New equipment!

The boys took no time to enjoy the new pool cues and table tennis bats that arrived over the weekend. For some reason we seem to get through rather a lot of said sporting equipment!

Oscar says "Thank you" for coming.

Oscar, the House Cocker Spaniel enjoyed clearing up once our guests had departed! Tonight saw around 20 families enjoying a drink and nibbles and chance to meet each other in College House. The post party hoovering was done very efficiently by Nick and Leonie's greedy pet, Oscar!

No picnic for Teddies!

The 1st XV recorded a fantastic win on Saturday over the formidable opposition of St Edward's, Oxford. Two tries from Tom Howe, one a piece from George Davis and Troy Janse van Vuuren and the rest of the points coming from the boot of James Riley sealed an emphatic 27-17 win. Coach Beckett was delighted and singled out Troy's try for special mention.  See his celebration left!

Exeat!

Parents' Conference - Friday 28th September at 13.30.

College House Drinks - Sunday 30th September from 18.30.

Bishop blesses Prefects and Chapel Wardens

The Bishop of Dorchester conducted the annual service this morning where Prefects and Chapel Wardens are commissioned and blessed. He talked to them about the importance of humility in their jobs and wished them luck in what could, at times, be a demanding role.

Sponsored walk

A rainy start did nothing to damped the spirits of this year's walkers. Some ran, some walked, some waddled but all entered into the spirit of the day.

The next job is to collect all the money so that we can make a real difference to our four nominated charities.

 

Peer Support Mentor

A year ago a number of current Year 13 boys and girls launched our first Peer Support Group. They worked tirelessly to provide a listening service for younger pupils and provided a very firm foundation for this new initiative. This year a new group has been formed (current Year 12 pupils) and casting a critical and skillful eye over them is James Rossi-Bull. James has been appointed Mentor to the new group and I know he will do a great job in looking after them all.

Open Morning

The boys are pulling out all the stops to put on a good show for Open Morning tomorrow. The House is squeaky clean (as the boys will be in the morning) and we are hoping for fine weather as we prepare to welcome hundreds of visitors. Lessons are suspended and all pupils will be involved. Year 13 boys are acting as guides, rowing, helping with sporting and cultural activities or they are based in departments taking part in special subject demonstrations.

I know they will do a fantastic job in selling the school!

Chapel Wardens

Year 13 pupils fulfil a number of crucially important roles around the school and contribute a huge amount to the smooth running of the place. One such group is the Chapel Wardens (most of them pictured below) who help the Chaplain run all Chapel services and also take a leading role in the pastoral care of all our Houses.

Pictures of the other groups to follow, when I can track them down in their busy lives!

These boots were made for walking!

Sponsored Walk - Monday 24th September.
The whole school is limbering up for our biennial 20 mile walk along the Thames to raise money for charity. This year we are dividing the spoils between a number of  local charities, including The Chiltern Childrens' Centre.

Please do all you can at home to sponsor the pupils and enable us to raise money for some very worthy causes.

Rugby Double-Header

Tom Howe and OV Ian Brown. Why have they swapped shirts?

Saturday saw back to back games on the 1st XV pitch. The Old Vikings provided the warm up act in a match against Henley Hawks 2nd XV. Despite going down, the OVs put up spirited resistance and it was nice to see some old faces coming out of retirement for the occasion. The match raised money for the Wooden Spoon charity, an English and Irish rugby board initiative which, in its own words aims  "to make a positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged children and young people through a commitment to quality charitable work."

The 1st XV were clearly inspired as they piled on the points against local rivals reading Bluecoat School. A final score of 28-19 flattered the visitors, with our boys dominating from start to finish.

Bronze for Shiplake!

It was only five years ago that Will Satch was a member of College House.  How proud we are to be associated with this Olympic bronze medallist! Despite the early predictions of Sir Steve Redgrave, Will and his rowing partner George Nash powered to bronze medal position at Eton Dorney to the cheers and tears of all at Shiplake. We send Will our heartiest congratulations

The rugby season has started!

A successful pre-season training camp and tournament has been followed quickly by the first set of fixtures against Reeds Grammar School. Unfortunately all three of our senior teams lost but positives have, I am sure, been taken from all matches.Newly appointed captain, Nick Arbuckle (congratulations!) will be looking for an improved performance from the 1st XV on Saturday when they play local rivals, Reading Bluecoat School.

A landmark event took place earlier this week when Tom Howe was selected to play for Wasps A against London Irish at Dry Leas in Henley. Coming off the bench with 20 minutes to go, Tom made an immediate impact on the game with a 40 metre burst, quickly followed by a try. Tom said that it was a fantastic experience and gave him a taste of what it is like to play at the highest level. Tom continues to train with the England U18 squad and we wish him good luck for the season!

Welcome to College House 2012/13!

Welcome to a new year in College House! We have been back over a week now and are back in the swing of things. The boys are enjoying their new surroundings and have settled into their new routine well. The Prefects, Chapel Wardens, Year 7 Mentors and all House Prefects are doing a great job. We hope that parents have received our College House "Welcome Booklet" and will feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

We hope it will be a successful and extremely fruitful year for all the boys; one to remember and one that will set them on their paths to the future.

Blog Re launch!

After a shameful year of inactivity, the College House Blog is back on line. This author apologises for such an extended period of inactivity!