House Reports

Clifton

It’s been a fantastic year for Clifton house, triumphing in nearly every aspect of school life. We started the year by strengthening our tutor group with the superb additions of Mrs Hall and Mrs Hempsall.

The Clifton girls have had a particularly successful year with the senior girls claiming the hat-trick, winning the three major house sporting events: hockey, netball and rounders. Quite an achievement! This is thanks to the eager help of the many members of the house who are part of the first XI teams. The junior girls followed in the older girls’ footsteps, competing well with great house spirit in all events. Finally all Clifton girls came together and dived into the swimming gala, making it into the competitive finals and taking the bronze medal.

Sports day was sadly cancelled due to adverse weather however the junior boys took the crown in house athletics. Throughout the house the boys took part in every interhouse event and despite missing out on victory they had inspirational team spirit and made the house proud.

There was a large turnout for the inter-house cross country. Clifton came together and showed its true colours (yellow for gold of course!) as the senior and junior boys and the senior girls truly champed the cross country.

One of our favourite events is the interhouse singing. This year Clifton blasted the judges with an enthusiastic performance of Dynamite by Taio Cruz. Outrageously Clifton kept its streak of not placing despite the passionate display. However it still brought great fun and truly demonstrated the house spirit; many like to say we were definitely the loudest!

Once again, as a strong academic house, Clifton actively participated in house debating and the school challenge.

Much to our amusement in both senior house debating and the school challenge finals, Clifton hungrily snatched the win from our downstairs rivals, The Grove. Furthermore, as the cherry on top, the Fifth, Fourth and Third Forms came together to win the junior version of the school challenge too.

Another highlight of the Clifton year is the annual house dinner. As is our tradition we celebrated at Pizza Express. House dinner is a brilliant occasion for everyone to enjoy fantastic company and food. It really shows off the house as a whole and is a thoroughly enjoyable evening to bond as a house.

At the end of July 2018 we said goodbye to our Upper Sixth Form Cliftonities. Yet as we say ‘goodbye’ there are plenty of new ‘hellos’ as we welcome the new Third Form to the house. We also welcome a new addition of Dr Boddy to the tutor groups who will guide the Fifth Form through their important year of GCSEs. This year Clifton was aptly let by our heads of house Edward Turvill and Emilia Proctor who supported the house, helped organise house teams and events and lead the Clifton pupil body exceptionally, we couldn’t have achieved what we have in this year without their help and enthusiasm.

And so we come to the end of another year of activities and we look forward to the new year to come. We’d like to mention that Clifton house wouldn’t be the same without its group of loyal staff supporters: Mr Spencer, Mr Fuller, Mrs Lunadi, Mrs Hall, Mrs Hempsall, Mr Smith and of course, last but certainly not least, our ever devoted House Master Mr Snelling. All of us in Clifton can’t thank you enough.

To another wonderful year, here comes Clifton 2018-19!

Dronfield

We welcomed 10 new girls to Dronfield at the start of the year, and Mses Ullstein, Pearson, Downes and Mallard joined our team of tutors. The year also began with the exciting news of the safe arrival of Emilia Brough, a daughter to Mr and Mrs Brough.

Interhouse competition always provides a healthy focus for the house. Second place in House Singing, Junior Challenge, Sports Day and Rounders has made for a good year.

If the Dronfield girls will allow me a brief reference to football, to affirm their achievements this year: As a young fan myself throughout the 1970s, Bobby Robson’s Ipswich Town had the best record in the First Division of any club except Liverpool. Few remember that second place achievement except the tens of thousands of Ipswich Town supporters for whom it was the best time of their lives.

Three of the Dronfield results were achieved by our Third and Fourth Form girls in the house. They have shown great spirit and togetherness, and had some fun in the process. Well done to Serena, Hannah, Jasmine, Catherine, Hope and Emily. Second really is a great place to be, and should be celebrated. I know the girls are extremely pleased with their second place achievements, and rightly so.

Laura, Farah, Lottie and Alex lead the way in Senior House Challenge, and pulled off some impressive results. Ella, Holly, Harriet, Sophie, Serena and Emily represented the house at Tennis, and Holly, Katy and Teri debated for Dronfield. Ester and Alex took the views of the house to various school committees, and Katy cochaired the School Council.

Katy was recognised at the end of year final assembly for her role on the school council in promoting the student voice. Sophie received the Lister Trophy for her contribution to Dronfield house sport over the years.

Other notable individual achievements this year include Sirui’s and Emily’s performances in the senior and junior music finals. Flossy, Holly, Farah & Laura took to the stage in As Your Like It. Amalia and Harriet played for the successful senior Hockey squad, and Oenone and Charlotte for the U16s.

