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House Reports 15 (1972-73)

HOUSE REPORTS (1972-73)

ABBOTS HOUSE REPORT.

Having won thirteen of this year's twenty-three competitions, Abbots regained the championship; yet, perhaps surprisingly in view of this number of successes, the final result was in doubt until Sports Day in July, a tribute to the keenness and consistency of Bec. It was fitting that our lead should become unassailable after the Athletics since the reason for the House's overall success was so amply illustrated that evening - the outstanding achievements of gifted individuals supported by the concerted effort of the rest of the House. The loyal support and reliability of virtually every member of the House have been particularly evident this year. Long may this continue.

Rugby continued to be one of our strengths. The Senior XV, captained by R. Plowman, won their competition, but without ever really showing the rhythm expected from such a strong side on paper. The middle XV had no difficulty in winning all three matches, but the Junior XV had the doubtful distinction of being the only Abbots rugby side to lose any matches since 1971.

In Cross Country, the Seniors could not overcome the lack of specialist runners in the House and finished in fourth position. The Middle and Junior runners won their respective competitions, P. Dale finishing second in the former and D. Darrell third in the latter.

On the chess-board our players showed that we are not so devious as members of other Houses believe. R Thomas and P. Thomas played with their usual imperturbability and solid success, while the captain, M. Dickens, won a match at last amid scenes of frenzied
delight. Nevertheless, third place in this competition was not unjust.

With such a strong Badminton VI it would have been a surprise if we had not gained first place. There were consistently good performances from the whole team, but perhaps N. Veal was the outstanding player.

Captained by C. Thomas, our Basketball team shared first place with Kings and, as our pool of players will be virtually unchanged next year, we are hopeful of continued success. How to win a game of Hockey still remains something of a mystery to our players, despite the efforts of A. Kent to inspire a largely make-shift team.

On the 'cultural' front, Drama continued to be our 'béte noire'. The scenes chosen from 'Macbeth' were very demanding for a comparatively inexperienced cast, and it was a pity that so much hard work on the part of J. Hughes, the director, could not be better rewarded.

For the third year in succession we won both the Art and Literary Competitions, N. Eustance producing an especially good entry to win the Senior Section of the Art Competition.

Second place in Music was a tribute not only to the quality of our singers and instrumentalists, but also to the careful organisation of our entries by S. Poulton.

The Swimming Gala, seemingly judged with Olympic severity, saw victories for the Seniors and Juniors, and a gallant effort from the Middle swimmers which gave them third place. There were good performances too numerous to list, although mention must be made of C. Jennings who showed himself the outstanding Junior swimmer. We will clearly miss the performances of two seniors, A. Hale and R. Thomas, in next year's Gala.

In Cricket, the Seniors were led capably by S. Rowe and deservedly won their competition. The Middle team lacked genuine cricketers, with the exception of the captain, N. Round, so their matches were largely social occasions. Nevertheless, a determined assault was made by one of their number on the record sixteen-ball over 'achieved' two years ago. The Junior XI were very disappointing, only managing third position in a competition which they should have won.

And so to Sports Day, with its overall success for our Senior and Middle athletes, and second place for the Juniors.

We would like to extend our good wishes to the senior boys who will be leaving this term and thank them for their past efforts on behalf of the House. For those who remain there will be the challenge of trying to maintain the high standards set this year.

R. G. BIRCH
J. LOUTAN

BEC HOUSE REPORT.

This year's House Championship produced yet another thrilling climax with Bec finishing as runners-up to Abbots to whom we offer our sincere congratulations. The fact that we actually won only four individual competitions and yet amassed 685 points to finish second illustrates our great consistency throughout the year which, in turn, reflect the keen and dedicated attitude of virtually all our House members.

We made a steady start when the Senior and Junior Rugby teams finished second and the Middle team finished third in their respective competitions. The next few events, however, produced some rather disappointing results: we could manage only third place in the Basketball and fourth place in the Badminton. In the Cross Country too we produced only mediocre results, despite outstanding performances in the Middle Race from P. Foley (1st), R. Burdett (4th), and N. Wilcox (6th) and in the Junior Race from M. John (2nd), J. Solis (4th) and S. Quigley (6th). Nevertheless, our Chess Team, under the excellent guidance of P. Dumville, played very well and contributed thirty very valuable House points when they finished second in the competition.

After Christmas, however, events took a turn for the better and we were soon in with a chance of winning the Championship. We were second in the Art and Literary Competitions, but were disappointed in our hopes of a team win in the senior swimming events at the Gala. Our intermediate and junior cricket elevens, however, won their competitions.

On Sports Day we did well to achieve second position in the overall competitions. In the senior section N. Wade won the 400 m (new record), the triple jump and the 100m - a magnificent effort! Other winners were: S. Pinsent (Hammer and Discus); D. Hughes (Long Jump); B. Pendred (High Jump) and the relay team. In the middle competition winning performances came from: P. Foley (1500 m); A. McClelland (Shot and Discus); M. Dane (Javelin) and A. Essex (Hammer). Finally, our Junior winners were: A. Jones (400 m); N. Pendred (80m hurdles) and the relay team.

