House Reports

CLIFTON

Before embarking upon this year’s report, special mention must go to Mr Grant who has made such a sustained and tangible contribution to the life of Clifton House and the students within it over the last six years. The successes enjoyed this year are as a direct result of the hard work that Mr Grant has put in and the belief that he has shown in the students that make up the house.

It is a diffi cult task keeping track of all of the events that have taken place and so I give only a wide-angled snapshot of performances both individual and collective. Clifton House has had an exciting year, seeing many successes and performances of note both as a house and by individuals within it. We have had several senior individual honours: Deputy Head Girl (Emily Gray), and Captains of girls’ hockey (Josie Proctor), swimming (Alice Rhodes) and boats (Emily Gray) as well as Captain (Charlie Elliot) and Vice-Captain (Felix Adams) of cricket, President of debating (Ben Turvill) and Head of Band (Georgie Harrison). These individuals have made a sustained contribution to the school and the house and my thanks go out to them all.

The year began at breakneck speed as usual, with students across the year-groups needing quickly to fi nd their collective feet academically and on the co-curricular front. Indeed, one of the fi rst formal occasions required that one of the new Third Form had the daunting task of reading in Chapel. I was delighted that Jack Amsden not only volunteered, but also managed to read with such clarity and confi dence in what must have been a wholly new environment. Later in September, Clifton’s House Chapel discussed the themes of writer’s block and perseverance, and was both entertaining and thought-provoking.

The highly-anticipated inter-house cross-country was run with determination and commitment (in almost all cases!) and there was both a collection of superb individual runs and also very pleasing overall results, with the junior girls becoming overall winners of their category. The junior and senior boys both fi nished a highly-respectable second, with the senior girls putting in a gutsy performance to ultimately fi nish seventh. Special mention

should go to Emilia Proctor, Eva Carlyle, Becky Green, Maddie Hunter, Olivia Anderson, Matthew Jones, Ed Contreras and Freddie Heijbroek for fi nishing in the top tens of their events.

November saw both the start of the new St Peter’s Challenge competition and the return of the established Great Egg Race. The Egg Race team of Charlie Elliot, Henry Eyre, Sandy Eyre, Joe Copley, Patrick Hayes and Henry Barker put bags of effort and ingenuity into their contraption, only for a lack of fine-tuning through testing to mean that what had been a very promising concept did not quite perform under pressure. Lessons will be learned. The St Peter’s Challenge team proved to be very successful. Charlie and Sam Elliot, Ben Turvill, Toby Latham, Joe Copley, Charlie Rae and Jess Webster contributed to navigate all the way to the grand final, where we eventually came a very creditable second. Next year will be a fascinating battle.

The end of 2013 saw the girls’ inter-house hockey tournament, which was a superb spectacle in freezing conditions. Clifton drew a tricky group with The Rise, Queen’s and Temple, but managed to win all three close games. A tense 1-0 victory in the semi-final against Hope then saw them meet School in the final. With the scores level at full time and after extra time, the game went to flicks and sudden-death flicks. With Emma Walker giving an inspired performance in goal as well as some admirable nerve being shown by those taking the flicks, Clifton emerged, exhausted both mentally and physically, as victors. Throughout, the teamspirit shown was a joy to behold and I look forward to watching a more experienced side try to defend their crown next year.

2014 saw many more outstanding efforts and achievements. The boys’ hotly-anticipated rugby sevens competition saw the seniors, following an outstanding group-phase try-fest, eliminated in the semis. Exhausted and disappointed, they had nevertheless put in some outstanding displays of attacking rugby, with several longrange individual scores from both Will Pepper and Charlie Elliot. The juniors had a new potent attacking weapon in Charlie Rae and he was backed up with feverish work and excellent passing and tackling from the entire squad. A solid group-phase and impressive semi meant a final against The Grove that was hard-fought and close. The Grove eventually avenged a group-phase defeat to be crowned champions, meaning Clifton were a creditable second.

Wrecking Ball was a somewhat apt choice of song for our attempt at the House Singing crown. Rehearsals were enjoyable if not always tuneful affairs; my thanks to Mr Spencer for his patience and musicality: a light in the darkness. March saw the netball competition reach an exciting climax, with the girls managing to progress to the final following some excellent all-court play and an excellent game against Queen’s in the semi-final. We eventually finished runners-up; the girls performed strongly and should be rightfully proud, again, of the spirit and commitment on display.

Despite having half of the current First XI in Clifton, winning the inter-house cricket has always been a challenge. This year, we were given the toughest first-round draw, but managed to restrict Temple to an achievable total. Solid batting from the openers

meant the target was reached comfortably and a second-round tie against Queen’s beckoned. Clifton again played excellent cricket and managed to make the final against Grove. Another excellent game saw Clifton finish runners-up. Special mention must go to the skipper, Sam Elliot, who batted superbly throughout as well as producing a stunning pick-up and throw to run out a surprised and unlucky batsman.

Some would say that the finale of the ‘whole house’ events is Sports Day, and Cliftonites were keen to show their collective talents in what certainly is a showpiece event. Without picking out individual performances (there were too many to do so here), Clifton showed a broad and deep pool of athletic talent resulting in an overall victory for the house. This was an outstanding achievement and the future promises a great deal with many wins coming from lower down as well as some superb senior victories.

The final event of the term was the junior rounders, into which we had to enter a weakened team because of injuries. The depleted squad managed to win their group games, progressing to a tense and close semi-final against School, from which Clifton narrowly emerged victorious. The final was against our close rivals, The Grove, whom we had met in the group-stages. Clifton, through a combination of tight fielding, excellent backing-up, spirited batting and determined running, managed to emerge on top to be crowned champions. This proved to be a most satisfying and fitting end to the year as the girls demonstrated outstanding team-spirit and determination to work for each other.

As a new Housemaster, it has been a thoroughly enjoyable and eye-opening first year, one that I will remember for the rest of my career. My thanks go to the students and parents of the current Cliftonite crop for helping me to settle into what is a challenging but immensely rewarding position; to the Clifton tutors Mr Spencer (Upper Sixth), Mr Fuller (Lower Sixth), Mr Wallace (Fourth Form), and Mrs Chapman (Third Form), who have supported the students so admirably; and finally to my invaluable Assistant, Mrs Brough (Fifth Form), who (unfortunately for us) will be moving to Dronfield at the end of the year. I hope that we are able to build both on the spirit and the successes that we have enjoyed this year. Yellow and proud.

Mr Rob Snelling

DRONFIELD

Dronfi eld welcomed Miss Wilson, Miss Lambert and Miss Hercigová, and 14 new girls, to the house at the start of the year.

Our new Third Form – Annabel, Katy, Alana, Sophie and Grace – all settled in very quickly, and got involved in house and school activities. Sophie was nominated for York County netball trials and broke a record in the inter-house swimming, while Katy and Annabel took part in the middle-school play, London Below. Grace joined the School Choir, and took part in the Cabaret Concerts. Abi, Liv and Emma all spent their Easter in Morocco on the Fourth Form trek, while Edith was involved in the dramatic productions of London Below and The Wardrobe. Nicole broke the county record for the triple jump and ran some great 800m races for North Yorkshire Schools’ athletics. Nicole was the best junior girl athlete at the school Sports Day, and was also the fi rst-placed under-18 girl at the Beverley 10k in May. Our junior girls came third in inter-house rounders. The juniors also came second in inter-house debating and third in the swimming, with school records from Nicole, Sophie and Liv. Our Fifth Form of Pippa, Issy, Min and Dasha have had successes this Speech Day as Pippa achieved an

academic prize, Issy the Latin prize, an essay prize, a science prize and an art prize. Min won a maths prize and a drawing prize. Dasha finished her GCSE exams before half term, so enjoyed four weeks’ recovery followed by two weeks of community work at the end of the year. Holly and Georgia saw their year group nearly quadruple in size, making their year nine in total. They have involved themselves in various aspects of St Peter’s life, with Georgia, Carol and Holly in the Young Enterprise team, and Jemima and Carol in the Barbieshop group, performing in the Cabaret and Christmas Concerts. Lily, Holly and Jemima all went to the Ghent International Regatta and Holly and Lily rowed in the Women’s Henley Regatta alongside Min and Pippa.

