HOUSE NOTES DRONFIELD Christmas Term At the start of term, John Cresswell became Head of House. The first major activity of the term was athletics, of which Graeme Gibson was our captain. Unfortunately we did not do very well as a whole, coming nearly, but not quite, bottom in both the standards and Sports Day. However, some individuals were very successful: Ashley Powell and Chris Brockbank ran well and two new members of the House, John and James Ross, showed their athletic prowess by gaining one short of maximum points each in the standards the very afternoon that they arrived! The next event to occupy a fair number of us was the Inter-House Singing Competition, at which we sang all the verses of "Oh, my darling Clementine!" Our singers, nervous of the large audience, sang almost to themselves and the judges at the back of the hall understandably placed us fifth. Individuals in the House are doing very well with their music: Patrick Crowley and Andrew Birtle both deserve mentioning for the high grades they have achieved at the violin and the organ respectively. In the Senior Rugby competition we just lost to the Manor in the first round, despite John Cresswell's expert coaching. We lost heavily in the Junior competition, but some of the new Juniors look promising for future years. Inside the House, the snooker contest organised by Philip Wormald and the darts competition, for which the Smith family presented a fine shield and trophy, kept many of us busy. These coveted awards went to John Taylor, who easily won both competitions. In the Junior Long Run, the House came last, but again the Ross twins deserve to be congratulated on both coming near the top. Although we did not gain any silverware for our efforts, it is clear that many individuals tried hard in the sporting events and performed very well. At the end of term Tim Stephenson was appointed Head of House.
Easter Term At the beginning of term we were pleased to hear that John Cresswell had won a place at Lincoln College, Oxford. The first sporting activity of the term was the Senior Cross Country Race. It was a shame that many of our potential members were ill with 'flu, but an intrepid group of four still ran the race and Jonathan Clark did well, coming fifth. Simon Fenwick became captain of Swimming and Water Polo. In the water polo we played the masters in the first round and lost to them. In the swimming we were placed fifth overall, although Stephen Lister and John Wrigley competed well. Many of us were involved in the Science Exhibition in a variety of ways and the hard work of those who took part produced excellent exhibits which were clearly and enthusiastically demonstrated. Jonathan Clark, Simon Fenwick and Tim Stephenson were awarded their Senior House Colours. 72
