Senior House News – March 25
A relatively short but still busy week for the senior houses. In between academic and extra-curricular
commitments, girls – boarders in particular – and staff were preparing in various ways for the end of
term. The priority for the girls is the packing up of all their belongings in an orderly fashion, the idea
being that by Friday and when parents arrive, they are able to collect a compactly arranged ‘bundle’
belonging to respective daughters. It should be added that this is the ideal situation. Some of the girls
manage this without any trouble whatsoever, while the task appears to defeat others term after term.
And they always, but always misjudge how much they have actually accumulated since returning with
the basics at the beginning of the term.
The end of term mood carries everyone through, however, and despite the rather chaotic scenes both
within and outside the houses on the final day, very rarely is there ever anything left behind. Maybe
‘organised’ chaos would be an appropriate term.
The Inter-House Netball competition ran intermittently throughout the week and the majority of
students were involved in one way or another in this. The reserves and supporters are just as important
to their House as the players, providing essential encouragement in an attempt to help secure a
successful final result.
Tom Young of the Music department gave a wonderful piano recital during the lunch hour on Monday,
with a goodly number of staff and students turning out to watch. He played Brahms’ Intermezzo in B
minor Op. 119 No. 1, Schubert’s Impromptu in F minor, Sonata ’Les Adieux’ in Eb major Op. 81 by
Beethoven and to finish, John Williams’ Closing Credits Music from ‘ET’ arranged by himself. It was a
truly relaxing way to spend an hour; a rare occurrence but revitalising for all who did.
Fourth Year boarders were treated to the ‘Costa Challenge’ for an hour on Monday evening. Sixth
Formers hosted this – as they did with the Third Year a few weeks ago – and judging by the feedback, it
was a popular choice of activity. A complimentary Costa beverage each was also much appreciated, as
one can imagine!
On Monday and Tuesday, Art GCSE students were involved in an examination and appeared to take it all
in their stride. Art is an extremely time-consuming subject area, but the finished products are invariably
superb and a delight to view.
The final Evensong of the term found Reverend Jane focusing on the true meaning of Easter, chocolate
eggs apart!
The popular ‘Girls Love Fit’ sessions that have been running regularly throughout the term for specific
year groups, ended with one where all were welcome. A popular activity, it was well attended.
A short A2 Drama performance took place Wednesday evening and boarders were left to choose
between attending this or taking part in an Easter Egg Hunt in Walters’ garden. A difficult one for many!
However, Senior house ‘Closing’ took place after these events and as one can always guarantee sweet
treats on these important occasions, those who opted for the drama were not sold short.
Sayers followed their ‘Closing’ with a Pizza Party and Ice Cream Factory – ice cream with added extras,
for the uninitiated! – a movie and eventually bed; early enough to enable all to get through the next
couple of days without flagging too much.
Similar end of term celebrations and treats were also the order of the day in Cooper, with the added
extra of a surprise party for Ms Dougherty following day. A happy event, tinged with sadness at the
thought of her leaving for pastures new.
Those involved in the Morocco trip left school Thursday morning. All those vaccinations had been worth
it, they had all – in their own ways – attempted to attain and maintain a reasonable level of fitness,
knowing that the schedule comprised trekking, mountain biking and the like. They return over the
Easter weekend and will surely have some interesting tales to tell next term.
The Godolphin Spring Concert on Thursday evening was a lovely, uplifting, quality event and included
performances by the various school Ensembles and Orchestra.
The final School Closing ceremony and the Inter-House Science Quiz kept the school community
occupied during the course of Friday, until all were free to depart at 3.45pm. There were those
international students, as is invariably the case, whose flights home had necessitated them leaving a
little early – funnily enough one never hears any complaints from them about having to depart a little
sooner than the majority! – but for most the highlight of the last day was spying their ‘taxis’ arriving,
ready to take them home for a well-earned break. There was the occasional gasp from parents on
viewing the amount of luggage that would fill absolutely all the nooks and crannies of their cars – for
those with more than one child in boarding, the loading process is done out of necessity with military
precision – but on the whole, everything went smoothly and by late afternoon the site was eerily quiet.
We thank you for taking the time out to read our regular Weekly News slot and wish you all a very
Happy Easter.