The Upper Sixth were the largest year-group in Dronfield and the largest tutor-group in the school. Maria sadly did not return to St Peter’s after Christmas, but we were all delighted to see her briefly to say our goodbyes later in the year. Yaz, Angie, Alex, Alexandra and

Hannah all played badminton for the school, and led Dronfield to victory in the house competition this year; Siân achieved her half-colours in netball, music and hockey, and Tansy and India received full colours and half-colours respectively for netball. This year at Commemoration Jenny received a volunteering award, Siân was rewarded for her services to the Chapel, and Jess received the Senior Music Festival prize. Georgie went to Eton to play tennis this summer while Hannah took part in the Great North Swim. Siân, Hannah, Jenny and Bussy all completed their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award. Each and every one of the 18 Upper-Sixth girls in Dronfield has brought their own unique characteristics and abilities to the house. They are a great bunch of individuals, and a great team. Qualities such as generosity and consideration towards others, the desire to give of one’s best for individual success and for that of the house is very much the way the Upper Sixth of 2013-14 will be remembered. We hope all the girls who move on from Dronfield this year will find their way in life, and be happy and successful. We wish them all the very best of everything, and thank them for their contribution to the house, and in particular Bussy as Head of House. Particular thanks also go to Mrs Bollands for guiding the 18 through their final year. The Lister Trophy was kindly presented to Dronfield by Chloe Lister (Dronfield 2008-2013) and her family, to be awarded to a girl in the house each year who has contributed towards house sports. The first recipient of the Lister Trophy is Georgie Cornock, who has been involved across the full range of sports competitions. Her contribution to tennis in particular has been exceptional.

It’s been a good year in Dronfield in so many ways, and this has been very much down to the enthusiasm, unity and compassion of the girls in the house. We thank our Houseparents and tutors, and Magda and our domestic staff.

We offer congratulations to Holly and Jemima on their appointment as joint Heads of House for next year, and to Georgia in her role as a school monitor.

We say farewell to Miss Barker, who takes up a new post as Head of Classics at Hurst in Sussex. We wish her every success with her promotion. Miss Wilson takes up a new pastoral post in the Rise next year, and Miss Hercigová returns to the Czech Republic at the end of her one-year appointment at St Peter’s. Dronfield welcomes Mrs Chapman and Mr Miller as house tutors, and Mrs Brough as our Resident Assistant.

Bussy Wells (UVI) & Mr Jon Whitehouse

HOPE

The summer exam results drew to a close an all-round successful year for Hope (2012-13) and so we started a new year with sights set high and an expectation that we would build on the achievements of the previous twelve months to prove to the world that Hope – and Hopefuls – do regularly excel in all areas of school life: we know we can, and do, but we have our doubters on the outside …

The inclement weather over the summer put paid to a number of Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, and so Emily, Tim, Coidy and Johnny set off at the start of the year to complete their Gold Award trek, the start of a number of individual and small-team successes for the term. With House Singing postponed to February, there was only the inter-house cross-country to look forward to in the fi rst half of term. Although we didn’t shine as a house, several pupils did particularly well: Phil, Ed, Rosalind, Livi and Katherine were all placed in the top 15, but Katarina ran superbly to fi nish second in the junior girls’ competition. That is not to say that the fi rst half term was in any way dull: Max Auty had the unenviable task of opening the Music Award-Holders’ Concert with a fi ne cello performance, and Jack, Eve and Will showcased their considerable talents, contributing to an excellent evening of musical entertainment. Entertainment was also the order of the evening for the cast of As You Like It: Christian (Duke Frederick), Rosalind (Celia), and Alex (Charles) were both persuasive and amusing in their respective roles, whilst Livi was a reliable part of the creative team.

It was not only creativity, but also a good deal of imagination, ingenuity and luck(!) that was needed for this year’s Great Egg Race in November. Emily, Rachel, Lewis, James Lilley and George managed to construct a magnifi cent roller-coaster worthy of any marble and, had the process of moving it to the test-bed not caused a small misconfi guration in one of the tubes, I am sure that their time would have seriously challenged that of the winning design. Further opportunities for challenge were found in the school’s version of University Challenge. Once the competition got going, there was no stopping Marco and Johnny! Edmund and George put some senior members of the house to shame with the breadth of their general knowledge as the junior members of the team, so much so that Edmund was asked to join the school team

in the external competition. Edmund, George, Felicity, Jack, Kate, Annie and Ollie all contributed to the junior team in the varying rounds, fi nally securing third place, having beaten Queen’s in the third- and fourth-place play-off by 200 points to 90. Hope also secured third place in the girls’ inter-house hockey, after a tightly fought play-off: we were on a roll!

With the end of term nigh, the weeks of rehearsals for the school production of Alice came to a close and we were treated to a magnifi cent show. Will ably and animatedly narrated parts of the story in his role as Charles Dodgson; Beth, as the sous-chef for the Queen of Hearts, produced some lovely-looking tarts which our own light-fi ngered Knave of Hearts, Phil, stole away. Jess was

a particularly green and rather hippy Caterpillar in Wonderland, whilst Rowan played the Walrus in The Tale of the Walrus and the Carpenter. One of my favourite scenes from the book has always been the Mad Hatter’s Tea-Party, and Rosalind was a terrific March Hare as she helped to bring the scene to life.

The Easter Term saw an equally good mix of sport, music and drama (both in the house and on the stage). Emily, Shahad, Katharine and Jess did battle in the badminton tournament, and our netballers and squash players were also in action this term, but it was the swimming where we really stood out: of the 21 races, Hope girls won eleven of them, were placed in 19, and broke several records to boot. We finished in first place, 59 points ahead of the other houses, an absolutely awesome performance by you all! Hope boys’ sport has a little way to go (although individually there are many gifted sportsmen in the house), but James and Euan led a strong team in the inaugural water polo competition. In more academic pursuits, Marco and Johnny were in competitive mood again for the Science Society Quiz Evening. With the help of Edmund and Phoebe, the Quizee Rascals were placed equal second, missing first place by a single point. Others tried their hands at debating for the first time this term: Rachel,

Coidy and Tom represented the house in the senior competition, deciding that it was harder than it looks(!), whilst Ollie, George and Isaac faced a formidable Dronfield team in the junior competition to oppose the motion that the voting age should be lowered to 16. The middle-school play, The Wardrobe, provided some light entertainment, with Rowan and Beth playing the roles of Cecily and Matilda respectively, as the play told the story of the wardrobe from its place in high society to its final resting place in a museum. Not to be outdone by her sister, Rosalind gave a beautiful rendition of I Don’t Know How To Love Him in the Senior Music Festival, to win the singing class, and Will also gave a characterful performance. However, it was as part of the Community Action chapel service on Valentine’s Day where he was able to really show off his talents, alongside the Barbershop group, serenading selected members of the congregation with wonderful poise and good humour.

The House Singing competition – always a highlight (?) – was also held on Valentine’s Day. Katharine and Shahad worked hard to prepare the house during the short rehearsal time. George volunteered to play the guitar, and Isaac did an excellent job of keeping everyone in time, with his clear and rhythmical drumming. Not that Marco needed a lot of help as the conductor, with his red rose in hand, to mark the special day.

