group of pupils leaves while another prepares to arrive. In between, everyone “shuffles up” as the third form becomes the fourth form, the fourth form becomes the fifth, and so on. Perhaps the most important shift is the group of pupils who move into their final year and begin shaping the route to their exit twelve months hence. As they do so, they assume all the positions of responsibility occupied by their forebears and so arise the agonising decisions over heads of house. In the process of considering potential candidates, I ask lower sixth form pupils a simple question: “What is the most important event for The Grove each year?” The answers are varied and indicate how richly the house system adds to the lives of pupils St Peter’s.

The house barbecue is a frequent response. This year’s upper sixth group decided that, to get people together early in the year for a social event, they wanted a barbecue and so, on the second Friday of the year after games, we gathered for an evening of sunshine, good food and a bouncy castle. We played ping-pong, ate ice creams and were astonished at the gymnastic abilities of some in the creation of a human spider! This informal event served to help integrate our new third form and, I am sure, will move from being inaugural to becoming a fixture in years to come.

Perhaps the most popular answer was the house singing competition and this year’s entry (Breaking Free from High School Musical) presented the usual challenges of melding 71 voices into some kind of unison while attempting to coordinate a tangle of actions. The rehearsals for our performance were again the highlight and the two hours we had together in the chapel saw initial chaos give way to eventual unison, even harmony. The enthusiasm for the competition shows no signs of abating and my abiding memories are of shy brown jackets looking on as seniors sang with unabashed gusto. Sadly the judges saw fit to perpetuate their injustice and we were unplaced (again) when they announced their decisions. Along with other disappointed houses, I suspect, we assume we came fourth!

House sport remains an element of school life that both binds and divides us. We seem to strike the right balance between healthy rivalry and light-hearted involvement and try to view such competitions as chances to pursue participation rather than excellence. That said, our victories in the senior rounders, junior girls’ sports day and the girls’ tennis certainly allowed us to enjoy the prowess of The Grove’s female athletes. The Cass Cup, awarded annually in our final assembly to recognise the contribution to house life by an individual, was this year shared by Belle Blackburn and Jenny Elliott whose positive impact on red-shirted teams has been incalculable in their five years. We have also enjoyed a high degree of enthusiastic participation in the more cerebral activities of debating and quiz teams and this report gives me the opportunity to record my thanks to all those Grovites who have represented us, regardless of their level of success; as I always say to those arranging our teams, it is more important that many are involved than that we win … and I do mean it!

Choice of some was the house dinner, an event enjoyed by us all, presenting as it does a chance for us to share our company and a good meal. It is my view that, aside from this, the event gives the opportunity for our heads of house to shape and organise the evening. In the hands of Laura Aspinall and Matthew Roberts, The Grove has enjoyed sensitive leadership this year and, in having to rearrange the meal in the last 48 hours, they showed impressive organisational acumen. In their own ways, they both have offered authentic role models for younger members of the house and they concluded our dinner with a good speech … even I understood one or two of their jokes!

I think if I were asked the same question, I might bend the rules a little by suggesting our Saturday morning assembly. This brief but important weekly event allows us to gather and share the successes of members of the house and to recognise involvement in the wide array of activities Grovites engage with from drama to sport to Community Action and to shine a light on those in receipt of merits for their work. It is fitting that the school year concludes with a house meeting when the house sits on our lawn and is usually blessed with some July sunshine. This meeting is a chance to bid farewell to all our leavers. This year’s upper sixth joined the house with me in September 2012 as third-form pupils and I shall look back on our time together with a particular fondness; I literally don’t know the house without them. This year the final assembly saw us say goodbye to Mr David Morris, who has served as a tutor in The Grove for a remarkable 27 years: what a feat of patience and endurance! As he begins his well-deserved retirement, we send him on his way with our very best wishes. We hope that he will be a frequent visitor to the house in the years to come and that he will take a few moments to sit on the bench outside the house dedicated to his generous service.

Mr Martin Lawrence

The Manor

Seven is a lucky number and one with plenty of meaning. The school has seven values, Enid Blyton had the Secret Seven, there are seven wonders of the ancient world and of course there are seven deadly sins …. Anyway this is now the end of my seventh year in The Manor. And on the way there have been adventures, wonders, talk of values and just occasionally a boy has veered off course! However they have been seven fun-packed years and I hope that the report below catches some of the recent highlights.

