Three men in a boat (in Paris)

Three members of College House (and their Housemaster) were part of the choir tour that visited Paris over the weekend. The joint choir tour with Queen Anne's School was a huge success and provided experiences that few of us have, or are likely again, to experience. A concert in La Madeleine, and Masses in Notre Dame and St Clotilde proved to be extremely well attended and popular. The highlight for many of us was taking part in Mass on Saturday evening in the cathedral of Notre Dame, attended by roughly 600 people! The gothic slendour of the building, the mystery of a full Catholic Mass and the phenomenal playing of international organ star Olivier Lattry all made for an unforgetable experience.

The three boys, James Gifford, Nick Harper and Sam Neale all played their part, with James performing a solo in the concert at La Madeleine. Monday morning, however, came as a bit of a shock! The three were straight back into the hectic life most boys have here; Nick was part of the Public Speaking team representing the College at the Kenton Threatre on Monday evening in "Youth Speaks", Sam sat a Business Studies exam in the afternoon and James returned to his busy Art and Drama schedule.

"Who is my hero?"

Head of College, Alex Baker addressed the Senior School in Assembly this morning and made us all sit up and think. He posed the question "Who is my hero?" and, contrary to expectations, did not talk about a politician, a sportsman, a musician or even a film star. He chose a soldier, Chris Ryan. Ryan was a member of the SAS in the Gulf War. In 1991 on an aborted mission and having lost his two companions (one shot dead and the other captured and subsequently tortured) he made his way 200 miles into Syria (and safety) in just seven days armed only with a gun, some water and a packet of biscuits.

Alex went on to make the point that when we think we are having a "bad day" we should stop and consider the plight of others far less fortunate than ourselves; how easy it is to take things for granted. He ended his impressive talk with a prayer for all those suffering in Haiti.

Other senior pupils will be addressing assembly in the following weeks on topics that are important to them. Watch this space!

Meltdown!

The sledges have been put away, the Catering Manager has his trays back, school uniform is laid out ready for the morning and the green fields of Shiplake are in evidence once more! The College House boys are getting back into the swing of things, many are sitting examinations this week and most are looking forward to the fast approaching Exeat (Friday 22nd January at 3.30pm.). Car drivers may drive to school once again and access to parking by the boathouses is available.

Saturday saw another Open Day and Year 13 pupils were at the forefront of hosting our visitors. As ever, the reception our pupils provided, the smiling and confident faces that met the guests and the excellent tours that were conducted proved once again how competent and confident our senior pupils are. We are most grateful to them for this.

Callum Thomas - Captain of Hockey

It was announced last week that Callum Thomas (Orchard) is to be this year's Captain of Hockey. Many congratulations to him! It has obviously been a very frustrating start to the season with snow wrecking training and one set of fixtures. However, with the milder weather and the reappearance of green fields (and astroturf) we wish Callum and the 1stXI hopefuls every success for the coming season. Supporters are always most welcome at matches; the 1st XI play their home matches at Reading Hockey Club in Sonning.

Business as usual...

The snow seems to be melting and looking out of my window hardly any is falling. We start on Monday morning with a full day of lessons, GCSE and A Level examinations and, weather permitting, a full games programme. The boys seem to have lost some of their enthusiasm for the snow, although the sledging slope was busy this afternoon!

Year 13 must, inevitably, turn their attention to revision, exams and coursework. They have been reminded that time is short and the pressure is on. Prep time and private study is sacrosanct and must, under no circumstances, be disturbed. During this period, consideration must be shown to those taking important exams.

Back to normal?

After a day of revision and coursework sessions run by the staff who managed to brave the conditions, Year 13 will, tomorrow, resume their normal timetables as far as possible. This will be the case on Saturday as well.

The boys are free to go home after their final lesson of the week, although we would, naturally, advise caution. For those with examinations early next week it is essential that they return safely and well in time.

More snow!

Estimates vary but we had somewhere in the region of eight to twelve inches of snow in Shiplake today. Few day pupils made it in but the boarders were kept busy. Year 13 worked all morning and for an hour in the afternoon; it was a good chance for them to catch up with work, continue with coursework and revise for the fast approaching AS and A2 exams. Staff were available for consultations throughout the day. In the afternoon Year 13 organised a mass snowball battle on New Field; others opted for sledging in fields nearby. We were all fed superbly by Steve Beaumont, our Catering Manager and a skeleton staff. With more snow forecast, the liklihood is that tomorrow will see similar arrangements.

Day pupils who find they do not have enough work to keep them occupied are very welcome to phone or email Nick brown who will find them more to do!


Local roads, while passable in four wheel drive vehicles, are still dangerous.

College House on 22nd December.

A New Year.

Welcome to 2010 and the new College House Blog!

We hope you have all had a very happy Christmas holiday and wish you a successful 2010.

Well done to most of you who made it back to school tonight, braving the snowy conditions. Looking out of my study window the snow seems to be falling thicker and faster by the minute. Quite what this means for the next few days is yet to be seen.

I hope that this Blog will provide you all with useful information about our activities here and a chance to see better what we get up to. It will not replace the emails we send out with important information, so please don't feel that you will miss this information if you do not check it. However, I hope that you will visit it regularly and feel more a part of your sons' final year at Shiplake.