Another Fun and Eventful Half Term in the Middle School Houses

Another half term draws to a close and our Middle School Houses have been busy.

Both the Middle and Upper School steeplechases took place this half term with all pupils from each House taking part.

House rugby, and house hockey were enjoyed greatly with pupils participating in some competitive fixtures that always ended with a laugh and a chat.

In the build-up to the festive holiday, boarders took a trip to Cambridge to tick off some of their Christmas shopping.

As part of their festive celebrations, the Houses partnered up and savoured a delightful turkey dinner to wrap up the term and to set the mood for the festive season! Photos from the Christmas dinners can be found here.

Haywoods House

When not all together in the common room for house breakfasts or movie nights, Haywoods continued their very own house family ‘Bake Off’. The friendly competition saw the new Haywoods kitchen utilised to produce some impressive-looking sweet treats including brownies, cheesecakes and a delectable looking chocolate and raspberry cake. In support of Movember, all of the Haywoodians committed to doing 60 press-ups a day over the course of November to help spread awareness of the men’s mental health cause.

Throughout term, Haywoods have been making the effort to work and stick together, by working together and sharing ideas within house time, most recently focusing on Colin Powell’s quote “there are no secrets to success. It is a result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure”.

Wharflands

Throughout the term the Wharflands House boys were treated to plenty of house breakfasts and takeaways.

Wharflands took a well-deserved welcome trip to Welford Road to see Leicester Tigers emerge victorious over the DHL Stormers.

House time was well spent within the House as the boys engaged in some meaningful conversations on driving a culture of respect in and outside of the House.

As the term began to draw to a close, the Wharflands boys took some time to write some honest messages of thanks to members of staff who have helped them throughout this term.

Chapmans

Chapmans pupil Andrey organised the new Friday poker club which welcomed novices and some seasoned pros for some much enjoyed friendly competition on Friday evenings.

Chapmans house families tested their general knowledge and current affairs in their quiz mornings. Chapmans pupils are a close-knit bunch, but this didn’t stop the families from showing their competitive side with each team aiming to win. This wasn’t the only friendly competition; the Just Dance Competition saw the contestants dazzle the audience with their amazing dance routines.

The term also saw lots of tutor group trips from bowling to a pizza dinner in town.

Rushebrookes

Rushebrookes’ log burner got some good use this half term with homemade pizzas and s’mores making evening in House that much more enjoyable. This was often accompanied by a house movie with particular highlights being Harry Potter and Star Wars.

To kick off the festive season, the Rushebrookes pupils got into the baking mood with some delightfully decorated Christmas cookies and some structurally impressive gingerbread houses.

In the spirit of Christmas the Rushebrookes girls all came together to amass a variety of different toys to be donated to VA Rutland in their annual Christmas appeal.

Rushebrookes capped the season of giving off in style with house Secret Santa which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Buchanans

Buchanans excelled in the House Hockey Competition with the A team coming first, the B team coming second, and the Form 3 team also coming second. Although the final results are yet to be announced, there were some impressive performances all round.

The Buchs bunch had some seasonal parties with their Christmas dinner and Halloween party in which the girls really got into the spirit and had a few laughs along the way!

Aside from this Buchanans enjoyed some boarders socials with Chapmans, tutor meals and did some baking together in House. Another successful half term in House!

Stevens

The Stevens Form 6 came together to cook a terrific roast dinner in house for their Sunday evening meal. It most certainly fuelled and put smiles on faces going into another busy Oakham week.

Before setting up the final decorations in house, some of the girls took a trip to the Nottingham Arena to see England fend off a strong South Africa side to win the series.

All the girls have been enjoying their socials and dinners out with a curry from Sarpech being a favourite!

Gunthorpe

Gunthorpe’s girls helped with the beautiful Christmas decorations in House which included the homemade ‘Grinch’s Lair’ sign that was posted on the office door which definitely caused a few laughs among the girls!

Hambleton

Hambleton raised over £700 in their bake sale for Children in Need featuring a fantastic Pudsey Bear cake which was a hit!

Hambletonian musicians were in the limelight representing the House in the Nottingham Young Musician final and Lunchtime Concerts.

Barrow

Barrow’s Form 3 took time to warm up their voices and practise their singing in preparation for their house dinner which was a success!

Barrow were standout performers winning the steeplechase for Form 5, Form 6 and placing first in Form 3 all contributing to the Barrovians winning the steeplechase overall!

Clipsham

Clipsham have been continuing their Friday House football with the boys enjoying it every week as well as the continuation of house drama. Four Clipshamites shone in the wonderful Whole School Production of Les Misérables.