There have been a number of occasions throughout the year when every girl has made a positive contribution in some way to the house. These are not always publicly acknowledged, but the impact on the house is no less important. We thank Holly for all her good work as our head of house, and to the Upper Sixth Form in particular for their kindness and their good humour.

Ms Ullstein leaves St Peter’s School this year, and after an all too short a time with us in Dronfield. We thank her for always putting the girls first, and wish her well as she heads south. We are grateful to Mrs Mallard for helping with the boarding duties in Dronfield this year, and to our team of tutors and domestic staff for their support throughout the year.

We say a very fond farewell to our Upper Sixth Form leavers (Katy, Holly, Amelia, Flossy, Sophie, Ella, Harriet, Mikayla, Amalia and Cecilia), and wish them well on their onward journeys through further education and beyond. Amelia may one day be your dentist, with Holly and Amalia making your fashion choices. Our Upper Sixth Form leavers have made Dronfield a very happy place in the time they have been with us. We also send our good wishes to Carly, Lottie, Karine and Kai Qin.

Mr Jon Whitehouse

Hope

Taking over a house is an apprehensive business. Hope, however, was not unfamiliar territory for me, and with the backing of my excellent tutor team and some outstanding senior pupils it soon became apparent that I need not have been worried. Phoebe and Charlie, with sterling support from other members of the Upper Sixth Form, ensured that every event was organised efficiently and ahead of time, and a huge range of pupils from across the house were willingly enlisted due to the encouragement they received from the top. This was indeed a senior group whose commitment and good-humour has been exemplary: they have lead from the front and will be sorely missed.

House Singing is always a major highlight of the Christmas Term, and as recent winners, I knew that Hope had both the pedigree and the potential to land a podium finish. It was a great team effort, with Harriet Edwards leading the band and a cabal of energetic Upper Sixth Form pupils leading the rehearsals. Much fun was had, and there was some frustration, but in the end we just had to Keep on Moving and trust that it would all come good on the day. The final rehearsal on the day took the whole performance to another level, with even Angus managing to clap hands in time with the music, and our subsequent victory was very much a stand-out moment of the entire year. With two wins in three years, the bar has been set high for the future!

Hope Houses contribution to the performance arts across the school has undoubtedly been an outstanding feature of the year. Whether it be on the stage or in any one of the vast array of musical ensembles, Hope House pupils have leading roles to play. Debating too has seen conspicuous success: our junior team – Henry Butters, Jenny Durham and Kitty Black – won their event in style; senior debaters performed with equal gusto; in school debating Hope pupils have played leading roles in a number of events. A wide collection of pupils also represented the house in the annual House Challenge events, but sadly, in the face of some genuinely tough questions, neither squad was able to secure a top-three finish.

In sport, Hope has continued to succeed across a range of disciplines. Significant victories were won in Senior Girls Squash and in the inaugural Lower Sixth Form 5-a-side football tournament, and the girls swimming squad achieved a second-place finish, but truth be told our performances in every event were marked out for their endeavour and enthusiastic commitment. Cross-country always provides a good benchmark of house spirit, and once again this was evident in spades. Senior boys, senior girls and junior boys all finished in fifth place, with junior girls managing a third place finish. The stand-out performance on the day was Katarina Bonner’s winning run in the senior girls’ event, with Oli Barry and Tabs Winkley also achieving notable success. My thanks to everyone who competed for the house this year, and also to the huge number of Hope pupils representing the school across a vast array of sports.

As ever, there has been much academic success this year, with several pupils achieving consistently excellent reports and many contributing to our impressive collection of merits: a second place finish in the Merit Cup provided an excellent testimony to their endeavours. Upper Sixth Form pupils have secured a range of encouraging offers, and I wish them every success in their continuing academic journeys, and to those whose GCSE results will significantly determine their future pathways. Much of this academic progress is supported and encouraged through the outstanding work of the tutor team, and my sincerest thanks to all the staff who have given so generously of their time: to Mr Edwards, who has guided and steered the Third Form pupils through their first year, as well as keeping me more or less on a correct path through his wise counsel as Assistant Housemaster; to Mrs Middleton, who has managed to keep the Forth Form powering forward, but who now sadly leaves us to assume a more part-time role; to Mrs Mallard, who has kept the Fifth Form pupils cheerful and purposeful through their challenging GCSE year; to Mr Bowden, who has worked hard to help the Lower Sixth make a successful transition to A levels; and to Mr Wright and Mr Shread, who have helped maintain sanity and composure within the Upper Sixth. Many thanks too to Phoebe and Charlie, who as heads of house have supported and advised me constantly; my best wishes to Will and Rebecca as they assume this daunting responsibility for the coming year.

