House Captains Welcome Year Seven to their New Houses
Year Seven pupils were allocated to their Houses in the House System at RGS this week. For the first few weeks of term, the pupils enjoy Form competitions so they get to know one another before being allocated to one of the Houses and meeting pupils from all Year groups in their House. The House competition runs right through the academic year and involves a huge range of different events from sport, music, drama to dance, chess, lego-builders – and even pumpkin-carving! The four Houses: Elgar, Ottley, Wylde and Whiteladies battle it out to become House champions with all pupils and staff allocated to one of the Houses (except the Headmaster who has to referee!).
We took this opportunity to ask our Upper Sixth House Captains to say a few words to introduce themselves and update us about the House competition so far.
Elgar: “Hello, we are Summer and Scott, Elgar House Captains. Together we work with Mr Friend, Elgar House Leader, to support pupils, events and competitions within the House System. Being appointed to this role has given us the opportunity to communicate with pupils from across the School, and come together to compete in House competitions ranging from Sport to creative subjects and even Lego-building. We organise many House events that are certain to interest everyone, and in Elgar we do like some healthy competition!”
Summer Green & Scott Mortimer, Upper Sixth House Captains for Elgar
Ottley: “This year we took on the roles of House Captains in order to try and put Ottley in a promising position and to do well in the overall House rankings before we leave the School in the summer. We have had an exciting start to the year with the first event being House Badminton in which we had an excellent taste of what being a House Captain was all about. We have tried our utmost to get younger pupils and our peers involved in events and to build a great atmosphere and morale for those taking part. So far this has been a really fun way to get involved and help out whilst at school. We are looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store.”
Molly O’Connall & Robbie May, Upper Sixth House Captains for Ottley
Whiteladies: “With Covid-19 restrictions gradually easing, the competitive and inclusive nature of the House System has returned this term. Throughout the first half of the Michaelmas term, there has been a vast array of events, from badminton to chess, to tug-of-war and drama competitions. The enthusiasm from all of Whiteladies’ pupils to participate has been astounding. In particular, the interaction across Year groups and the opportunity to make friends has returned. This, combined with the multitude of events so far, has already made this term a memorable one with Whiteladies currently at the top of the table! As House Captains we welcome the return of the full complement of House events.”
Aaron Lad & Kathryn Shaw, Upper Sixth House Captains for Whiteladies
Wylde: “We are honoured to have been chosen as the first female pair of House Captains for Wylde and have loved taking on the responsibility. One of our recent successes has been delivering a House assembly where we informed the members of Wylde House about our upcoming events. We have worked well together so far and look forward to what the rest of the year has to offer. Finding participants for events can sometimes take some encouragement, but we have discovered this can always be achieved with chocolate incentives!”
Mia Andrews and Lucy Newton, Upper Sixth House Captains for Wylde
![Ottley Ottley](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/3-2.png)
![Wylde Wylde](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2-2.png)
![Whiteladies Whiteladies](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/4-2.png)
![Senior House Dance Teams Senior House Dance Teams](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1-2.png)
House Events
Over the past few weeks, we have had a busy time in the House System with many fun events taking place. Before Half term, we had the House Tug of War, which was great fun and it was tremendous to see so many eager participants and audience members, seeing Ottley take the victory.
The House Pumpkin Carving challenge took place over the Half term break with lots of innovative creations being entered by staff and pupils alike. Some of my personal favourites included a pumpkin which was styled like a burger in a box, a few Dia de los Muertos entries and a Baby Yoda (aka, Grogu). We also saw some entrants using the flesh to cook and bake which ensured a tasty treat, as well as cutting down on waste.
Senior House Dance continued to be a popular event, with this year’s chosen theme as ‘Songs from the Movies’. Mrs Angela Newport, Head of Lower School and Senior House Dance judge, explains: “The audience were treated to some high-quality performances, all choreographed by the pupils themselves. Dancers selected songs from their favourite movies including ‘The Lion King’, ‘High School Musical’, ‘Rocky’ and ‘Grease’. All dancers were praised for their hard work and for the dedication that went into rehearsing their routines. There were some interesting and complex lifts, some great ensemble timing, and a few humorous individual highlights topped by sheer enjoyment by all. The competition was once again very closely scored, with only five points separating joint Third from First place, with the overall winning team this year being from Ottley House. Well done to all the dancers who took part and a huge thank you to the judges.”
Thank you to all involved – the House System could not work without you. We look forward to seeing which House can win this term’s House Trophy and then which House will be awarded full competition at the end of the academic year.
Mr Dan Morgan
Senior House Leader
![Tug of War Tug of War](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1-3.png)
![On you marks... On you marks...](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/3-3.png)
![House Tug of War House Tug of War](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/4-3.png)
![Tug of War - House-style Tug of War - House-style](https://www.rgsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2-3.png)