And so to the Summer Term: the Junior Music Festival took place in June and Hopefuls excelled once more: Max, Jack and Katherine performed a mix of light-hearted but tricky pieces, but Felicity stole the show, deservedly winning both the string and piano classes, as well as the overall competition. A term dominated by sport, particularly tennis, saw our girls’ team (Rachel, Emily, Katharine, Phoebe, Izzy and Hannah) march to victory in their competition, while Johnny and Jack, having tried (in vain) to hone their ball-skills in the common room (aided and abetted by Scholey, James and Euan) – I think I have at least a dozen confiscated tennis balls in the office! – played very well in an exceptionally close, tightly-fought boys’ competition, finishing second.

Hopefuls volunteered readily for most events for Sports Day, and characteristically gave their all on the day: Scholey won the senior javelin, Crofty the intermediate discus, Phoebe the junior long jump, and Katarina the junior 1500m. Those who weren’t involved came out to support, getting behind the relay teams, running alongside the 3,000m runners and generally cheering at the tops of their voices.

As ever, beyond the house, the school teams have regularly benefitted from Hopefuls this year. Scholey and Ted have not only represented the school, but went on to play rugby and cricket for Yorkshire this year Ilana and Phoebe have taken part at the National Schools’, hockey teams, Phoebe has also played at the National Schools’ netball tournament with Katarina, and the tennis finals alongside Rosalind. Katarina and Livi were both involved in the school’s cross-country, Ted and Joe have been involved in York and District hockey and cricket, and Jack has been to Teeside for rowing trails and training. I could go on … and on!

We have celebrated many academic successes too this year and, once again, Hope has been vying for the top spot in the Merit Cup. Phoebe Hall and Jack Hargrave have contributed hugely to our total, and must be applauded for their consistent levels of effort and endeavour. Congratulations must also be extended to our prize-winners: Eleanor, Laura, Jack, Livi, Jack Robins, Johnny, Rachel, Emily, and Katharine. We must also congratulate Izzy, who has been appointed as Deputy Head Girl next year, Marianne who has been chosen to be Head of House and a monitor, and James who will also be a monitor. We wish them well in their new roles, confident that they will all do terrific jobs.

I must extend heartfelt thanks to all the tutors who are extremely willing and supportive, and who give so generously of their time: to Mr Wright who, once again, has guided the Third Form, and helped them adjust to senior-school life, to Mrs Kinread who, latterly joined by Mrs Heaton, has endeavoured to keep the Fourth Form on the straight and narrow, despite tendencies to show off their sporting and artistic prowess, to Mr Noy Scott who has coaxed the Fifth Form into working towards their exams, and who guided them through the year with patience and perseverance, and to Mr Edwards who, in his role as Lower Sixth tutor, has ably assisted his tutees move seamlessly into the sixth form. I must also extend my particular thanks and gratitude to Mr Edwards who, as Assistant Housemaster, continues to be a source of great wisdom and support, and to whom I am enormously grateful for covering the house in my absence at the end of the summer. Finally, my sincere thanks to Rachel who has been a super Head of House. Hers has not been an easy job, but she has truly led by example, with great loyalty and integrity. She has taken an active role in almost all house events, and has dedicated much time and effort to the house whilst never losing her terrific sense of humour.

As well as bidding farewell to the Upper Sixth, we also say goodbye to Mr Shread. He has dedicated a great deal of time and expertise to his role as a Sixth Form tutor in Hope. His patient, gentle manner and sound guidance of those in his care have earned him huge respect within the house, and he will be sorely missed. The fondness which his tutees have towards him was ably captured by Rachel and Emily on prank day: a huge sheet painted with tennis balls and the message ‘Bye-bye Bob’, flying outside the common-room window, the hall and walls in Hope plastered with photos of him and his many tennis teams over the last 30 years and a copy of his Salvete, which they attached to the common room door. Thank you for all that you have done to help and support me and the house; we sincerely wish you every happiness in your retirement.

As I once again reflect on the year and our own unique community, I continue to marvel at the breadth and depth of talent that exists within the house. Every single Hopeful has something to offer both the house and the wider school community and, whether you demonstrate that outwardly, or quietly, out of the spotlight, each of you has had something to celebrate this year. My warmest congratulations to you all, and apologies to those of you I have not mentioned by name. We have, for the most part, gone from strength to strength this year. I hope that we will continue to do so, but, can we perhaps have a little less drama next year? We live in Hope!

Miss Elizabeth Ullstein

LINTON

It is that time of year again when there is no particular routine in the house, and when I look forward, albeit briefl y(!), to September starting when the house can be full again and the usual busy and, at times, manic routines can submerge us all! The examination period, for all year groups, has fi nished and, apart from the occasional football chanting, the house has become rather quiet and subdued. There are numerous trips occurring, lots of boys setting off on Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE expeditions and a number of Lower Sixth Formers attending university open days – all resulting in a very sparse house. I will attempt to summarise the main achievements and offer an insight into the annual ‘goings-on’ of the house.

At the start of the year we welcomed seven new boys into the house. Spencer Ingall, Zac Faithfull, James Black and Rory Winterburn joined the Third Form, Archie Stephenson the Fourth Form, and the following entered the Lower Sixth: Andrey Fokin, Nicolae Bolocan and Bill Mo. All the boys settled into the routines very quickly and, as is customary, were guided by the Upper Sixth as they showed them the ropes.

Back in August the Fifth and Sixth Formers received their GCSE and A-level results. The GCSE results for the current Lower Sixth were excellent and between just seven students a staggering 54 of the GCSEs they gained were at grade A* or A. Those who were leaving the school gained places at university or embarked on gap years. It is heartening to note that the boys in Linton continue to take their academic studies seriously; they are determined to study hard and there is a real desire to achieve the best results possible for themselves. In the run-up to the summer exams both the Third and Fourth Form boys revised thoroughly: there was a real sense of purpose too.

The fi rst house event of the term was the cross-country – in my opinion the way in which an individual, and a house, presents itself in this competition says a lot about their character and shows their ability and desire to ‘dig deep’ when the competition gets tough! Every boy in the house put in a huge amount of effort in a bid to secure a team win, working closely together to achieve a common goal. As well as outstanding personal performances from James Black (ninth junior), William Newitt (twelfth junior), Jake Stephenson (fourth senior), Nicolae Bolocan (fi fth senior) and George Pindar (seventh senior) both the junior and senior teams came fi rst. In fact Mr Winkley thought that we had imposed a compulsory training schedule, straight after prep, for all the boys!

Luckily both the junior and senior rugby sevens competitions took place this year and were not disrupted by the weather. The senior squad had a real mix of players from the very experienced to a complete novice (Nicolae)! The senior boys put in an inspiring performance, using their size and power to compensate for their lack of pace! Their proudest achievement was actually beating

School House who made it through to the final. The juniors played well and came third in their group. In the Easter term we entered the inter-house football competition – again there was evidence of group commitment and playing for house honour – the senior team progressed through to the semi-finals but lost narrowly, however securing a win in the third- and fourth-place playoffs was another great performance.

This year saw the introduction of an inter-house water polo competition. Having two experienced players – Will Fox and Sam Raper – we felt confident that we would progress within the competition! As predicted we won the first round and met Hope in the semi-final stage winning 4-2 – In Mr Sunderland’s words, the final versus The Grove was ‘legendary!’ At the end of the full game the score was 3-3, so extra time of two minutes each way was played – score 4-4, and after another two minutes the score was 5-5 (after Linton scored in the last five seconds). The final two minutes of extra time saw The Grove creep ahead to win in the very last second of play. Well done to the following boys who were in the team: William Fox, Sam Raper, Harry Richardson, William Emery, Jack Guffogg, Jake Stephenson and Toby Simpson.