This has been a busy and hugely enjoyable year. It is immensely satisfying to see the willingness that permeates the house, the support that pupils are prepared to show each other and the delights they show in each other’s successes, not to mention the fun that is had along the way. I have name-checked only a handful, but my sincere congratulations to you all on a wonderful year and my very best wishes to those of you who leave us: you will be missed, but I am sure you will move forward with Hope in your hearts.

Linton

Yet again I find myself in the position of reflecting on another year in Linton House. With slightly fewer boys in the House we have had to rely on everyone being ready and prepared to help with House events, hosting visitors and representing the House on numerous committees – there has been little opportunity for people to shirk responsibility! At the time of writing this report the Fifth Form are on study leave and the Upper Sixth Form are studying hard for their A levels. Yet again the house has taken on a somewhat eerie silence and importantly the younger boys are respecting the calm needed by those undertaking external examinations.

We started the year in welcoming four new Third Form pupils, Kai, Novid, Frazer and Bradley. Lawrence and Kevin joined Fourth form, with Ope and Ivan joining the Lower Sixth Form. All boys settled in well and were soon required to represent the House in the first competition – the annual cross country event. As is now customary – and expected, the seniors had a fantastic competition, each boy ran with commitment and effort. Out of 140 runners Ben Hobbs must be congratulated on coming second (his first time in the senior race), Henry Campbell sixth and James Black 11th. With Rory Winterburn and Spence Ingall also finishing in the top 35 the team managed a creditable second place. The juniors did not fair quite as well however, James Brent had an excellent race and came 10th out of 125, and his effort was outstanding.

The House Chapel was expertly delivered by the Lower Sixth Form under the guardianship of Paddy. The theme covered discrimination and began with a staging of the St Brice’s Day massacre through to the horrific discrimination experienced by civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Kevin Xu started the proceedings by playing a traditional Chinese instrument called the Erhu, which is a two-stringed fiddle. As is customary for the House the boys enjoyed demonstrating their acting skills to the expectant congregation and, they did not disappoint. Carrying on with the creative theme the House song chosen was Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. Anthony Lam expertly organised both the music and the boys! The final performance was excellent but unfortunately, yet again, we were not placed. Congratulations also to the musicians in the House who also managed to progress to the finals of both the junior and senior music festival. Matthew Ng played the clarinet beautifully and Nick New delighted the audience with his bagpipe performance. Pleasingly many boys are playing musical instruments in the House, these ranges from brass through to the electric guitar and I urge them to continue with this. Joe Raper continued the drama tradition and performed brilliantly as Oliver in the school play As You Like It.

Academically the boys in Linton continue to take their studies seriously. During the external exams I was, yet again, impressed with the commitment they showed to their studies, in fact on many occasions I had to tell the boys to stop studying; I am proud of the way in which the House takes on a real sense of purpose during this time. Special mention must also go to Francis Zhang and Kevin Xu who both achieved a gold award in the year 10 and 11 Physics Olympiad Challenge.

Linton as ever has taken an active role in the house debating competitions throughout the year showing the characteristic patriotism towards the challenge. In the junior section, the debaters

were confronted with the motion “This house would allow UK students to vote on the curriculum they are taught in school” the team took it in their stride and produced a win and Ed Jackson was awarded best speaker; although the team didn’t win they served the house proud. Senior debating saw the senior team facing a fellow boarding house, The Rise. Linton saw their first victory followed by a second against Temple, this took us into the semi-finals, however two valiant loses against strong opposition saw the end of house debating for Linton (at least for that year). Other boys take part in debating outside the house competitions, Freddy Dorling helped to judge the MACE competitions hosted at St Peters this year, he was also awarded a speaking prize in one of the many inter-school competitions he competed in. Even today debating stirs up a healthy rivalry between the houses and is sure to do so in years to come.

Many boys continue to participate in a full range of sports. Tom Charge led the water polo team and congratulations to Joe Raper who will be carrying on the Linton tradition as he takes over the reins from Tom. Rory Winterburn, Spencer Ingall, James Black, Henry Campbell, Josh Harrison, Ope Okunoren, Ilya Rzheznikov and Ben Poskitt represented the school at senior Rugby. Anthony Lam and James Ellis were regulars in the football team. The junior boys became cricket mad in one of the warmest summers we have had for a while and special mention must go to James Brent who achieved a hat trick wicket against GSAL. Elliot Millman has continued to row for the school and I am delighted that he has been awarded Captain of the Boat Club, a tremendous achievement. Ben Hobbs is training hard for the triathlon as well as trying his hand at rowing!

