Michaelmas Term House Report
In the early stages of the House competition this academic year, reigning champions Wylde were joined by Whiteladies at the top of the standings following commanding performances in Badminton. Indeed, Mr Joyner was keen to start the year on a high after a disappointing previous campaign, typified by his own impressive displays in the Staff edition of the inaugural Badminton event.
Elgar responded with victories in both Inters and Senior Petanque, although it was Wylde with Miss Smith at the helm who claimed the win in the staff event. Ottley rounded off the first Half term with victory in AI Art, a new competition for Year Seven pupils to design a digital House crest. The Otters then defended their title once more in the Eco Council’s Pumpkin Carving Challenge over Half term, before rising up the rankings with back-to-back wins in Senior General Knowledge and House Poetry. The English department was thoroughly impressed by the talent on show by all of the budding poets who performed, with entries incredibly difficult to separate in awarding points on the day.
Elgar returned to winning ways in Senior Chess, although they could not deny Ottley in the Junior competition. Much to Mr Friend’s delight, Elgar would sit proudly at the top of the leader board for several weeks and achieved unprecedented success in Rugby, claiming the Juniors-Inters-Seniors clean-sweep for the first time in their history. House Hockey was a lot closer, with a sharing of the spoils across the various age groups. The competition was positively sizzling, with only a few points separating top from bottom.
Wylde lagged behind in fourth place for large parts of the term but, as the Christmas break approached, there were signs towards the end of term that their fortunes would take an upward turn. Indeed, in the penultimate week of competition, they picked up maximum points in Senior Benchball, although it was Ottley who climbed up to share top spot in the table for the first time, with an impressive win for code-breaking Lower School pupils in the Cipher Challenge.
In a fitting final event of 2023, it was down to Senior House Dance to separate the top two, with Ottley and Whiteladies ‘facing off’ to claim the Michaelmas term trophy. Returning to the Performing Arts Centre with a festive theme of Christmas movie soundtracks, the event lived up to its billing as one of the most eagerly contested competitions in the calendar. And it was Whiteladies who romped to victory on the day, their Sixth Form dance troupe winning over the judges with a creative and well-rehearsed routine.
Congratulations to Mr Joyner and Whiteladies who take the Michaelmas term trophy, with Captains Evie Leeds and Tom McMillan commending the enthusiasm of all of the participants across the events that have put them back to the top of the standings after being in the wilderness for a while. It will be interesting to see how the Houses respond to the challenge in the Lent term with another full schedule of House events planned and plenty of House points on offer; 2024 is sure to be full of excitement!
Michaelmas term overall standings:
1st = Whiteladies (59.5 points)
2nd = Ottley (56.5)
3rd = Elgar (54.5)
4th = Wylde (49.5)
