Boarders' Bulletin February/March 2024

What a half term it’s been for Scott House. The usual excitement of Boarders Bingo turned to disappointment this year as there were no Scott winners but I’m pleased to say this has not hampered the Scott House spirit.

There have been numerous tutors trips this half term with both year 12 and 13 experiencing Laser Tag, year 9 taking over Willow and Sage and The Whiffins and year 10s becoming impromptu cooks and milkshake makers at The Wendy House. The whole house Chinese takeaway was also well received.

The annual inter house netball has always been a challenge for Scott… but not this year!! With two full teams entered for both the junior and senior competitions (with subs) the early start was overlooked. The juniors sadly only got to play one match against Blubery, winning an impressive 22-2. The seniors fared well coming 4th but with no day houses entering two teams it resulted in Scott becoming Netball Champions 2024!!! This success resulted in pancake treats.

The last Sunday of term saw the House Captains dressed as the Easter Bunny, who scattered themselves around the campus of the boarding community to find. Although Scott were not victorious, our Easter Bunnies (in the form of Paris and Lily-May) were not found so they achieved chocolate prizes for their impressive hiding spots.

The last night of term is always a toughly fought contest for the status of House Shout Champions. The small group were this year’s House Champions with the whole house achieving an impressive second place overall.

Spring is here… You only need to look back at the vast assortment of this term’s activities to understand that Rammell has many strings to its bow. Just in one evening, we can go from having a football practice, to the boys singing their hearts out to Taylor Swift, to a Mexican feast being cooked by two of our Yr11s for a secret family recipe (a huge thanks to Hugo’s mum for providing all the ingredients too). It’s fantastic that so many different boys get involved and how the variety of the activities means that everyone has a chance to take part in something they may particularly enjoy, and the opportunity to try something new.

Particular highlights have been the Rammell/Blubery Scavenger Hunt, where we challenged the teams to think outside the box, dance to YMCA and attempt (and for a few groups, successfully complete!) a human pyramid. We also had a mouth-drooling trip to the All-You-Can-Eat Brazilian Meat Buffet, where the waiters bought the meats around on skewers and sliced them directly onto the boys. Some of the boys first (and in most cases, last!) experience of chicken heart. We’ve had a visit from an expert in Metal Detecting, who came along to describe the process to the boys, show them what he has found so far and allowed them to have a go themselves in the garden. We’ve had boarders’ quizzes, bingo and casino nights and to celebrate the end of the term we have a whole house Easter Egg Hunt where, rumour has it, our very own House Captain will be dressing up as the Easter Bunny. Not to mention the many (many!) different snacks that have been cooked to keep the boys fuelled, from fajitas to pizzas to waffles, the list goes on….

What a term! It feels like I always find myself saying that at the end of term but it has been a whirlwind of activity and perfectly rounded off by the annual ‘House Shout’ competition last night.

It has been a term of wins for Blubery! The ‘Boarders’ Bingo’ was back in late February and enjoyed by all. Excellent calling from the School Captains and our very own Connie taking the top prize. The annual Blubery/Rammell Scavenger Hunt took place, kindly led by Rammell’s Miss Williams. The weather was on our side and the teams scaled the site carrying out their challenges in a bid to win the top prizes. As has become customary, I returned with pizzas galore from Domino’s to be devoured by those having worked up an appetite on the hunt… and the hungry staff supporting!

A range of tutor trips have headed out this term with Year 10 going off with Mr Ansette and Miss Flinn to the escape rooms in Tunbridge Wells - ‘Clue Cracker’. The Year 10s returned abuzz with excitement at how they had managed to escape at the last minute and very keen that we should take the rest of the girls. The Year 12 & 13s enjoyed a night out to Laser Tag with some impromptu bowling and a Mcdonalds – they are a brutal bunch and worryingly accurate with a gun! Fortunately, Mrs Rogers and I made it back to Blubery unscathed.

Blubery have been getting egg-cited with the ‘Boarders’ Egg Hunt’ for which a specvial mention must go to Scarlett for being one of the ‘hidden bunnies’ and donning a full rabbit suit to hide. Blubery emerged as the victors and returned with so much chocolate I thought we would still be eating it in the summer. I was wrong, it disappeared swiftly! We held our mini Easter egg hunt in house and had to resort to hiding eggs inside as the rain put a stop to outdoors fun – it was chaos as the girls ripped through the house like blood hounds.

The highlight of this term is, as always, the ‘House Shout’ and the house has been busy preparing their songs with Abba’s ‘Super Trouper’ for the small group and ‘Beggin’ by Madcon for the house song. Huge efforts went into the rehearsals and the Year 13 worked tirelessly in training the girls but special mention must go to Shermaine and Connie for leading the group and maintaining drive and ambition! We were overjoyed to be placed runners up in the small group and the winners for the whole house song. The girls should be so proud of their efforts – I certainly am!

Well, that term went fast! With the weather as it's been, I can't quite believe we're heading to the Summer Term!

With just over a month until Summer Exams and Study Leave, Crowden have been increasingly balancing their schedules with revision. In many cases, this self-regulation comes naturally and in others this is a learning experience. We all wish them well in their academic checkpoints, especially those with external exams!

This half term has been full of fun in the evenings and at weekends. With the weather hardly giving us a chance to get outside, the lads have enjoyed hearty trips out to the cinema, local curry house, All You Can Eat buffets, and have had plenty of cooking challenges to enjoy in the house. Most recently, Crowden have taken part in Inter-House Hockey, Giving Day and of course the annual festival that is House Shout!

Another very busy term in School Lodge. We started on a high after Christmas, welcoming two new boys to the fold. Kaylem joined us from Beechwood, and Alex from Fulham prep and they really did hit the ground running. Helped along with a couple of nudges and prods from the other boys I am really so proud of how the new boys settled and how the incumbents made them feel welcome. A testament to the family feel of the Lodge this year.

All of the boys have been working hard towards their academic reflections and making GCSE choices. This took up a good chunk of PSHE this term, with Mr. Bishop and I working hard to get them to think properly about their strengths and weaknesses so as to make the best choices for their academic journey ahead.

The boarders enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt last Sunday! With a huge turnout, the weather was kind and the eggs and bunnies plentiful! A few hours were spent trying to locate bunnies in order to retrieve eggs.

An Easter Egg raffle was drawn for the boarding staff, the lucky winner was Fay who works in Cornwallis house. Congratulations - her egg was personally delivered by Mr Crews! See below!