It seems very odd to be writing the last house report and after seven previous reports, this one has most definitely been the hardest. In reflecting on the time in the House you remember, thankfully, the enjoyable times and Matron and I often, on a quiet afternoon wonder what ‘such and such’ are now up to! Not only has Linton been a home from home for many of the boys it must be remembered that it has been our family home for a long time and we will reflect with fond memories of being able to have lived in such a splendid house. I will most certainly miss Matron, Tracey, Dawn and Linda, not only do they look after all the boys in their care they also look after me and I thank them for their hard work, kindness and upmost professionalism. We are so lucky to have a group of ladies who go way beyond their remit in looking after the boys. Thank you to a superb team of tutors Paddy, Mrs Tooby-Smith, Mrs Chisolm and Mr Battersby: your help has been invaluable. I wish Mr and Mrs Battersby all the best as they take over Linton House and hope that they will be as happy in Linton as we have been.

Finally, many thanks to Rory for his contribution as Head of House, and best wishes to Ben Poskitt as he takes over the reins.

Queen’s

It has been a real pleasure to take over as housemistress of Queen’s House this year and I have very much enjoyed getting to know the 73 people that make it such a busy and positive place. This year the Heads of House, Jack Williams and Clare Hornby, did a fantastic job at guiding pupils and modelling both impeccable behaviour and Queen’s House spirit at all times.

It is fair to say that we have had mixed successes in the various house events that have been taking place since September. One thing that can always be relied on however is the enthusiasm with which the Queen’s pupils commit themselves. This was seen readily in house sing where they gave a rousing performance of The Killers’ Mr Brightside. Unfortunately our view that we should place first, second or third was not shared by the judges but of course there is always next year… With keen runners in house we had good success in the interhouse cross country competition with Queen’s winning the senior and junior boys competitions coupled some excellent placings in the junior girls category as well.

Although in the team sport events there were no key wins, the lower sixth football league did reach fifth place with some very passionate performances and much entertainment for those watching! The girls made a valiant effort in the netball, badminton and hockey. The latter in particular was a pleasure to watch as the team consisted of pupils from the new Third Form all the way up to Upper Sixth Form and demonstrated great teamwork and camaraderie.

Sadly, due to the weather, whole school sports day was postponed, but the juniors participated in their own event during the summer

term and it was an excellent afternoon of sporting endeavour. With various individual successes some impressive placings in the track events; Beth Wheelhouse in the 300m, some superb discus throwing by Issy Greenwood and first place in the shot putt for Will Coggrave.

Although the exam season did interrupt activity somewhat there was still enthusiastic participation in the house tennis, rounders and cricket competitions. One thing I can say is that I am incredibly proud of every single member of the Queen’s House and how they have conducted themselves in representing us this year from sports, to drama, to music to debating and so much more. A particular highlight for the house came in securing the Merit Cup and celebrating success in all things academic — now the challenge is to hold on to it next year!

So here we are at the end of this year’s journey and I am excited to see what next year will bring. I am also confident that new Heads of House, Sophie Barry and Oli Coulthard will be very much guiding from the front and injecting positive energy into all that we embark on.

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, such as the range of pupils who represented the senior and junior ‘House Challenge’ teams, all putting their fastest fingers on the buzzers in some amazing displays of general knowledge and quick thinking. The senior debating teams of Cosmo Forbes, Tom Hatfield and Jamie Dunsmore reached the semi-finals whilst the junior team of Jamie Hatfield, Joe Baker and Ed Fricker faced a couple of narrow decisions (we lost by a solitary point two weeks in a row) that meant we didn’t reach the final stages. Nevertheless these competitions provided a great opportunity for a variety of pupils to engage in some fulfilling activities away from their academic studies and the Christmas term ended with a much enjoyed (partly due to mulled wine and festive mince pies) Christmas Lit Quiz with Millie Redshaw, Freddie Cowman-Sharpe, Alfie Martin and Lucy Lawrence participating so well.

One of the highlights of the musical calendar is certainly the interhouse singing competition and this year’s song choice (chosen by our Upper Sixth Form pupils) was Tik Tok by Kesha. With Lucy Lovisetto conducting, rehearsals went well and we managed to blend a perfect concoction of rhythm, melody and actions. Indeed we felt confident going into the event itself but alas, once again, the judges did not place us in the top three (we were clearly fourth) but this wonderful event ensured the whole house united together towards a common goal.