I have mentioned a number of boys who did very well in our various activities but there are many more whose performances, though less spectacular, were nonetheless essential to our success. It is always sad to lose such excellent House Officials as N. Wade (Captain), D. Hughes (Vice-Captain) and T. Barwick (Secretary) who have been a great inspiration to our younger members. To them I offer my thanks for their past efforts and best wishes for their future success. This year we are also losing Mr. J. Haydon whose enthusiasm and encouragement will be sorely missed in the future. I wish him every happiness in his new post.

N. CHARLESTON

KEVERE HOUSE REPORT

For Kevere 1972-73 proved all to predictable. The well-oiled Abbots machine soon clocked into gear, accelerating away from all opposition, and though we headed Bec until Christmas we could not match their spurt during the Spring Term. At this stage there even seemed to be a danger of our being caught by Kings, but their challenge faded in the summer.

Only three competitions were won. The Allen twins yet again led our challenge in the Senior Cross Country, crowning several years excellent service to the House with first and second positions. (S. Allen later won the Senior Essay Competition). The Junior Rugby team, led by N. Hicks, annihilated all opposition, at times playing fine fifteen man rugby. Our Junior Athletes won their competition through an excellent all round effort, with our winning margin over Abbots being the same as our superiority in standard points; there were good individual performances from C. M. Orlans (a triple winner), N. Earwood, N. Jones, R. Britton, A. Blundell and N. D. Ashcroft.

Creditable records were gained in several competitions. J. Wolff guided an inexperienced cast (D. Beatty, D. F. Levy, D. Mabb, N. P. Salaman, A. Stent, J. Williams and J. Wolff) through a difficult play, which was adjudged second to the Bec production (though several knowledgable judges considered Kevere's effort superior). T. Robinson organised the backstage work very efficiently. It may be mentioned here that the first "public" showing of the House Drama Competition proved a considerable success.

We came second in the Middle Cricket, Rugby and Swimming Competitions. The latter could have been won if G. Hadwin, N. Jones, I. Rice and R. Rice had been adequately supported by their colleagues, several of whom could have gained standard points. R. Rice, M. Searle, S. Taylor and A. G. White were the mainstays of the rugby and cricket teams.

M. Costa, a first year, batted confidently in the Junior Cricket team while the Seniors did well to gain two victories, thanks especially to useful contributions from P. Devenish and D. Simmonds.

Elsewhere we were less successful, but there were some crumbs of comfort. C. J. Mabb won his three chess matches and also the Junior Verse Competition. G. Hadwin won the Middle and P. G. Watt the Junior Art Competitions, but a shortage of standard points marred our overall performance. The Senior Rugby team, in spite of an injury to skipper S. Papworth, put up a tremendous fight against the powerful Abbots XV and were unlucky to lose to a 'freak' drop goal. J. Hall (winner of the Senior Shot), P. Stockwell (winner of the Middle 800m) and C. Simmons (second in both the Middle 400m and Triple Jump) shone in our unsuccessful Middle and Senior Athletics Teams.

Our thanks are due to the various peope who organised teams and competition entries, and particularly to House Captain, S. Papworth and Vice-Captain, G. H. Harding, both of whom worked hard to get the best out of Kevere. G. H. Harding continues next year as House Captain.

However, in spite of many good individual performances, we finished a long way behind Abbots and Bec. Let us hope that next year we can upset their recent monopoly in the competition. Certainly the performance of our Middle and Junior boys gives hope for the future.

E. A. COX

KING'S HOUSE REPORT

At the end of the 1972/73 House Competition, Kings House finds itself in the all too familiar last place. If reasons are sought for this situation they are not hard to find: the House has a dearth of Athletic ability in all age groups and more important is possessed of a fatalistic belief that its inevitable destiny is to be perpetually last.

In the face of this outlook even the keenest House Officials wilt and it is not surprising that Kings won only two separate competitions outright the Chess and the Middle Swimming and share the basketball with Abbots.

To suggest that House spirit never wavered despite heavy defeats the middle rugby team had over 200 points put on them would be a mockery, but amidst the apathetic mass there were boys who attempted to create some enthusiasm and will to win and it is only when their voice becomes heard and taken notice of that the House will lose its defeatist attitude.

In many ways the most spirited performances came from the Senior rugby team where a collection of non-rugby players and non-athletes fought their way through each game with remarkable determination, sustaining as they went some quite frightening injuries. Moss, Nash and Norris, our one-year loan from America, were the mainstays of this team, and indeed had we had a few more boys of the calibre of Norris, who was prepared to have a go at anything and generally did most things well, the tale at the end of the year might well have been different.

Other performances that stood out during the year were the solo effort of Johnson of the first form who was the Junior Cross Country, the Magnificent swimming of Billups and the Middle Swimming team, the frantic efforts of Tett to produce the House Play, and the strong play of the Hockey team who took a surprise second place.

As expected the chess team, skillfully led by Breibart, easily won their competition, but far too often theoretical domination of an event was not converted into real results. Thus the senior cross-country where Kings had more individual talents than any other house, but failed to collect the very vital standard points that should have meant victory. Similarly the basketball competition was squandered because of the unreliability of various individuals and the Senior Cricket performances became travesties as the opposition were given victories as a gift by poor captaincy and disgraceful performances.

For the future, things look very little better for Kings House - there is a real lack of talent in the junior forms and very little genuine desire to participate amongst many other boys. If only the House would realise that a strong collective effort involving everyone, something might be done, but fatalism is very hard to alter.

J. RYAN
G. S. JOINER

1974 School Magazine

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