House Reports 14 (1971-72)

BEC HOUSE REPORT.

This was another excellent year in the annals of the House with Bec once more assuming its rightful position at the head of the league table. There were of course weaknesses and disappointments, notably in the Literary and Art competitions when promised entries were not handed in; but in general the attitude of the House was very keen and dedicated, making the job of the Housemasters a pleasure. Very important to our success was the wonderful example of C. Szelewski, who not only contributed outstandingly to many of the senior events but also helped to arouse a good spirit among younger boys by his interest in their activities and his enthusiastic support. He will be sorely missed. We are all very much in his debt and thank him warmly for all he has done on our behalf.

All our Rugby teams were second in their competitions. The senior team played their best, under the inspiration of S. Martin (captain), C. Szelewski and D. Hughes, losing only to the stronger Abbots side. The middle team lost only narrowly to Abbots who were much stronger on paper, while the juniors, under the excellent captaincy of K. Price, played well above their expected form. N. Pendred was an outstanding centre, scoring some excellent tries.

The Cross Country results were not exciting; senior and intermediates were third and juniors second; but good individual performances were returned by C. Szelewski. P Foley, T. Baxter, D. Heath, J. Solis and P. Kirby.

The Cricket competitions showed us to best advantage with firsts in the senior and junior competitions and a second in the middle. The seniors were well led by A. Haynes who received good support from G. Lowe, S. Lowe and T. Barwick. The middle XI owed much of their success to the bowling of J. Szelewski (captain) and P. Murtagh, and the juniors under K. Pendred, C. Baker and P. Kirby.

In Athletics the seniors were first, the middle team third and the juniors second. There was a number of outstanding performances among which the following deserve especial mention: S. Pinsent broke the Sports Day record for the Hammer; C. Szelewski won the Discus and Javelin and was second in the 1500m; N. Wade won the 400m and Triple Jump and was second in 100m; D. Cox was second in the 200m. Triple, and Long Jumps. A. Szelewski was second in the Javelin, Shot and Hurdles; A. McClelland broke the Sports Day record for the Discus; A. Essex was first in the Discus and Shot; P. Foley and R. Burdett were first and second in the 1500m. P. Foley was also second in the 800m. and third in the Discus. The senior team put up a magnificent performance all round, also winning the relay; the middle team were unlucky to lose second place by two points, and the juniors were, as usual, very enthusiastic.

In the other events we had our successes and failures. Mention has already been made of the Literary and Art competitions. However, good Art entries were submitted by P. Davison and P. Watson. We won the Music competition thanks to the efforts of many promising young players. Our thanks go to R. Pool, D. Mercer and D. Cummings for organizing the entries and to the three Jolliffe brothers, among many others, for their contribution to our success. We were first in Hockey, well-led by N. Wade, and also in Basketball, where C. Szelewski was, as always, a real match-winner. A. McClelland also showed up well in this event. A good Badminton team was disappointing and came last, a fate also suffered by our Chess grand masters. However our play "Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead", ably directed by D. Cummings, with P. Dumville and R. Bourne performing well in the title parts, was adjudged worthy of second place.

I have mentioned a number of boys who did very well in our various activities; but there are many more who supplied us with that secure base which made our final success possible. To all these I offer my congratulations and thanks. I would also like to put on record my thanks to Mr. N. Charleston, without whose enthusiasm and gentle touch we could never have achieved these dizzy heights. This is my last year as Housemaster. I am very grateful to a kind Providence that my lot has been set in so fair a ground among such a splendid lot of boys. In the five years that I have held this office I have been delighted by the spirit shown by so many boys in the many competitions we have been involved in and I shall follow with great interest the fortunes of Bec under the excellent leadership of Mr. Charleston.

D. Dixon.

KEVERE HOUSE REPORT

The 17th School Athletics Sports brought Kevere a dismal end to another disappointing year. Our bag of fourth places in House competitions rose to six as only four boys managed firsts in the Athletics:
N. Thomson in the Junior High and Triple Jumps,
P. Stockwell in the Middle 800m and 1500m.
J. Hall in the Middle shot and
A. Phillips in the Senior Pole Vault.
However, in fairness to our athletes, it must be conceded that they tried hard, they just lacked sufficient talent.