Christmas Term

Seven third-formers, one fourth-former (which brought that year group to seven) and two lower-sixth joined us in September and soon settled into life in The Manor. Each brought their own personality and character, and the great joy of boarding is getting to live alongside so many interesting people with such a range of experiences in their lives so far.

The first couple of weeks are always very full. The boarders’ dinner on the Saturday night and the activities on the Sunday (paintballing or York boat trip) were great ways for all the boarders to get to know each other. Debating and public lectures occupied many over the first month, and it was good to see the boys challenging themselves academically. The school musical, Grease, saw a few of the boys playing starring roles too and it was heartening that there were so many watching and supporting. Our house chapel played on this theme of community and got its message across clearly.

However the term had a very sad moment when we learned of the news of the death of Matthew Coe, who had left only back in July. This hit the boys and the staff very hard and their support of each other at this difficult time was tremendous. In particular, Charles Dunn showed excellent leadership as head of house.

A real highlight yet again was the house singing competition. For the third time The Manor proved triumphant and our well-rehearsed and well-performed rendition of Taylor Swift’s We Are Never Getting Back Together (in part chosen because of Matthew Coe) deserved to finish where it did. This was a great collective achievement and a strong reflection of the teamwork in house.

The inter-house cross-country was the year’s first sporting event and it was great to see all taking part and giving it a go. The senior house challenge led to lots of preparation but sadly we couldn’t quite match the breadth of knowledge shown by one or two others elsewhere. Inter-house rugby is always a highlight and both the senior and junior teams gave it their all. Great fun was had and it was the backdrop to an excellent house dinner that evening.

Easter Term

Football continued to be a strong sport in house this term with a large number of boys representing the school first and second teams. We reached the final of the inter-house football later on in the term, only losing narrowly in the final. Our inter-house hockey teams were less successful but it showed just how willing the boys were to play for the house and be part of the team. The inter-house water polo competition is very popular and our team lost only to the eventual winners. We did well in the senior house debating this year, reaching the semi-final, with some strong debating performances shown. It really was a busy term!

Summer term The People

Our junior St Peter’s Challenge team competed really well this year as too did our junior cricketers who put in some excellent performances to reach the tournament final. The whole school sports day was sadly rained off, but the junior version of this for third and fourth forms was a terrific afternoon. It was good to see the team spirit on show and there were some impressive performances in different events too.

Inevitably exams were a focus at different points in the term and I remain impressed by the determined focus that the boys show at this time. There is a real desire to do well and I was very heartened by what I saw – even Saturday nights saw many with heads in books working hard. The desire to succeed is clear.

Throughout the year music continued to flourish with many learning instruments and performing in various concerts and festivals. Huge dedication is shown in practice, and the time put into this work by a number of boys has really been impressive.

House pizza nights and the odd tapas night are now regular features through the year which are really enjoyed. The upper sixth have proved really good fun in the time they have been with us over the last five years. To watch then grow from third formers into young adults ready to move on to university or work is a real privilege. The other years in house are great to live with too: it is they who make boarding the special thing that it is.

Dori and I are ably supported by a strong team of tutors and in-house support staff. This was Dave Ray’s last of fourteen years in The Manor, serving under three housemasters. Words cannot express the contribution he has made over this time and I know the boys will miss him hugely. Laura Pearson has been helping with some Sundays, but she is now moving across the road to Dronfield to take on a greater commitment there. David Robinson continues to be excellent as the live-out assistant and it is great news that he will become the live-in assistant.

Colette, our matron, and the team of cleaners continue to keep the rooms looking remarkably clean and tidy – something that parents always pick up on positively and remark upon.

My final thanks always go to my family. Without their wholehearted support and commitment this job just wouldn’t be possible.

Mr Steve Gwilliam

The Rise

The year began with our fifth form - Alexandria Johnston, Lily Naylor Ksenia Trubacheva and Isabel Chen – relieved no longer to be the youngest girls, and they welcomed our new third form (Alannah, Olivia, Saebin and Elise) and fourth formers (Sophie, Amelie and Sofiya) with open arms. The fifths lost no time in tutoring them in their new responsibilities. The third and fourth form do the ‘food shop’ on alternate days and their tenacity and reliability is to be commended as is their good humour and chat when they return. We also welcomed our new lower-sixth pupils: Demi Xin, Cokkie Yang, Eliza Withall and Ellie-Mae Winstanley, who took to life at St Peter’s like a ducks to water. Very quickly it seemed as though they had been living in The Rise for some time!