Special mention must also go to William Emery who won the inaugural Linton house darts tournament. In his bid to remain unbeaten he knocked out Mr Smith in the semi-finals and Gabriel Chan in the final - fantastic!

Many of the boys, as well as representing the house, have also played in a host of school sports teams. In rugby, Jake Taylor has represented Yorkshire and Harry Richardson has represented Yorkshire and the North of England, whilst Toby Simpson played for the English Lambs and had the honour of touring Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, Archie Stephenson won the North of England under-15 tennis championships. Special mention must also go to the following boys who, in their last year of school, captained a sports team: Toby Simpson (First XV rugby), Daniel James (Captain of boats), and Gabriel Chan (Captain of squash).

Along with the numerous inter-house sports events the other usual house competitions were fiercely contested by the boys in Linton. The Great Egg Race took place in the newly-refurbished Memorial Hall and the team, made up of Daniel James, Gabriel Chan, William Fox, Jonathan Jaworski and Spencer Ingall built an impressive structure that had to ensure a marble travelled extremely slowly down it. Also before Christmas we entered the annual Literary Quiz: my thanks go to Dan Stone who organised the team and the boys, Patrick Litten, William Emery, Zac Faithfull and Andrey Fokin, who must be congratulated on finishing in a creditable fourth place.

Patrick Litten expertly took charge of the House Debating team and along with Matthew Tse and Andrey Fokin they managed to successfully debate the motion that the needs of cyclists should be put before the needs of other road users in the UK. New this year was the Junior and Senior St Peter’s Challenge competition – the format was very similar to University Challenge and a number of boys were called in to represent the house team. Christian

Bower was one of the regular competitors and his ability to recall facts was remarkable!

A number of boys continued their success in both Drama and Music this year. Archie Stephenson must be congratulated on reaching the final of the Junior Music Festival performing Riptide by Joy in the guitar and vocals section. Josh Ramalingam won the guitar section of the Senior Music Festival finals and George

Pindar reached the final of the boys’ singing. William Emery has been a committed member of the Barbershop and, along with George Pindar and Tom Collinson, the Chamber Choir. The main school play of the year, Alice, was a remarkable production and Andrey Fokin must be congratulated on his staggering performance as Cookie. Dan Stone’s band performed at both Alice and for the boarders’ dinner – it was fantastic. Following on in the drama world, Spencer Ingall took a lead role in the middle-school play and we sincerely hope he continues to perform in the school productions. Toby Johnston has also been busy performing in his GCSE piece The Wardrobe which was entered for the National Connections Competition in Scarborough. Congratulations must also go to the following boys who achieved some excellent results in their recent music examinations: Josh Ramalingam (Grade 7 guitar), Sam Raper (Grade 4 drum kit) and George Pindar (Grade 7 singing – with distinction).

With a number of extremely talented musicians in the house I felt that we may, for once, be able to win the singing competition. However this was not the case – the boys chose Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, and as well as its being one of the worst songs ever produced, the boys were unable to sing it!

Luckily house Chapel was a greater success – the message, expertly delivered by the boys, talked about how to be successful in everyday life, pointing out that the most important thing in life is to embrace all the opportunities that come your way and to have a confident and positive attitude at all times. Reading the end-of-year reports and spending time reflecting on the year it is obvious that Lintonites do just that. The boys fit in a huge amount of things in one week – from academic studies, to music, sport, gym, drama, volunteering and socialising. I hope the boys who are leaving – Ed Bower, Gabriel Chan, Harry Ha, Daniel James, Kirill Kulik, Toby Simpson, Daniel Stone and Jake Taylor – continue to embrace, wholeheartedly, every opportunity that comes their way.

As the last two days of the academic year approaches it is pleasing to note that Patrick Litten has been appointed a school monitor, Harry Ha, Toby Simpson and Rory Winterburn have all received prizes at the Commemoration service and Harry Richardson, Abdul Yahaya and Josh Ramalingam’s fantastic art work has been on display at the Whitestone Gallery.

I wish all the leavers our best wishes and thank Jake Taylor for his outstanding service as Head of House: he, along with all the Upper Sixth, will be missed. I wish Sam Blott well as he takes over from Jake. Dr Thomson is also leaving after three years in the house and we wish him well as he sets off on his mammoth cycle-ride along the east coast of North and South America!

Finally I would like to thank all the staff who work tirelessly in Linton and who care for all the boys: matrons: Tracey, Dawn, Lisa and Maria – their help is invaluable and greatly appreciated – thank you! We have a great team of tutors – Paddy and Mr Smith, and we welcome Mrs Tooby-Smith and Mr Patterson (Lee) into the house next academic year.

Mrs Justine Williams

QUEEN’S

As another year passes we wave goodbye to our Sixth Form and welcome in our new Third-and Lower-Sixth Form members to the house. This year the house was ably led by Cormac Hopkinson and Katherine Raines, who helped to organise house teams and events and enthused the Queen’s pupil body.

The Christmas and Easter terms were notable for their unusual mildness. Whilst this kept the rowers off the water for the better part of two months, unlike previous years many school and inter-house fi xtures were completed. On the sports pitch the girls gave a good showing in inter-house hockey, and the boys got a chance to prove themselves on the rugby pitch, winning the senior sevens competition led by their captain, Cormac Hopkinson. The junior hockey team, led by Tom Pycock, put up a spirited effort in the inter-house competition, but were unable to advance against strong opposition. Once again Queen’s were successful in the Languages Quiz, with a knowledgeable team lead by Harry Nozedar. October also saw the house deliver a rousing house Chapel, based on the Apollo 7 mission, and involving pupils from all years across the house.

In the Easter term came the House Singing competition, postponed from October because of restoration work on the Memorial Hall. The musical know-how of Tom McCullagh, with support from Archie Hinde, saw Queen’s deliver an original arrangement of three popular songs with great enthusiasm. In debating, a strong team centred around Luis Fox got through to the semi-finals before being edged out by Clifton in a passionate debate about the necessity for nuclear weapons. In the new competition, St Peter’s Challenge, a strong team led by Helen Megone was placed third overall.

The Summer term is always difficult with exams starting quickly, and then large portions of the house being emptied by study leave. Before this, though, there was time to squeeze in Sports Day, which was unusually marked by beautiful weather and an excellent spirit of competition. It was particularly pleasing to see a strong showing from the junior boys in the house, with Kevin

Williams winning the junior 100m, Ed Johnson winning the junior 1500m, and the team of Kevin, Ed, Adam Brown and Marcus Brown winning the junior relay. This bodes well for future years! In the boys’ competition further wins by Ben Williams in the senior 100m and 400m, Cormac Hopkinson in the senior 800m, and Max McLeish in the intermediate javelin saw Queen’s take second place. In the girls’ competition there was a win by Katherine Raines in the senior 400m but tight competition saw Queen’s draw with The Rise for sixth place. After a strong year in interhouse racquet sports, the Queen’s tennis team, led by Sara Pycock, came second in the inter-house tennis. House Dinner was as always an excellent opportunity to celebrate the house and enjoy a good meal with great company, although the earlier start of language oral exams and the GCSE Art exam made its positioning rather delicate. The evening was notable for flowing conversation and good humour, as well as being a chance to say ‘thank you’ to the tutor team for their hard work over the year.

2013-2014 marked the 60th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, and therefore the foundation of Queen’s House. It was wonderful to welcome back so many former pupils in September to celebrate the past and current strengths of the house. Much enjoyment was had at the archive film-footage and photographs on display.

