REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2007-2008 - Pershore High School

The House AwardReport by Ian James, Sam Wright and Paul WatsonAfter its launch in September 2007, the newHouse system continues to involve, motivateand excite students and staff alike. A widerange of events and activities have taken placethroughout the year requiring students and staffto display a multitude of skills and abilities,combined with a fair share of enthusiasm,determination or even luck.All students contribute to their House whenThe Pardoe House Shield - Heads of House eye-up the prizethey receive merits (1 point) and gold referrals(10 points), whilst points are also awarded for competing in House activities. Sixth Form HouseCaptains have organised different charity events, most recently for Sport Relief, and they continue tosupport their Heads of House with assemblies and other House-related tasks. In addition, Year andTutor reps have helped to promote the new house system and it is hoped that they will continue to doso next year.When considering the merits of introducing a new House system our main aim was to provide a senseof community, belonging and pride. By encouraging students to participate in healthy competition itwould, hopefully, improve teamwork and loyalty, raise motivation and enjoyment, and promote positiveattitudes to learning. Everyone directly connected with the school, including students, staff andGovernors, were consulted in the process and it quickly became evident that this was an excellentconcept to initiate. The biggest challenge was undoubtedly the choice of names, but we eventuallysettled on famous people with a connection with the surrounding area. Student and staff feedbackclearly shows that all of these aims have been met to a greater or lesser extent. The aim now is toembed the house system within the fabric of the school and encourage yet more students to play a fulland active part in the life of the school through their House. Opportunities will continue to exist for anystudent or member of staff wishing to contribute in some way to their House; perhaps volunteering totake on different responsibilities or even coming up with new ideas, events and activities.The competition amongst the Heads of House is at fever pitch, as each house looks to win the PardoeShield for the first time. Major Pardoe was the first Headteacher of Pershore High School from 1932to 1957 and it is fitting that the shield be named after him. The competition officially finishes on SportsDay on July 10 th and, as you can see below, Chaucer currently lead the proceedings, closely followedby de Montfort, Fielding and Shakespeare.A varied range of events and activities have taken place throughout the year involving teaching andnon-teaching staff, and students in all year groups. A few of the highlights are outlined below:▪ Giant Jenga ▪ PHS Cleaning staff skittles ▪ Quizzes ▪ Mixed Hockey ▪ Cake decorating ▪ Chess▪ Su Doku ▪ Spelling challenges ▪ Computer gaming ▪ ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ ▪ MFL Hard spell▪ Football competitions ▪ Senior Boys’ Weight-lifting ▪ Enterprise activities ▪ Year 8 Easter Egg Orienteering▪ Heads of House Generation Game ▪ World Book Day fancy dress and poster design ▪ Sport Relief charityevents and Fundraising ▪ Tesco Vouchers competition –over 21,000 collected.Star students(students who have achieved more than 200 points for their House)ChaucerEleanor Beevis 208Chloe Bitcon 213Martha Browne 226Philippa Colenutt 206Frances Dobell 208De MontfortJoseph Reynolds 221FieldingMark Grimes 209Charlotte Haynes 208Esther Chidlow 217Olivia Harbridge 222ShakespeareMegan Ramsay 305Kate Rawlings 215The House SystemRunning TotalChaucer 8091De Montfort 7639Fielding 7309Shakespeare 7269Heads of HouseChaucer - Chris Whapples, Philippa Keenand Anna SmithDe Montfort - Thomas Barz, Teresa Smithand Angie KilminsterShakespeare - Sarah Schaatuun,Jonathan Knight and Triskya LoxleyFielding - Emma Bliss (Rachel Seabourne),Richard Wood and Julie SandersHouse CaptainsChaucer - Philip Cornelissen,Hannah CorriganDe Montfort - Leon Williams,Elena von BenzonShakespeare - Stephan Maughan,Emily YoungFielding - Elizabeth Crawford, Jack Harrison