Again we made a poor showing in terms of standard points, generally earning fewer than the other houses. Again we must plead for more willingness to compete, whether it be in athletics or art, cross country or literature, at least make the attempt - nothing is lost but a little time, and much may be gained for the House and the individual.

On the credit side were a first equal at Chess and an outright first in the Middle Cricket, a competition dominated by P. Devenish, who took 15 wickets in three games and scored 30 not out in the crucial match against Bec. He was ably supported by C. Simmons and P. Hartley. The second place in the Senior Cricket was a most creditable performance and there were valuable contributions from R. Phillips, S. Papworth, D. Simmonds and D. Banks, who to everyone's surprise (including, I suspect, his own) emerged as our most successful bowler.

On the cultural front D. Armstrong (Middle Essay), S. Allen (Senior Essay) and A. Stent (Junior Art) were our sole successes in the Literary and Art Competitions, which were very poorly supported. However, great efforts were made in the Music Competition, not least by our "organisation man", A. Rees. Although we came third overall, P. Singer, B. Matthews, V. Brice and I. Rice are to be congratulated on gaining individual firsts. Our greatest success was in the Drama competition, in which a young cast, including three "women", gave a most convincing and entertaining performance. D. Mabb, J. Morris, R. Pell, G. Peters, A. Rees, J. Williams and J. Wolff were the actors, while C. Taylor looked after the back stage. A. Singer, the producer, must take much of the credit for the play's success.

Cross country was our most successful sport with two firsts and a second, and three individual firsts: E. Harvey (closely followed by the Allen twins) in the Senior, P. Stockwell in the Middle and K. Rance in the Junior. In the latter, three first years, C. Phillips, S. Oxley and M. Farley were amongst the first fifteen runners home and thus augurs well for the future.

Finally, it remains to thank the House Committee and other helpers for their efforts over the year, and especially to G. Peters, an efficient and enthusiastic Head of House.

E. A. Cox

M. Fountain.

KING'S HOUSE REPORT

Yet again Kings finished fourth in the House Championship, but recent events have shown that we may well have turned the corner. More people are now showing an interest in house activities, and more people competing in the various competitions. If this trend continues, there is no reason why the house should not be more successful next year.

The session began in sad fashion with the Seniors unable to field a Rugby fifteen for the game against Kevere, with the result that we finished fourth rather than third. The Badminton six, under Ransley's leadership, made some amends by finishing second in a very closely fought competition, while the Chess team went one better to come equal first. This was to be the only occasion during the year that Kings finished in front.

The Cross Country races revealed a lack of talent but a willingness to participate. In the Junior event, in which Billups finished second, we had more standard points than the other houses, but could still do no better than fourth place. The intermediates could do no better, but the seniors, with K. Harris finishing second, did well to achieve second place overall.

In the Spring term a keen but untalented Junior XV emulated their seniors, but the greater disappointment was the failure of the Basketball team to win the competition in which they started favourites. They, in fact, played the best Basketball, but lost an extremely close game with Bec in the final seconds. Three more second places, in the Hockey, Literature and Art competitions raised our hopes temporarily, especially as our placing in the latter was obtained purely on standard points. K. Harris and N. Page are to be congratulated on achieving first place in the poetry sections of the literary competition.

This improvement was carried forward to the Music competition where our small band of musicians did extremely well to come second, only being overtaken in the last event. Our congratulations and thanks go to M. Spooner and K. Allnatt for their efforts and improvisation.

The summer activities began disastrously with the three cricket elevens winning only two games between them. The senior team had more than their fair share of talent, but showed little enthusiasm and no application. They should feel ashamed at their fourth place. The Athletics were much better, with some outstanding individual performances. C. Elias, A. Martin and S. Drake were all double winners in the sprints, and J. Fullick won both the 800m. and 1500m. A little more depth in the intermediate competition would have improved our second place.

It has, then, been another disappointing year, but there have been sufficient glimpses of what can be achieved to suggest that a great improvement can be made next year. The important advance is that more people are now contributing something to the house, and whilst this continues things can only get better.

I. R. Clarkson.

P. J. Tanner

J. Ryan.