Mrs Cath Hempsall

SCHOOL

The annual house report can only provide a snippet of the year’s achievements, but led and inspired by the Upper Sixth, 2013-14 will go down as a hugely successful year for School house where the pupils have once again thrown themselves into house fi xtures and activities with enthusiasm and aplomb.

Christmas Term

Heads of House, Will and Minna, were instrumental in forging a great team spirit within and between common rooms. Instantly, School house pupils new and old settled into their surroundings; the Sixth Formers making use of the new ‘quiet room’, yet the excitement towards that was overshadowed by the arrival of the new toaster/kettle combo and regular bread and milk from the kitchens. The oft-worn School house hoodies were also a welcome addition to many a wardrobe: it’s the simple things!

Success in inter-house competitions came quickly, from the Languages Quiz teams to all involved in the inaugural St Peter’s Challenge. Hannah, Lipfon, Rose and Minna fi nished third in the Christmas Literary Quiz and highlights were aplenty in other competitions such as cross-country with Lucy Lawrence (junior girls – third), Sam Hudson (senior boys – third) and Alice Greswold (senior girls – fi rst) outstanding in their respective age groups. Just a few days after we had delivered a terrifi c house Chapel based on the events surrounding Guy Fawkes, even more success arrived as the Great Egg Race team of Will, Alex, Charlie, Alice and Hugo defi ed gravity (almost) to delay the descent of a ball-bearing down a well-crafted marble-run, comfortably seeing off the other houses and lifting the trophy.

In inter-house hockey, with the team captained by Minna and inspired by fellow midfi elders Hannah and Alice, great performances saw us keep clean sheets throughout the entire tournament, reaching the fi nal where a 0-0 draw with Clifton saw us lose on penalty fl icks; nevertheless, the girls involved can hold their heads high on some fantastic performances and tremendous team spirit throughout. On the same afternoon the inter-house rugby competition was played out in excellent spirit. The juniors, captained by Charlie, qualifi ed from their group-stages with excellent performances which saw us reach the semi-fi nal. The seniors went one better as the team, captained by Ollie, upset the odds and put in a great performance against Clifton in the semifi nals, but they found the pace and power of Queen’s too much, going down in the fi nal 19-5 against a very good side.

Easter Term

By January, we had reached the knockout stages of the St Peter’s Challenge competition where we ran out winners against The Grove in the quarter-fi nals and Queen’s in the semi-fi nals. Maya, George, Jonny and Alex took on Clifton in the fi nal and, with superb answering from all of our team members, School emerged victorious and team captain Alex deservedly took the trophy on behalf of all of the pupils who had been involved. As one competition ended, another began and we went straight into the senior debating competition. We eased through the group stages and contested the fi nal against Clifton. Proposing the motion

‘This house believes that austerity does more harm than good‘, Will, Alistair and Jonny put forward a tremendous proposal; it was a classic debate, much enjoyed by all and the result had to be delayed as the judging panel wrestled back and forth with their decision. Unfortunately the final judgment announced Clifton to be the 2014 champions but the margin of victory was extremely small indeed – debating was indeed the winner!

The junior competition began immediately afterwards and we enjoyed yet more success as Fourth-Formers, George, Alice and Rose battled their way through to the final. Successfully opposing the motion meant we became junior house debating champions for 2014. Debating in a foreign language is an even scarier prospect, and huge congratulations go to Minna and Lipfon who joined forces to become the inaugural French debating champions. Up next was House Singing, and our choice this year was Does Your Mother Know? by Abba. Once the initial nervousness had worn off it was great to hear the dulcet (!) tones of impromptu rehearsals floating past my office. Supremely wellorganised by Minna, with Will conducting, real progress was made and in the event itself we gave our finest performance of all. Unfortunately the judges didn’t place us in the top three (we must have been fourth) but it was a great way to end the half-term.

In house badminton, Keira, Gemma, Hannah and Alice did superbly to reach the final and finish in second place behind a strong Dronfield team. Despite some awful blizzard-like conditions,

Minna, Keira, Pippa, Tara, Hannah, Alice, Maddy and Sophie then did brilliantly to finish fourth in house netball. With the girls’ house competitions coming thick and fast it was the squash team up next and Hannah, Gemma, Alice and Izzy swept all before them before triumphing 12-4 over The Rise in the final and bringing the trophy back to School.

The boys were not to be outdone on the sporting front and an inaugural inter-house water polo competition was fiercely contested with the ‘School House Seahorses’ spending weeks working on formations and tactics. Unfortunately our lack of actual water polo players proved crucial, but once again great fun was had by all. In the final week of term, the senior footballers took to the stage and qualified from their group stage unbeaten, before goals from Patrick Copley helped us to win the final 2-1 and become 2014 champions.

Summer Term

We began the term with the House Dinner, this year held at Pizza Express, and we all looked sparkling in our black ties, dinner jackets and dresses! A lovely meal was interspersed with success stories of the year, limericks and poems about our respective heads of house and of course a toast to the best house of all! The very next day, Sports Day focused the minds of the house’s athletes and tales of ‘back-garden’ practice of jumping, broom-throwing (the obvious substitute for the javelin) and training runs demonstrated we were clearly taking the event seriously! The weather held for the day itself and I must congratulate everyone who took part; we finished third in both the boys’ and the girls’ competition, and particular congratulations must go to the event winners Minna Gabbertas (100m), Alice Greswold (1500m), Sam Hudson (shot put) and David Bird (200m). Maddy, Alice, Pippa, Keira, Anabel and Minna then put

up a terrific fight in the house tennis tournament whilst most of the Third and Fourth Form girls took part in the annual house rounders competition, where we finished in fourth place, and the boys reached the semi-finals of the junior inter-house cricket competition.

As holders of the overall St Peter’s Challenge trophy, we went into the junior competition full of hope. Once again, we rotated the team between those who volunteered to take part and it was great to see Third Formers Matt, James, Nathan and Lucy being strongly supported by Fourth Form stalwarts George, Maya and Rose. Again we impressed in the opening rounds and made the final where we were defeated by a very strong team from The Grove.

In our final house meeting of term I paid tribute to our wonderful team of staff in the house, from the cleaners who look after us all so well to our excellent tutor team who guide the pupils throughout the year. I also paid special tribute to Will and Minna who have been outstanding heads of house this year, and I publicly thank them again for all their hard work. After a tough selection process I was delighted to announce that Alistair Duffey and Keira Barnard will be the heads of School house for 2014-15. This has been a vintage year for the house and we say goodbye to a very strong Upper Sixth, but such is the strength and depth of the house as evidenced by all our success this year that we can look forward to more of the same next year. Roll on September!

Mr Ben White

TEMPLE

When thinking how to start the house report this year I was looking for a theme to leap out at me. Looking over the events of the year I was suddenly reminded of the fact that Temple had won both senior relays on Sports Day, the girls winning theirs in a new school-record time. As well as the obvious speed, relays involve skill to achieve those smooth baton-changes and of course co-operation and teamwork with each member running their very hardest to achieve success for the team. It therefore occurred to me that it is very easy to see comparisons between the running of a relay and life in Temple house. Each year the baton is passed on to the year below, with the Lower Sixth taking over the reins from the outgoing Upper Sixth and the incoming Third Form stepping into the role of ‘newbies’. There may be some fumbles and mistakes along the way but all pupils get to where they want to be in the end. However, the key to a successful house is teamwork, with each individual feeling that they have a part to play, and playing that part to the very best of their ability. As team coach I feel that, unlike Roy Hodgson, I have had another excellent team this year, ably assisted by my backroom staff, Mr Parr,

Mr Matkin, Mr Johnston, Mrs Dawson and Dr Senczyszyn, who made her debut this year (you can see that as the end of term draws nigh I have succumbed to World Cup fever). My pupil team has been captained this year by Alex Reeds and Sarah Carlton who have been excellent heads of house. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them and, as they hand over to Charlie Widdicombe and Chloe Burdass, I thank them for their work and wish them all the best for the future.

