THE HOUSES

EAST

Mrs Williams, Head of East House

East house started this academic year in high spirits. In September we welcomed our new Year 7s who have settled in very well and are taking part in house competitions and a variety of clubs - they are also enjoying games of manhunt around the school site! Our new Year 12 students have also started to feel at home in East House and many of them are already getting stuck into house competitions. Our prefects led by Liam Ball, Muhammed El-Beik and Alex Sutton have provided great leadership, and Easties have proudly represented the house in table tennis, art, Ghost and rugby. The highlight of the year so far has been East House winning House Music, under the leadership of Tom Clennell - we did very well not only in our solo performances but also with our team performances. We are all looking forward to the new challenges that 2020 will bring - especially House Eisteddfod.

Liam Ball, East House Captain

East House has ended the decade as we mean to start the next. We performed very strongly in every house event this year, with the pinnacle of our success being the House Music win. With the help of vice-captains Muhammed El-Beik and Alex Sutton, and of course our Head of House Mrs Williams, we have built a strong foundation on which we can improve upon in the new year. Our aim, as always, is to win the House Cup. While this won’t be an

easy task, East House has more drive and competitive spirit now than ever before. We will continue to work towards our goals and give everyone in East House a reason to be proud.

WEST

Mr Sanchez, Head of West House

2019 has been a year of personal and professional challenges. It has put me on the spot as Head of West House and East Wing Housemaster, and these opportunities have provided such good moments that I can’t pick just one, but if I need to choose something positive from 2019, relationship is the first word that comes to my mind. I truly believe that West House has worked so hard over the year gone, despite results, and individual competitions have allowed it to prove itself and show that our community is slowly growing, together with the strong leadership of the prefect team Led by John Wellman and Aryan Dixit. 2019 has been enjoyable and I am sure 2020 will bring more opportunities for the school community to flourish and make a positive impact on all of us.

John Wellman, West House Captain

As West House Captain, I have to work very closely with Mr Sanchez and the West Prefect Team, with the main aim of garnering success in West House and overseeing the events that occur. We set specific targets at the start of the year on what we would like to achieve at the end of the academic year. Some of these aims included increased participation in House events, improved integration between senior and junior students and a

general improvement in camaraderie within all aspects of house life. I am very proud of the commitment that West House has shown so far this year, towards the goals we set. Firstly, the house’s attitudes and commitments to House Music were fantastic throughout and we should be extremely proud of a deserved 2nd place finish. West is not the only house that has aimed for an improved integration between Senior and Junior students, as it is a whole school initiative this year. However, I do think we have especially prevailed in this area. There is certainly a growing relationship between different age groups in the house and I hope next year’s prefects will keep this amongst their priorities. With House Eisteddfod still to come in February, there are still many great opportunities for us to climb up the house rankings, and I am excited to see what we have to offer in these competitions. At the end of this year, the prefect team and I will be passing on our roles to the current Year 12s. I have no doubts that next year will be an even more successful year for West House, especially considering the unbelievable commitment and help we have had from a number of them this year.

SCHOOL

Mr Allen, Head of School House

The School house motto and logo was created by Merlin Dilligham several years ago. Striving, Believing, Achieving sums up the philosophy, attitude and approach of School house students to competitions and everyday life. We just want to push ourselves to do our best without comparing ourselves to others and we will be successful. We will also congratulate all the other houses when they are successful and are proud of our performances. In school house assemblies we often discuss mental health and how there will be tough times in life. I would love an

environment where all students feel they have someone they feel they can talk to about anything they are struggling with. This is something we will continue to push for. I often say that the most important thing for talented academic students is that they are genuinely good young men. It may take some longer than others to get there but we have to believe we will all get there in the end. I could not be more proud of Alex Shandling as house captain and all the prefects who have supported our progress this year. We will continue to strive, believe and achieve.

LAUD

Mr Gunson

Along with the 4 Pillars of Reading School: Community, Excellence, Integrity and Leadership, Laud House has chosen to focus on the exhibition of characteristics such as Respect, Resilience and Pride. All the students and staff that are part of Laud House appreciate that we are not the finished article so we see each new day at school as a chance to improve ourselves academically and, most importantly, as human beings.

The Students in Laud House know that growth in your resilience can only really come from being encountered with challenges and using a number of different strategies to overcome these problems. At Reading School, students are faced with many challenges every day from tests and exams, to the complex social interactions introduced by Floreat and PSHE. Therefore I believe the staff would be doing the students a disservice if we didn’t provide a plethora of framework and scaffolding to help students become more resilient. Our very own 9L are a great example of students

who have embraced the challenges of school life and have therefore grown their resilience and coping mechanisms.

Laud House is the youngest House in the School and due to this, can sometimes be limited in terms of contributing points to the House competition. However, what our House lacks in numbers we make up for in Pride. In every House competition, Laud House attempts to bring as much enthusiasm as possible. 10L and 8L are great examples of this as they may not always be the most skilled in certain events but are regularly praised for their determination and commitment.

Finally and most importantly, the students in Laud House strive to be respectful members of Reading School and of the wider community outside our gates. One way that our Students have shown their commitment and respect of the school and wider community is by getting involved with a number of different fundraising activities for charity. The House has supported Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Royal Berkshire Hospital and Sure24. Students in Laud House know that in order to evolve and grow into positive members of society, you need to be able to respect yourself and others. We at Laud House also know that everyone isn’t perfect and there will be bumps along the road, but it is how you respond to these events that makes you who you are.

Joel Baby, Head of Laud House

Laud House, the seeming underdog intuition in the eyes of many, is an exemplary representation of the critical values held up high within Reading School. Amongst our many hopes, our current aim is to rise up to the level of the other houses and to be championed as a respected house in due course. There is a potent willpower within the minds of our cohort, an irrational drive to succeed, and to exceed the expectations of others. With time, I hope the formidability of our House will grow and form a cornerstone of Reading School, that will see generations of individuals showing excellent attainment through their time and commitment as proud Laud House members. On behalf of myself and all the other leaders within Laud House, I hope all our boys can be unified in their

endeavours to bring great successes for our House, to model the commitment and virtue modelled by our own William Laud and finally ensure we are committed to these values in a time filled with uncertainty and unease.

COUNTY

Currently in 1st place.

House Music

House Ghost

House Table Tennis