On the sporting front this has been an incredibly successful year and in the first house event in the calendar, congratulations went to all who wore the School House shirt with pride across the cross-country course and particular praise went to Phoebe Holmes who finished 1st in the Junior Girls event. On the badminton courts, the quartet of Ellie Spencer, Anabel Chan, Lydia Palmer and Amelia Blackburn gathered momentum throughout the inter-house competition and successfully defeated The Rise in the final to become House Badminton champions, whilst Lucy Lovisetto joined this quartet as we finished runners-up in House Squash. After three successive wins on the hockey pitches, an Ellie Spencer goal meant we beat The Rise in the semi-final yet despite having the better of the chances and much of the play in the final against Clifton, the girls couldn’t find the winning goal and a breakaway goal meant that we finished runners-up.

In the inaugural Lower Sixth Football League, some fine squad management and rotation (always great to see) ensured that every Lower Sixth boy got to play through victories in the group stages but although we dominated the semi-final against Temple, we couldn’t find a way past their inspired goalkeeper and were left ruing a number of good efforts in a 1-0 defeat. The boys were back on form in the 3rd/4th playoff where a comprehensive victory over Linton meant we finished in third place overall and congratulations

went to Sam B, Sam G, Sam W, Jamie, Finlay, Tom H, Tom U, Zak, Mathis and Alfie for some superb performances and excellent house spirit throughout the competition.

Over on the netball courts, the Junior Girls of Hannah, Emily, Phoebe, Khushi and Lucy-May joined forces with Third Formers Katy, Alice, Ruby and Lizzie to breeze through the group stages winning their games comfortably. Some outstanding netball culminated in wins all the way to the final where a very exciting game 7-7 draw against The Grove meant extra time and with the score at 10-10 it was The Grove who successfully clinched the win with the ‘golden net’; nevertheless the girls played their part in a superb final and can be very proud of their performances. As the Senior Girls got their tournament underway, we put out a young ‘development team’ due to a lack of netball expertise in the very top year! Lower Sixth Formers Hannah, Sam, Maddy, Millie, Ellie and Issy were joined by Fifth Former Amelia and although they did not make the final stages, great fun was had and we shall have another crack at the title next year!

In Junior House Hockey, Fourth Formers Joe, Max, Ben, Joshy, Harvey , Ed and Charlie were joined by Third Formers Max and Ben and made a blistering start to their campaign before we saved the best performance until last and defeated the Manor 4-0 in the final to become House Hockey champions. Most of this same squad took to the cricket pitches as we moved into the summer term and the tables were unfortunately turned as it was the Manor who were the only team to beat although we were crowned winners of the plate competition. Over in the pool the girls put in some superb performances in House Swimming but particular mention should go to Millie Marwood in Third Form who won, and broke the school record, in the 25m backstroke and also won the 50m breastroke. Other winners included Ellie Spencer (Senior 25m backstroke), Maddy Bennison (Senior 25m freestyle) and the Junior 4x25m freestyle. These individual winners were supported by numerous second and third places including Hannah Aubrey, Phoebe Holmes and Anabel Chan whilst excellent performances from the other squad members meant we picked up a fantastic 107 points total and become House Swimming Champions 2018.

Nearly all the Junior girls played their part in sweeping all before them in House Rounders group stages before facing the other group winners, Queen’s House and after a close draw we managed to power our way through the extra balls to become Junior House Rounders champions as well!

With all of the successes over the year, the real value has been to see pupils of all abilities pulling on their maroon shirts with pride and working together for a common cause - well done to everyone for their efforts and achievements across 2017-2018. At our final house assembly, we took the opportunity to thank our outstanding team of tutors and to pay compliment to Mrs Battersby’s outstanding work in School House before she heads across to the boarding side of school life in Linton. To Mandy and Fay who keep the common rooms so clean and tidy the pupils owe great thanks as well and we passed on our very best wishes to our Upper Sixth leavers who we will miss dearly. Anabel and Matt have led the House superbly and we wish Hannah Coleman and Mathis Piquiot 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!

Temple

This year has been a significant milestone for me in that it has been my 10th year in charge of Temple. Although the job has changed significantly since I took over, with young people under even greater pressure, particularly from social media, it remains an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding job. In September we were joined by Hugh Whitworth, Jemima Telfer and Aleyna Haxby in the Lower Sixth and by Antonia Ryan-Briscoe in the Fourth Form, all of whom now look as if they have never been anywhere else. We also welcomed a new group of Third Form pupils and with them came a good mix of academic, musical and sporting talent as well as a lot of noise! They certainly believe in the “better out than in” mantra when it comes to sorting out issues in the common room.