As I have started on a sports theme, I will begin the review of the year with house sporting achievements. The fi rst house competition of the year was the cross-country where Robbie Brown won the junior boys’ event in a time of 20 mins 14 secs and Concetta Scrimshaw fi nished third in the senior girls’ event. We had to wait until the Easter Term for our next major success, when the junior boys won the inter-house hockey and then at the start of the Summer Term there were lots of impressive individual performances on Sports Day, in addition to the aforementioned relay teams. Frankie Anderson won the senior girls’ long jump with a new school record distance of 4.81 metres, as well as the 200m for which she was awarded the Campbell Cup. Oskar Fraser-Krauss won the intermediate boys’ 800m and 400m and Robbie Brown won the intermediate boys’ 1500m. We will certainly miss Oskar’s prowess on the track as he leaves us this year with our best wishes to start his Sixth Form studies at Bootham. Will Fordy won the intermediate boys’ long jump and Ben Parkes was victorious in the junior boys’ javelin competition. The seniors were also masters of the shot put with Charlie Smith winning the

boys’ and Ellie Martin the girls’ event. Although all of the above are impressive, what struck me this year, alongside the customary good humour in which these competitions are played, was the willingness with which members of the house took part with very little arm-twisting needed. This is much appreciated and is a good illustration of the teamwork I talked about earlier. Outside school, it is also worth mentioning that Will Fordy was selected to play rugby for North Yorkshire, Alex Martin has been selected for hockey training with Yorkshire and the North of England and Robbie Brown is currently ranked fourth in the UK in his age group for the 3,000m.

If medals were being handed out, Temple would have won a number of silvers this year with second place being a recurring theme in areas away from the sports field. In September we finished second in The Great Egg Race and later in the year Mrs Dawson’s Angels, our house Science Quiz team, took the runnerup spot, missing out on top spot by one point. As we know from competitions like The X Factor, finishing second is no bad thing, and therefore there may still be a recording contract out there for Temple house as we finished second in the House Singing competition with our rendition of Heartbeat by Scouting for Girls, an inspired choice by Seb Dobson, expertly organised and conducted by Ellie Martin and Sarah Carlton and accompanied by Alex Martin on the drums, Alex Reeds on the guitar and Charlie Widdicombe on the piano.

House Singing very easily leads me on to music, where Temple continues to be well- represented in all the school choirs and bands with a large number of pupils taking part in the school’s main performance of the year, the concert in the Minster at the end of the Easter Term. Individual highlights at the Senior Music Festival were Jack McCartney’s win in the senior boys’ singing section where he delivered a convincing performance of Embraceable You and Charlie Widdicombe’s win with a very intricate trumpet piece in the brass section. Libby Brown, who was entered on both the saxophone and clarinet, was highly commended for her clarinet piece in the woodwind section. Finally, at the Junior Music Festival in June, Fleur Booth was highly commended in the singing section for her performance of Poor Wand’rin’ One, a piece which required some real vocal gymnastics.

Another area where Temple continues to be heavily involved is drama. The school play this year was Alice, with impressive performances from Bethan Bradley as the Cheshire Cat, Duncan Smith as the White Rabbit (although I am sure he would agree that the obsession with being on time is a little out of character) and Elliot Elstob, who has contributed so much to the school’s Drama department during his time here, as Humpty Dumpty. We had an influx of theatrical Third Formers in September and therefore we were well-represented by Temple Third and Fourth Formers in both The Wardrobe and the middle-school play, London Below.

Debating also requires the courage to stand up and perform in front of others, and this is an area where Temple has traditionally been strong. This year was no exception with the senior house debating team of Elliot Elstob, Tim Goodwin and Helen Taylor

reaching the semi-finals where they lost out to School, proposing the motion ‘this house believes that nuclear weapons make the world a safer place’. Debating in English is challenging enough as it is but doing it in a foreign language is even more daunting and therefore it was great to hear that Frankie Anderson and her sister Olivia (Clifton) were runners-up in a national French debating competition which took place at Cheadle Hulme school in Manchester in November. This was the first time St Peter’s had entered this event and was thus a very impressive achievement.

Another new initiative this year was St Peter’s Challenge, an interhouse quiz based on the University Challenge format. It proved to be a great success with a real buzz around the house and school on the days on which the rounds took place. Our team captain Guy Hall showed fantastic general knowledge, ably assisted by Ed Coates, Luke Dunsmore, Will Andrews and Robbie Brown, and the team made it into the semi-finals, finishing fourth overall after being defeated by Queen’s in a third- and fourth-place play-off. The junior team in the Summer Term did not make it past the group stages (sounds familiar) despite some resounding victories but it proved to be a very effective and enjoyable way of spending free time in the lunch break. The aim for next year is to get some girl-power on board.

That completes my summary of the year and as ever I apologise to anyone I have missed out. I would like to say a heartfelt goodbye and good luck to the Temple Upper Sixth, including Emma Stephenson who is leaving us almost as soon as she joined us. They have been a very close-knit group, both inside and outside school and I do hope that they treasure the friendships they have made, and continue to nurture them from afar in the future. I will continue to follow their progress with interest and affection, although they will be relieved to hear that I don’t know how to use Facebook. It just remains for me to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone involved in daily life in Temple. It is a real pleasure (most of the time!) to lead the team and I look forward to a different team taking up the baton in September, once they have had a good long summer break to recover from the many challenges which each leg of the school year brings.

Mrs Jenny Houghton

The Grove

On a cold January morning 100 years ago, The Grove came in to being with a formal opening ceremony and a Chapel service to mark the occasion. In his history of the school, Angelo Raine writes: ‘The governors issued an appeal for funds to Old Peterites and friends of the School, and the property was purchased, the total cost after all alterations had been made being about £6,000. Considerable changes were necessary in Grove House itself in order to equip it for its new purpose… and a great deal of levelling was needed to make the fi eld below the house into a football ground. On January 27 1914, the Archbishop of York performed the opening ceremony.’

2014 has been an important year for anniversaries and, among the more mournful remembrances of the Great War, it was fun on a cold February morning to see Grovites leading the Chapel service with their refl ections on our birthday and echoing the Archbishop who, on the day of our opening, had preached about the value of tradition and the importance of the pupils in its maintenance. House Chapels, whilst ranging from the inspirational to the toe-curling, allow individual talents to be showcased but depend on a wider group for success; they refl ect what is true, therefore, of house life. By way of an informal celebration of our becoming centenarians, our House Dinner this year saw us conjuring a front room in the new Memorial Hall with sofas kindly

laid on by the Metcalfes, a trashy movie and pizzas courtesy of Domino’s. The evening produced a great sense of togetherness and was a triumph for the pupil voice; it was exactly the evening they designed and made happen. It is easy in a report such as this to trumpet the achievements of a few (the victories won, the trophies lifted) and I dare say I shall not resist, but conveying the collaboration and collegiality of The Grove to give a better fl avour of the spirit of the place is much more diffi cult. Events such as House Singing, cross-country and Sports Day are particularly precious for they encourage the whole group to strive together and to enjoy what we achieve as a whole. Along the way though, a number of other events have drawn us together and offer vignettes that embody our school and house values.