Next on the agenda was the house cross-country competition. The day of race was bright and sunny and there were impressive performances from many of The Rise girls, including Ksenia Trubacheva, Lily Naylor, Grace Moody and Alexandria Johnston. The Rise came in sixth place in the junior girls’ race and third in the senior girls’ race.

Under Eve Bracken’s brilliant musical leadership, the girls committed themselves to countless practices of One Way or Another by Blondie for the house singing. Accompanied by Emily Mcdonald on the guitar we continued with our own tradition of singing perfectly in unison without a conductor! They enjoyed themselves immensely and beamed throughout the performance, coming a close second to The Manor

The production of Grease was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Christmas term. Eve Bracken, Kitty Clapham and Maddie Day gave memorable performances as Rizzo, Marty and Patty respectively. Charlotte Hollinrake and Grace Moody transformed themselves into the most gorgeous “pink ladies”. I was so proud to see Kitty and Eve receive their colours for Drama in the end-of-term assembly.

In the Autumn concert we were treated to a wealth of musical talent. The Rise was admirably represented by Saebin Park and Elise O’Shaughnessy in the Flute Group, performing Over the Rainbow and The Typewriter beautifully. Later in the concert, Emily McDonald joined them in the Wind Band for a performance of the theme tune from Pirates of the Caribbean.

We rounded off a very happy and busy Christmas term with our house dinner. The girls and their guests enjoyed a sumptuous soirée rounded off with Eve and Tamsin’s memorable speech, which displayed a sense of affection for the house, a knowledge of pupils, and a witty reminder of the highs and lows of life in The Rise. I am always particularly proud of how elegantly the girls present themselves and most importantly what an enjoyable evening the guests have whom the girls have invited.

The senior house debating competition was particularly exciting in the Easter term. Toni Salami, Tiffany Tuhirmann, Cressida Killick, Eliza Withall and Ellie-Mae Winstanley engaged with a range of controversial motions. In the final, The Rise proposed That governments should provide a guaranteed, universal, basic income. Though pipped at the post by Linton all can be congratulated on their thorough preparation and the delivery of their arguments as well as their commitment throughout the competition. Elsewhere, Ksenia and Yulia Trubacheva, Alexandria Johnston and Lily Naylor played brilliantly to come second in squash. We were also delighted to learn that Yulia will be captain of girls’ squash for 2017-18.

Red Nose Day saw the appearance of The Three Little Pigs, the Cat in the Hat, some golfers, and an M & M. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz joined the girls in their fund-raising efforts; there was no sign of Mrs Gillies …

Exams loomed in May and the house became eerily quiet as the girls went home, shut themselves in their rooms (or even in the laundry) away from all temptations. Despite these pressures the girls delivered a fine house chapel. Under the motivating leadership of Eve Bracken, the girls explored the importance of appreciating the present and not worrying too much about what the future holds – an important message in the examination season. Emily McDonald performed Feeling Good which chimed perfectly with the central theme.

The sun shone brightly for the senior tennis and rounders competitions and it was a real treat to be a spectator at an event where everyone showed such pride and enthusiasm. Well supported by The Rise girls and Tess, the beagle, the girls gave the other houses a real run for their money finishing in third and second places respectively.

As the term rushed on, it would soon be time to say goodbye to our upper sixth – Tam, Eve, Cecilia, Cressy, Toni, Liv and Tiffany – as they began the next exciting chapter in their lives. I would like to thank them for being such a fabulous year-group and for contributing so much to life in The Rise and in the wider school community. They have supported the girls and me through thick and thin and we have all enjoyed our chats, giggles and more serious discussions. We will miss them all and The Rise will not be quite the same without their own brand of engaging cheeriness. We also said early farewells to Isabel Chen who leaves St Peter’s to attend Charterhouse so that she can be nearer to her family. Isabel’s lady-like ways and kindly nature will be missed but we look forward to her visiting us in the North again. Special thanks must go to our brilliant head of house, Eve Bracken, whose help, infectious enthusiasm and wicked sense of fun has been much appreciated by us all and particularly those new to The Rise

We are indebted to our tutors and particularly Lisa, Miggy and Jenny who keep The Rise as ‘clean as a sweetie’. Most of all we must thank our matron Jane who does so much for everyone. Her efficiency, Yorkshire common sense, friendliness, sense of fun and sewing skills are so appreciated by us all.

Mrs Dorothy Gillies