A much more pleasant sound, however, came in June when we were well represented by the Third and Fourth Form at the junior music festival with Rachael Green winning the woodwind section on the saxophone and Charlotte Gee winning the piano section. Rachael went on to be the deserved overall winner of the festival and treated the whole school to her performance of Sax in the City later in the term in chapel. At the weather delayed senior music festival we were well represented in the singing sections by Amber Rose, Ben Parkes and Alex Leahy who all went on to have starring roles in the cabaret concert. They have given a lot to the musical life of the school in general, but particularly singing, and I would like to thank them for the pleasure they have brought me and everyone over the last five years. Having heard Annabel Squire, Eva Parkyn and Toby Mayfield sing in the junior music festival, there is plenty of talent waiting in the wings. “Plenty of talent” is not a phrase which is usually attached to the House Singing competition and yet we finished in an admirable third place this year with our rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time.

On the theme of hitting, Temple scored another victory in boys’ sport this year. As former Temple pupil Jonny Bairstow was hitting the Aussies for six repeatedly in the one day internationals, Temple junior boys were winning the junior house cricket competition having come close in the last couple of years. We narrowly missed out on retaining the house football trophy, losing to Hope House in the final, but this is a good time to congratulate Jack Mayfield on being made Captain of Football for next year. Once again, sports day had to be cancelled due to the weather which led to a waterlogged track. However, the junior events managed to go ahead following exam week and on a lovely sunny afternoon, Temple enjoyed a number of successes. One of the highlights was Angel Norza’s stunning victory in the 100m, although there were many others with Corby Doeg winning the javelin, Joe Lawrence winning the long jump and Sam McKeown winning the 1,500m. It is not all about winning though and the one thing that has stuck

in my mind from the sporting calendar this year is the house spirit demonstrated by Pebbles Myers at the girls’ house swimming gala when she not only rushed from a music exam to get there but also swam an individual race and three relays, including swimming for the seniors. This in my opinion is what house sport is all about.

Temple continued to be well represented in other areas of the creative arts with a number of pupils involved in Shakespeare’s As You Like It in November and in GCSE drama performances. We have a group of highly talented artists in the house and this talent was on full display at the annual Art Exhibition, including the A level work of Rebecca Battles, Martha Horner and Amber Rose.

At St Peter’s we always like the pupils to challenge themselves and take themselves out of their comfort zones and two such opportunities for this are the house challenge and the house debating competitions. We made it to the semi-final in the senior house challenge, losing to the eventual winners, The Grove, by just one question. We will certainly miss Alex Leahy’s phenomenal general knowledge in years to come. It was also good to see more girls getting involved in the junior event this year with Eva Parkyn and Antonia Ryan-Briscoe recording a resounding victory in one of the rounds as a team of two over a team of four. Hugh Whitworth was a welcome addition to the senior house debating team and also won the senior public speaking competition later in the year.

After a busy year, it is now time to say goodbye to the Upper Sixth who leave us to carry on their education at academic institutions around the country. I will be really sad to see them go. I would particularly like to thank Felicity and Will for their support as Heads of House and congratulate Lily Kirkby and Jack Mayfield on being appointed to continue their good work from September. They should make a good team having started school together at Clifton pre-prep and there is an element of déja vu as they were Heads of House together at St Olave’s many years ago. Once again I urge those leaving this year to keep up their friendships and their interests outside the classroom and to value the power of talking and listening. One final goodbye has to go to Mr Johnston who is leaving the school this term. He has been a tutor in Temple during my 10 years in charge and well before that. The insight he has been able to provide me with from working closely with the boys on the sports programme has been invaluable and shows how much he cares about the pupils. I will have to find someone else to make sure the boys have had a haircut or a shave.

Finally, it remains for me to thank my remaining fantastic, supportive set of tutors who are a dedicated and (generally) cheery presence in the house. Mr Parr, Temple Assistant Housemaster, should have a halo, not just because of the work he does, but also because he has the best chapel attendance in house. It won’t be long before we find ourselves back in chapel , welcoming a new bunch of Peterites to this wonderful community, but now it is time for everyone to have a well-deserved rest.

The Grove

The Grove sits at one extreme end of the St Peter’s campus in a secluded garden and revels in wonderful separation. This year our usual peace and quiet has been disrupted as the old Mathematics and Languages blocks have been demolished and been replaced with the new Pascal Building. Over the course of the year therefore, we have endured a mixture of noise and mess but, through all this, we have witnessed the emergence of a new, state-of-the-art teaching facility. It is easy to think that the project has lasted for the one year when we have lived alongside the numerous contractors but, of course, its beginnings go back far further. There are interesting parallels to be drawn between this construction project and the lives of pupils at school. School lives follow neat annual patterns which come to fruition in the summer. This often means examination outcomes but, in a place like this, there is so much more to be celebrated. For those pupils who have been here for longer, the end of their time in The Grove follows a huge amount planning, hard work and, of course, investment, not unlike a major construction project.