The house has an excellent sporting year and Grove teams seem to have fi gured in the fi nal stages of many events. The juniors in particular have excelled and began the year with a thrilling, if unexpected win in the junior rugby event. With only two ‘A’ team players in the side, the narrow comeback win over Clifton in the fi nal was a triumph for team-play over individual talent

THE GROVE

and gave a taste of the many victories to follow. In the Easter Term, the girls came to the fore and demonstrated that there was only one house in the school for netball. First the seniors won their event with a win over Hope and, a couple of weeks later, the juniors followed suit with a dominant series of performances

ending with a comprehensive win over Clifton in the final. The term ended with the inaugural boys’ inter-house water polo event for which our Grove Goldfish team lined up against the Linton Lobsters for what proved to be a classic. After a gruelling game which needed three periods of extra time and with negotiations about sharing the trophy beginning, the Goldfish prevailed with a goal with just seconds remaining. The Summer Term brought an equal dose of success with wins for the girls’ and intermediate boys’ teams on Sports Day which saw of series of outstanding individual performances, particularly from the girls with Annabelle Blackburn winning the junior 200m and Jenny Elliott and Millie Grant winning the junior and senior javelin events. The interhouse cricket saw a strong competition and a win over the noisy neighbours (again) with Will Huffer’s serene batting and Matt Roberts’ extravagant shot-making seeing us over the line in an exciting finish. The senior boys’ tennis generated even more tension but Sam Metcalfe and James Greenall held their nerve to retain the cup by the narrowest margin possible. Grove tennis looks to be in safe hands with Robbie Greenall sparkling all season and just being pipped after 100 minutes of gripping play in the final of the Alcuin Cup.

The cultural heart of The Grove continues to beat and we had many occasions to celebrate the performance of those in our number. The Senior Music Festival saw Josh Stanford (percussion and woodwind) and Elle Illingworth (girls’ singing) performing stylishly in their classes and in the junior event Sam Stanford (woodwind), Tom Dowdy (boys’ singing) and Sam Lightwing (woodwind and boys’ singing) did likewise, with Sam’s amusing rendition of Nice Work If You Can Get It earning him the boys’ singing award. Grovites have also excelled on the stage and,

despite there being too many contributions to list, it would be remiss not to mention the contribution made by Elle Illingworth over the years which culminated with her memorable Queen of Hearts in Alice. The junior production of London Below featured a good number of Grovites and we look forward to watching their performances in years to come.

Near to the heart of any school is the learning and intellectual progress made and, by any measure, we have achieved a great deal here. The Third Form were particularly meritorious in this regard and, between them, they scooped an amazing 214 merits with Maddy Bletcher and Jack Lawrence bagging a total of 52. Our teams figured well in all the various quiz events and registered wins in the Literary Quiz, the Science Pub Quiz and the junior St Peter’s Challenge, where a remarkable performance from Matt Roberts saw us home with a convincing win in the final. The hard work that has gone into academic pursuits is impossible to reflect in a report such as this and I congratulate all our pupils for the time, effort and emotion they have invested. For those awaiting exam results, I trust appropriate reward is inbound.

The end of a school year is a time not only to reflect on what has been achieved but also to bid farewell to our leavers and wish them health, happiness and fulfilment in the world beyond our school. While I am sure they are all keen to cut ties and revel in new starts and fresh challenges, I know the bonds of friendship they have built will keep them in touch. I hope that their connection with The Grove will remain strong too and that they will choose to drop in from time to time; they will always be most welcome.

Mr Martin Lawrence

THE MANOR

By the time this report is read The Manor will have been transformed. The long-awaited, and much-needed, redevelopment of the ground fl oor is taking place and I hope it will provide a sense of space and function that can be enjoyed for many years to come. I would like publicly to thank all those involved in helping to bring this about. Over the last four years the house has been physically developed throughout, from the roof downwards. But buildings are one thing: it is the people in the buildings that ultimately matter and in this respect The Manor is even more fortunate. The boys and the staff here are an absolute delight to work with.

Christmas Term

Five Third Formers (Ben, Theo, Peter, Michael and Oscar), one Fourth Former (Dan) and four in the Lower Sixth (ID, Maciej, Simon and Andrei) joined us in September and became a part of the house more quickly and smoothly than I could have hoped. Along with our impressive ‘Sims’ from Selborne in South Africa, here on exchange for six weeks, the year started well.

House cross-country was the year’s fi rst house event. In the senior section Sam Dickinson won superbly and in the junior section Rory Combe featured strongly. The team competition depends as much on the seventh-placed person as the fi rst, so as a house we fi nished a bit lower down. Sam’s performance in triathlon was a notable sporting feature of the year and he along with quite a few others availed themselves of the swimming pool during the week to train.

The extra-curricular life of the school is well-supported in house. Many boys are involved in CCF, the DofE Awards, school choirs and orchestras as well as in team sports, plays and a whole host of other organised and more informal activities. The boys get a great deal out of this, refl ecting the considerable effort put in.

On the final Wednesday of the term came the house rugby. Both juniors and seniors put in strong performances, though ultimately we lost out. It was the perfect backdrop however to the House dinner. The excellent relationship between the boys, as well as between staff and students, always shines through in this event. It was a delightful evening and reflected really well on the sense of spirit and community amongst all.

Easter Term

Hockey dominated boys’ sport this term and huge numbers of boys represented various school teams. The house hockey competition was enjoyed by all, though we came closer to victory in the house football. Our strong but numerically limited team was excellent in the early rounds and lost only by running out of steam in the final.

This term was strong musically too. Andrei Zevakin has been a revelation on the piano and in the opinion of many (though not the judge) his performance at the Senior Music Festival was outstanding. Ivan Cheng has been with us for the last five years, and the 20-minute piece he played in the Minster will remain one of my career memories. Having heard him practise and seen the hours he puts in, he deserved the long standing ovation he received.

Year-group takeaways in our office were a popular new event this year, something I am sure will continue into the next year. The Sixth Form dinner was another success and it was great to see the spirit amongst all the boarders, not least in the good luck called for in the next day’s House Singing competition. This was perhaps our house highlight of the year. On stage last, and with a combined McGill/Cheng composition for Valentine’s Day, our boys sang wonderfully well and silenced the hall. Rightly, we won.

Summer Term

The Summer Term prior to exams was short. Indeed exams have come to dominate this term ever more. House events still take place though, most notably in the junior cricket (where a team was hastily put together) and Sports Day. Sam Dickinson just missed out on the school’s 3,000m record that day, and won the 1500m too. Rory Combe won the intermediate 3,000m, Matthew Dickson the intermediate high jump and Theo Hedley the junior 200m. But virtually all took part and gave it their best. Many had a go at the Beverley 10k too, making the Housemaster feel obliged to have a go as well.

The boys worked hard in preparation for the exams and the atmosphere of relaxed purpose was a delight to see. It has been focused yet calm and I hope all are well rewarded for their efforts. Post-exams there was a really enjoyable wind-down to the end of term and excitement as building plans for the year ahead were revealed in detail, and as work started on the extension.

The People

Though small numerically, this year’s Upper Sixth have been outstanding house leaders. Three monitors (Tom D, Tom C and Ivan) served the school very well with James, Michael and Luka all contributing in a number of valued ways. Luka has been an HMC East European Scholar and it is a huge testament to him, as well as the support he has had around the school, that he was offered a fully-funded scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge. Tom Dickinson has been an excellent head of house and I am extremely grateful to him for the many positive developments that have occurred this year.

The house staff deserve their thanks too. Dave Ray and Christien Bembridge assist well with duties as well as providing other support (such as opening up the house early in the morning), so often unseen. Colette and the cleaning team continue to provide excellent support and their work is greatly appreciated. The tutors all help too, and I thank them for their contributions.

The Manor is a family house, as evidenced increasingly by the presence of our children in the TV and games rooms. It is only with the support of them, as well as my wife Dori, that the house runs as it does.

