Ahmed House

Ahmed House has been on a great journey finding ourselves: learning about the House we want to be, developing our team and our leaders and supporting and encouraging all our pupils, as well as focusing on group achievement, all the while promoting the individual and celebrating their impact on our House. An ongoing ethos of positivity, belief, and hard work has definitely been fostered. Ahmed staff members have been working hard behind the scenes to facilitate student ownership. Our pupil leaders have taken responsibility for planning events, allocating their teachers to jobs based upon their skills, and allowing for the pupils to lead sessions themselves with peers leading peers within a vertical structure. Year 10 pupils have led Year 13, and Year 13 pupils have led Year 7. Respect and perseverance have been the overruling expectations within our House. Our staff, pupil leaders and Ahmed House as a whole have found their pathway, and this year we have walked it together with pride.

The House system is a wonderful string to the bow of Sherborne Qatar. Pupils who come to our school join Houses which support, encourage, and develop them outside of the traditional curriculum areas. We have raised money for charity together, and this is what makes Sherborne pupils so competitive, and in Ahmed House our awareness of this is what has led the House leadership team to be successful.

This is the first year when Ahmed House has won the Sports Day trophy, gaining the most points in all our events through believing in ourselves and all participating to the best of our abilities. It meant so much to us to have exceeded our expectations and achieved the respect of finally seeing our name inscribed on the trophy. Our group attendance and achievement of merits have been extremely competitive this year, which is so important as it is a measure of our whole House efforts to be in school and do our best. This has been in line with our success in the individual Interhouse activities. So many times this year, effort from individuals within year groups has won us the competitions by narrow margins. It has become too often to be put down to luck. Dedication, effort, planning and perseverance have helped us to a leading position in the overall House Cup competition.

At the start of this year, our pupil leadership team agreed that we wanted to be the House of love: the House where we care about all members and make them all feel valued, and student led House which encourages all pupils to have pride in themselves and their Ahmed House friends across all year groups. I truly feel that we have been successful in our efforts, and this is the greatest reward our pupils will take away with them when they leave Sherborne. It has been an honour and a privilege to work with you, to support and encourage you and to be a part of our team. This has been the greatest rewardI have experienced within my teaching career and will forever have raised my expectations of what we can all achieve. I am incredibly sad to be leaving, but equally proud of what we have achieved. Thank you, Ahmed staff, pupils and all our House members, for everything. We have been successful in making Ahmed great again. WHOOP WHOOP!

Mr Hake Head of Ahmed House

Being an Ahmed House captain has been one of the highlights of my year. From online Kahoot to the egg drop and guessing the quotes of our favourite teachers, I was introduced to leading my House. My best moment was winning sports day thanks to the hard work of the whole of Ahmed House. Moreover, despite being nervous in the beginning I enjoyed leading Interhouse sessions and assemblies as it gave me a sense of pride and confidence. In conclusion I would like to give a big thanks to our wonderful Head of House, Mr Hake, for making Ahmed House great again! By Aya Ortashi, Year 8 Ahmed Junior Captain

Despite an uncertain start to the year, Interhouse has thrived. As restrictions eased, our biweekly competitions returned in full force bringing with them new activities. This year has brought Ahmed House together, strengthening our teamwork and creating a supportive, understanding and encouraging environment. One of my favourite house moments this year was when we won sports day and we were given the trophy. We finally cut off those green ribbons and added a pair of red ones instead! This year I was not only able to interact with people from Ahmed in my own year but also pupils from other years, as well as getting to know the other Ahmed house leaders. It has been amazing working with all of them and meeting every week to go over our plans. I’ve had an incredible time and I truly couldn’t be more thankful to every single member of our house. By Rebecca Mathew, Year 10 Ahmed Middle Captain

At the start of the year, we had a few goals as a House leadership team, the main one being winning Interhouse. Every year Ahmed House started strong and then ended up losing control by the end of December. It was clear that we needed to focus on maintaining our lead. We went into every competition with two mottos – ‘One Team One Vision’, and ‘Make Ahmed Great Again’. I can assure you that we have made Ahmed great again this year. We have maintained our lead on the House table by taking responsibility for our House and being as consistent as possible, regardless of ups and downs we encountered. We made history by winning the sports day trophy for the first time in Ahmed’s history. We are now in the last few weeks of the school year, top of the table, and with great perseverance we will reach our target! This wouldn’t have been possible without Mr Hake’s great leadership, the effectiveness of our leaders, and determination. Well done this year Ahmed house, we made history! #ONETEAMONEVISION By Anas Abdelmoula, Year 12 Ahmed Senior Vice Captain This year we saw so many restrictions lifted which meant we could finally have Interhouse activities which involved sports and other physical activities rather than doing quizzes. Ahmed pupils have gone above and beyond when supporting our House in the various activities. We started the year strong and have achieved our first sports day trophy win! We could not have done it without every single Ahmed House member who showed up to every Interhouse and gave it their all. Thank you so much for your efforts and a special thank you to the Ahmed house leaders who attended meetings every Tuesday to make this all possible. We also couldn’t have done it without our House leader, Mr Hake, who kept us motivated and determined. Maintaining our team spirit was our number one priority in Ahmed house and I am sure it is the reason we have been able to succeed and earn as many points as we could. One team One vision! I am beyond proud of our house, and I am proud to call myself the House captain of an amazing, resilient and happy house. I wish you all the best next year and the best of luck with any challenges you may face. By Nadeen Yosif Kalil, Year 13 Ahmed Senior Captain