HOUSE REPORTS 33
Bird
Head of House: Miss J Sharrock Captain: Joseph Payne Vice-Captains: Alex Matthews & Michael Wilmott
Bird’s new nickname soon became ‘The House to Beat’ and that’s exactly what we were. Over the academic year Bird’s have taken the Arts by storm (as usual) and also triumphed in cricket, table tennis, badminton, basketball, football and Cross Country.
Traditionally, Bird’s is known for being stronger in the Arts; however this year was the start of a new era, when Bird’s became dominant in both the Arts and sports, creating a force to be reckoned with.
Tennis, table tennis and badminton proved popular this year, with more than enough boys turning up to trials to generate strong teams. The spirit shown throughout the events revealed just how sporting the boys within Bird’s really are, winning so many events consistently and with such grace. Special mention in the Seniors must go to A Matthews who held his own throughout the tennis season, winning all of his games, as well as to A Day who took table tennis to a new level. Within the Intermediates, J Millar showed both commitment and talent across the racket sports, whilst A Caglayan in the Juniors made a significant contribution to his events.
The boys’ devotion to the House was also shown through House basketball, with teams turning up week in, week out, Bird’s always having the highest number of subs available. With each year came talent in the form of T Osborne for the Seniors, whose size made him unstoppable, T Krause who showed both passion and skill, whilst C Peduzzi, Z Gillett and H Burns acted as a strong base for the Year 8 team.
Fortunately, Bird’s was lucky enough to House the 1st football Captain (C Nemi), resulting in wins throughout. We were beginning to look unstoppable; however, we narrowly missed out when it came to swimming, taking a close second to rivals Carr’s, who seemed unbeatable as in previous years. Having said this, the boys pushed through until the end with fantastic individual efforts from future House Captain S Ng and champion swimmer M Bender, along with L Clarke and Z Gillett who were like lightning when in the water.
It is important to reminisce on what was a comfortable victory for Bird’s in the Arts cup. Music gave Bird’s that chance to show off the abundance of talent within the House, organised and led by J O’Dea and G Bamber, who also managed to compete in every music event possible. Although only awarded a very questionable second for the House choir performance, other group and individual performances ensured a victory miles ahead of any other House. Performances from the likes of J Warn, E Wren and the Edwards brothers ensured Bird’s success but I’d also like to thank our choir and ensemble who turned out for numerous rehearsals and were, in my opinion, the best on the night by a long way. I’d also like to thank our chess and Scrabble players – victories in both these competitions secured the Arts Cup.
I can’t fault the boys’ effort when it came to Cross Country, with each and every boy putting 100 per cent into what can seem to be a marathon run - and Sports Day demonstrated the same mentality. Despite the torrential rain, the team turned out determined to break our Sports Day demons. By tea time it was looking good. We were narrowly in the lead, a lead we had held all day, following superb performances in the field events and from long distance runners. It is worth mentioning here J Millar, W Bamber and P Krause who had the Year 10 distance running sewn up. Unfortunately, it all went slightly wrong during the sprints and relays – we just did not have the runners and despite their best efforts we could not match Carr and Ramsey. By the end of the day we found ourselves pushed back to third place. It was a bitter pill to swallow after all of our efforts.
However, we were far from down and out and our consistency over the year now came into play. We were still in the lead in the Crispin Shield with only Carr’s House as serious contenders. In the end it all
came down to the House Cricket and with Carr’s hot on our heels it was imperative that we finish ahead of them. We need not have worried – our Intermediate team, led ably by J Millar, came first and our Juniors held on to third place, beating Carr’s and ensuring our overall victory in the Crispin Shield. We had to wait until the final assembly of the year but it was a proud moment for the whole House as new Vice-Captains B Woodward and C Nemi collected the Cricket Cup, the Arts Cup and the Crispin Shield. We’d done it!
However, there is only so much a House Captain can do when it comes to winning the Crispin Shield and of course the credit goes to the boys within the House who showed persistence, determination and bravery throughout all of the events in which they found themselves; for this, myself and Miss Sharrock are truly grateful. I must also thank my two Vice-Captains, Alex Matthews and Mike Willmott, who have shown a positive and willing attitude towards each and every task with which they have been faced, making my time as Captain less stressful and more enjoyable.
Last, but in no way least, a huge thank you must go to Miss Sharrock who has held the House together (although perhaps a little too competitively at times!), making a very stressful job run so smoothly. What must also be taken into account is Miss Sharrock’s ability to juggle both the position of Head of Bird’s with that of Deputy Head of Sixth Form which, as anyone can understand, cannot be easy. Having said this, there has not been a moment when Miss Sharrock has lost track and for this reason, in tribute to her final year as Head of Bird’s, she will be truly missed. Having such a positive impact on Bird’s house has reflected Miss Sharrock’s skilful organisation and her likeable character and it has been a pleasure to work with her throughout the year.
Joe Payne
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