It has been an excellent year.

Mr Steve Gwilliam

THE RISE

It hardly seems as if a year has passed since I arrived as a new member of staff at St Peter’s School and took over the reins at The Rise. What struck me was how welcoming and friendly the girls were and, very quickly, I felt like ‘part of the furniture’.

Christmas Term

We welcomed our new Third Formers, Emily McDonald, Kitty Clapham, Charlotte Hollinrake and Jodi Smith, who got to grips with their new routines with great enthusiasm and cheerfulness. The effi ciency with which they went about their morning duties was staggering and they had often left the house long before I appeared in the offi ce.

We also welcomed the new Lower Sixth students: Lucy Bower, Annabel Blott, Anna Thrussell, Heather Lam, Christa Liu and Rachel Simpson, who threw themselves into life here, admirably helped along by Alicia Cranston, Emily Williams and Anna Fairbank. Within a week, you would have thought that they had been here from the third form.

Brogan Grant and Zoe Pindar, the heads of house, kept me on a steady course as I found my feet and gently reminded me about anything I had not done.

The fi rst challenge of this term was the Great Egg Race. Our team – Charlotte Hollinrake, Millie Clapham, Eve Bracken, Anna Thrussell and Ellie Fletcher – made a valiant attempt to make their ball-bearing descend the slope in the longest time. Although a prize eluded them, they certainly gained top marks for the most attractively decorated run!

Remembering the house motto: ‘it’s not the winning but the taking part’, the girls braced themselves for the formidable challenge of the cross-country. Their guts and determination admirably paid off and the senior girls took second place, whilst the juniors fi nished a respectable sixth.

House Chapel was next on the agenda. Under the highly-organised and motivating leadership of Brogan Grant, the girls explored the very important theme of ‘self-respect’ with notable performances given by Brogan and Anna Thrussell. Jodi Smith’s solo violin piece The Ashokan Farewell was particularly memorable. The school production of Alice was without doubt one of the highlights of the Christmas Term. Brogan Grant was outstanding as Alice, as was Anna Thrussell as the Duchess, and Tilly Antrum was the most charming of fl owers. Jodi Smith and Grace Moody’s brilliance backstage must also be mentioned.

Another wonderful occasion was the Autumn Concert where we were treated to a wealth of musical talent. The Rise was admirably represented by Jodi Smith, Cassie Bythell, Eve Bracken, Emily McDonald, Anna Fairbank and Alicia Cranston in the Wind Band, Clarinet Choir and Chapel Choir.

We rounded off a very busy but fun term with our sumptuous House dinner. The girls and their guests enjoyed a delicious dinner followed by speeches, an amusing video made by the Upper Sixth entitled What Really Goes On in The Rise… and an impromptu party back at the house. All the girls must be complimented on their

elegance, their amusing anecdotes and their ability to walk in their spectacularly high shoes.

Easter Term

The typical cold, dank beginning to this new term could not dampen the spirits of the Rise girls and they quickly set about settling themselves back into their routines and preparing themselves for the new challenges ahead.

The girls showed great team effort, determination and willingness to participate in the inter-house netball, swimming and squash. Very well done to Grace Moody, Cassie Bythell, Annabel Blott and Anna Fairbank, who swam valiantly on behalf of The Rise. Annabel even swam twice in the relay! Zoe Pindar and Stephanie Tong are to be congratulated on a superb house squash tournament which saw them narrowly pipped at the post by School to achieve second place.

Our rowers, Harriet Falshaw, Sabrina Leung, Lucy Bower and Jodi Smith, continued their excellent team efforts in the York Regatta, the Schools’ Head of the River race in London, the Triangular Head competition at Yarm, and on a trip to Ghent. Later on, in the summer term, the girls were to participate in the York Spring and Summer Regattas as well as the National Schools’ Regatta.

The House Singing competition proved to be a particularly memorable and joyous occasion. Under Brogan Grant’s leadership, the girls committed themselves to countless practices of Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Accompanied by Tom on electric guitar, the musicality and unity of their performance was outstanding and ‘our’ Spice Girls walked away as runners-up. The Wardrobe was an exceptional and unusual play about the fortunes of a wardrobe through the ages beginning in the late middle ages and ending around 1914. Eve Bracken and Charlotte Hollinrake brought the characters to life superbly whilst Jodi Smith and Grace Moody made the wardrobe manoeuvres look effortless and problem-free. Eternal Light in the Minster at the very end of term saw many of the girls singing in the school choir and playing in the Wind Band and Orchestra.

This term also saw the controversy that was house debating for both seniors and juniors. I was truly impressed by the eloquence with which the girls spoke and their thorough preparation. Although they did not make the final rounds they must certainly be congratulated on a wonderful team effort. Well done to Alicia Cranston, Anna Thrussell, Rachel Simpson, Emily McDonald, Cassie Bythell, Anna van Harwegen and Charlotte Hollinrake.

Sadly, due to family circumstances, we said goodbye to our muchloved Mrs Cherry Fricker. Cherry was someone the girls and I just loved having around. Her gentle manner, wonderful advice and sense of fun will be much missed by us all. We wish you well for the future!

Summer Term

Exams loomed as we returned from the Easter break and it was not long before the house became eerily quiet as many of the girls went home or shut themselves in their rooms, away from distractions. Nevertheless many girls turned up to support Eve

Bracken, Emily McDonald, Charlotte Hollinrake and Kitty Clapham in the middle-school play London Below, the imaginative and gripping tale of those who live underground. Emily’s singing and guitar-playing as the busker was memorable, as was Eve’s portrayal of Door. It was a most enjoyable night for all.

The sun shone brightly on Sports Day, and we saw some amazing performances from Cassie Bythell in the 100m, Grace Moody in the 200m, Kitty Clapham in the 400m and Tilly Antrum in the 800m. Special thanks go to Zoe Pindar who gritted her teeth and ran the 1500m brilliantly.

As the term rushed on, it would soon be time to say goodbye to my first Upper Sixth girls as they began the next exciting chapter in their lives: Brogan Grant, Zoe Pindar, Ellie Fletcher, Harriet Falshaw, Valeriya Morshchagina and Stephanie Tong. As a new Housemistress I was struck not only by their academic ability, positivity, conscientiousness and friendliness but also by their talent, from First XI hockey, lead roles in the school production, dawn training for rowing, and squash captaining, to maths team challenges. It has been a real pleasure getting to know you all and helping you to plan your next step. Mr Gillies and I wish you well for the future.

Special thanks go to my two brilliant heads of house, Brogan Grant and Zoe Pindar. Their help, advice and good humour were invaluable to me throughout the year as was their support to new girls coming into the house.

Sadly again, due to increased work commitments, we said goodbye also to Magda Zasada. Her visits to The Rise were greatly enjoyed by the girls, as was her fun chat, Polish treats and adorable rabbit, Poppy. We wish you well, Magda and thank you for all of your help!

I would like to take this opportunity to say a big ‘thank you’ to the other key members of the house, without whose help The Rise simply could not run and whose work we appreciate enormously. Thank you very much indeed therefore to our house tutors Mrs Barnard, Mrs Robinson and Miss Lindley.

We are also indebted to Lesley, Jenny and Laura who keep The Rise shining and immaculate. Special thanks go to our Matron, Jane, who truly is the lynchpin of the establishment and who does so much for us all. Her efficiency, organisational skills, friendliness, sense of fun and sewing skills are so appreciated by us all!

And so the year drew to a close with the house barbecue and a trip to Flamingo Land. I have the impression that next year is going to pass even more quickly! Time does pass quickly when you’re having fun after all!!!

Mrs Dorothy Gillies