Our Upper Sixth Form pupils this year leaves us to move on to the next stages of their educational journeys at different institutions and following different courses. Each of them has offered a great deal to our community in their own way and each will be missed and fondly remembered. This year we pay tribute to captains of sport, ace tennis players, a ‘drama king’, academic prize winners (we scooped 12 of the Sixth Form Prizes at Commemoration), creative artists and a host of great team players. Of all the people I see walking up the path to The Grove, it is old faces returning to catch up that are among the most welcome; a message I am keen for all of our leavers to register.

A key challenge in all houses is to get different year groups to mix and this year in The Grove we have joined together at various events including a house barbecue (with bungee run) and a very civilised and genial House Dinner. Though our entry for the House Sing competition, (I’ve had) the Time of My Life, suffered the same injustice in the hands of the judges as many of its predecessors, the rehearsals were greatly enjoyed and saw a polished performance emerge from the initial chaos. The final rendition was capped by “the lift” which, although expected by the audience, was greeted with a roar of approval. The intellectual life of the house is alive and well, if our performances in the inter-house quizzes can be used

to judge. Our senior team lost out narrowly in their final (as did our senior debating team) while our junior competitors were edged out by the narrowest possible margins in their semi-final. While these are competitive events, both are great fun to compete in and our teams enjoyed generous and encouraging support along the way. The sporting stars of our house are our junior girls who seemed to repeatedly sweep aside their competition and have brought home a range of silverware including the coveted overall Sports Day trophy. The Grove remains a musical place too with more than our share of choristers and instrumental performers and it has been a great pleasure to share their various successes through house and school assemblies.

The pastoral health of the house is a testament to the hard work of our year group tutors and I am indebted to them for their caring investment of time. With over 70 pupils to look out for, I am entirely dependent on them for their detailed knowledge and stewardship of their charges. The leadership of the house this year has been exceptional and, in Lucy Dabbs and Max Courtis, we have seen gentle but clear role-modelling of the way to combine a busy schedule with a willingness to help improve the lives of other pupils. Aside from delivering a witty and well-judged speech at our dinner, we should recognise that the success of house events, house kit and management of teams is entirely down to them. It was a pleasure to thank them with small tokens which ultimately feel inadequate given the generosity of their investment.

And so another year of hectic activity has unfolded in The Grove beneath the shelter and shade of our beautiful Himalayan Silver Birch which stands as the centerpiece of our garden. Fenced off for a year while the construction work has gone on around it, our much-admired tree forms part of the house crest and stands as a symbol of constancy and resilience and style...not unlike the best of the Grovites!

The Manor

The Manor, in its current location, turned 75 this year. The honours board at the entrance to the house notes all those who have led the house in this time, both students and housemasters. It is an honour and a privilege to be part of this history, while striving to take The Manor further forward into the future. Living alongside 41 boys in their teenage years is any combination of hilarious, bizarre, rewarding, exhausting, inspiring and great fun. As I write this report at the end of the academic year it can feel like all of these at once!

The Christmas Term

It was a pleasure to welcome many new boys to the house back in September. In the Third Form six pupils (Oaken, Arthur, Frahal, Justin, Walter, Ben) joined us at the start of year, with Wil joining too after Christmas. Alex, Harry and Jason joined the Fourth Form, with Will, Josh, Kaleb and Joe all adding to the Sixth Form. There were plenty of new faces and it was good to see all settle quickly into the life of the house.

The first couple of weeks are always very busy. The informal boarders’ dinner on the Saturday night and the “Getting to Know York” Sunday were a great way for all the boarders to get to know each other and the place where they now live. The following Sunday was the optional paintballing activity and this proved great fun for all those that took part. Great effort and preparation went into the house sing as usual, but after last year’s win it was always unlikely we would feature this time round. It is always great to see the boys perform and a huge well done to all those who brought this together.

Sadly, due to new RFU rules, house rugby played across year groups is no more. This meant that the House Cross-Country was the major event. Kieran Whyte finished third for the Manor in the Senior Boys event, with Dom Winn also in the top ten in the Junior Boys.

A particular highlight of this term was the fact our Junior debaters reached the final of the competition. They prepared well and argued strongly throughout the competition – a huge well done to Olly Tomalin, and also to Flynn Southgate who won the outstanding speaker award. The Senior challenge (House Quiz) did their best but we were outgunned by some strong teams elsewhere. The Easter Term

Football continued to be a strong and popular sport in house this term with a large number of boys representing the school 1st and 2nd XI. Due to the popularity of Senior Football, House Football was restricted to a Lower Sixth lunchtime tournament which was greatly enjoyed by all who took part. While perhaps we didn’t have the skill to win the competition, our commitment and spirit were surely the best!

Our Junior House Hockey team gave things a very strong go as well, finishing second, and it was great to see so many of the juniors taking part.

