Carol Service We welcomed Mr Bennett back to help give some gusto to the singing for the Christmas Carol Service. The service always takes place on the last evening of term with the Christmas holiday beckoning bringing a wonderful jollity and sense of festivity. A combination of staff and pupil readings, poems, carols and anthems made it one of the richer cultural occasions of the year. The service was followed by mince pies and mulled wine and the staff Christmas social. One of the nicest features of the choir is the beautiful red robes they wear for big occasions such as this.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Year 4 and 5 play at the end of the term was a jazzy and enjoyable version of the classic Roald Dahl novel. Some wonderful Oompa Loompa costumes were combined with a dazzling surreal set to make this a fun and stimulating play in which many of the cast made their acting debut. The casting was very clever, with the five lucky children displaying all the ghastly and wonderful qualities that makes the story so memorable and enjoyable. It was a lovely way in which to finish the term.
Upper School Trip to Oxford Another innovation in the Spring Term was a trip to Oxford which involved all of Year 4 to Year 8. With all the staff supporting the trip, different year groups visited different parts of the city with younger children visiting the Botanic gardens and the University Music Department, whilst older children visited colleges, the Covered Market and the Ashmolean museum. Despite the rain, it was a memorable day which we hope will become a staple for the school calendar, with a different city chosen each time.
2018 Leavers Return
Visiting Speakers We welcomed 3 speakers to Horris Hill in the Summer Term. All of them had been on the most extraordinary adventures over the preceding years. The first talk was given by Elise Downing, who spent a year in her early twenties running around the whole coast of the UK. She turned her experience into a prize winning book called Coasting. After Elise, Guy Denison-Smith who is a former parent and a member of the Advisory Board of Governors, came to speak about how he led a group of army veterans, including several amputees, up the Yukon in Canada. His talk preceded a second trip in June with another group of army veterans. Lastly, we welcomed Tim Harris back to his old prep school. Tim had rowed across the Atlantic with a colleague from work and he shared the difficulties and triumphs of that trip with our Upper School children.
Historically the Leavers of Horris Hill come back to Horris Hill in the last year of their senior schools to reminisce about their time here and catch up with old friends. This year we welcomed the 2018 Leavers back from schools such as Eton, Radley and Winchester. They had a drink and a BBQ in the Headmaster’s Garden followed by a tour of the new buildings and a chance to test their skills with a football match on Lower Field. It was especially fun to see members of Year 7 and 8 joining in with them.
Farewell to Felix 2023 marked the end of Felix Beardmore-Gray’s long association with Horris Hill. Having arrived as a Gap student in 1976, Felix spent the best part of 50 years associated with our school. In that time, he has performed just about every role that it is possible to play, from leading sports teams and music to teaching almost every subject and running the senior boarding house. Felix has been a well-loved and highly respected servant of the school and we held a fitting farewell to him at the start of July. With a dinner in the Library and drinks in the Headmaster’s garden, Felix was able to connect with several former colleagues and Heads from his time at the school. We wish Felix every happiness in his retirement in Somerset.
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