The Summer term The People

As ever the end of the school year sees goodbyes and thanks. The Upper Sixth will now be well on with the next stage of their lives and it was sad to see them leave at the end of term gathering. We also wished Andrew well too.

Dori and I are ably supported by a strong team of tutors and in-house support staff. David Robinson has provided excellent support in his first year living in, making a great contribution to the smooth running of the house. Matt Cannon joined the Manor team and has made a huge contribution too as do all the tutors that are part of the Manor.

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 patience, support and understanding I wouldn’t still be enjoying this as much as I do.

Our junior Challenge team competed really well this year as too did our strong junior cricket who put in some excellent performances to reach the tournament final. The whole school sports day had to be cancelled due to waterlogged pitches, but the junior version of this for the 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.

Exams permeated house life this term and the dedicated focus of the boys impressed me greatly. Working hard, while continuing to enjoy boarding life, was a key feature of the term. That was along with the barbecues we were able to have more of this year due to the excellent weather!

Perhaps the best aspect of this term is our very own Manor Handball – our own game, devised by the boys around the lines on the driveway. If you want to see all that is best about boarding in action this is it – it really makes for great watching and embodies the school values well (humility apart perhaps…)! Mr Steve Gwilliam

The Rise

2018 has indeed been a very special year for the Rise. On Sunday 13 May in gloriously sunny late Spring weather, 140 Risites attended a birthday party on the Rise Lawn to celebrate 100 years of boarding in The Rise.

Many memories of school days were exchanged, prosecco was sipped, scrumptious canapés were eaten and tours were given by the current Rise girls. No birthday party would be complete without a birthday cake and what a birthday cake it was-a ginger bread model of the Rise cut by the Head of House, Charlotte Hollinrake who was celebrating her 18th Birthday that very day. For me one of the most special moments was the planting of the Rise rose by the oldest Risite, 94 year old Ian Richardson and the youngest Risite, 14 year old Monica Wu. Everyone had a really lovely day and will remember it for a long time to come.

One of the wonderful aspects about any school year is that each one is different and is special for those girls, parents and teachers who are involved in its events at that time. Here are some more of our favourite events from this year.

The house singing competition on the last day before the October half-term proved to be a particularly memorable and joyous occasion. Under Charlotte Hollinrake’s brilliant leadership, the girls committed themselves to countless practices of Classic by MKTO. The girls were accompanied by Emily Mcdonald on the guitar and showed off their slick moves, enjoying themselves immensely and beaming throughout the performance. In the end however, the girls were narrowly pipped at the post by Hope who were declared the winners.

One of the many highlights at the end of the Christmas term is Mrs Figgin’s Christmas Jumper party and the house dinner. Everyone is dressed to the nines and each girl looks as if she were attending a red carpet event. After a four-course festive meal, we have speeches and head back to the Rise flat where the party continues and Christmas songs sung around the piano.

The Rise had a fantastic sporting year with both juniors and seniors kicking it off to a great start in house cross country: Lily Naylor came second in the senior competition which combined with Sonya Aleksandrova, Alex Johnson, Grace Moody and Ksenia Trebucheva all coming in the top 20 lead to a win over all the other houses. Both new sporting stars Emily Rastrick and Natasha Johnston had a strong run and finished seventh and 14th. Next on the agenda was house hockey; Charlotte Hollinrake captained the side outstandingly and Emily McDonald’s keeping was up to its usual precise quality, but unfortunately with the finals being the day after house dinner we came a respectable fourth. House swimming proved a usual struggle for participants but with seven willing swimmers we managed a creditable fourth; special mention goes to Sophie Adeley for her great performance and organisation. Yulia Trebucheva lead the squash team in a very honourable pursuit and the netball teams both had a distinguished performance. Finally the rounders was a very well fought competition from the senior team. An unlucky pip-at-the-most to Clifton in the final didn’t take away the notable performances of Kitty Clapham, Charlotte Hollinrake and Yulia Trebucheva. The house tennis final between The Rise and School house was worthy of Wimbledon with some nail biting rallies and brilliant points scored by Sonya Aleksandrova, Lily Naylor, Sophie Adeley, Kitty Clapham, Natasha Johnston and Emily McDonald. In our girls were narrowly defeated by School House 24 games to 21.

We would all like to thank the tutors – Mrs Figgins, Mrs Barnard, Miss Wilson and Mrs Robinson for their help, good advise and encouragement in everything the girls do. Special mention and thanks must go to Jane, our Matron and her team of ladies — Jenny, Miggy and Lisa for keep the Rise sparkling clean day in, day out. Finally a big thank you must go the Rise girls who make the Rise a wonderfully happy place to live and work.