Sports Dinner

On the 15th March the Sports Dinner will be running and tickets are now on sale. Guest speakers are to be confirmed in the New Year but you will not be disappointed in the line up being organised. Ticket prices are on sale at £65pp or a table of 10 for £600, with letters going out in the New Year. The bar will be open from 6:30pm to 11:30pm.

Sponsors are invited to purchase an advert in the menu for £150 or purchase a table and advert for £725. We are also looking for a main sponsor of the evening and if anyone would like to discus this further please get in contact with Austin Kersey, Director of Sport on akersey@shiplake.org.uk . 

If any parents are willing to donate an auction prize for the evening it would be greatly appreciated.  Currently we have a signed Ian Botham & Alan Lamb memorabilia, Jack Nicklaus 'The Golden bear' and winner of 18 major titles framed picture signed but any others would be greatly received.

Christmas Lunch

Skipwith went to Henley for lunch today to celebrate breaking up for Christmas. With over 100 people to feed this was no mean feat and yet La Bodega did us proud. Spanish tapas was the order of the day and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Year 12 at the Rugby Dinner

The house took on quite a fragrance last night as the year 12 rugby players prepared themselves for the end of season dinner.

During the course of the last 2 days the following rugby awards have been made to Skipwith boys:

14A - Els Frisby (Player of the Season), Els Frisby and Brad Wilkins (Colours)

15B - Elliot Whittingham (Most Improved Player)

15A - Ross Johnstone (Player of the Season), Ross Johnstone and Sam Wisely (Colours)

16B - Jonathan Meadows (Player of the Season)

16A - Billy Sayers (Colours)

2nd XV - Mo Najeeb (Most Improved Player)

1st XV - Bodie Deane, Joe Carey (Full Colours)

Well done to all!

House Elves at it again...

The house elves appear to have pieced together a surprise for the house in the morning. Mr Settle's back may have paid the price for it but I'm sure it will be worth it.

Mock Exam Timetables

The mock exam timetables for years 11 and 12 have been published.

Year 11 can be found here.

Year 12 can be found here.

House Elves

The house elves are busy decorating the tree. Matron will inevitably give it the necessary woman's touch in the morning but we thought it looked good.

House Council Minutes

Minutes of today's house council meeting are set out below.

Year 9 – Eliott Jordan

Lock broken on toilet door again. Matron will get this repaired but could year 9 please report problems to matron as and when they occur so that it can be fixed immediately?

House kit was requested, such as house hoodies. Mr Settle said this was banned by the bursar, but he would consider buying low key and cheap items of merchandise if someone would like to recommend a house specific item.

Year 10 – Hugo Javadi-Babreh

Prep time is hard to manage. Mr Settle said that this was a wider issue that was being investigated by the senior management team.

Year 11 – Louis Bossons-Sartain

Fruit everyday was requested. Matron will look in to this, but it may have to be raised at the food committee on Thursday.

Hot dogs are great and year 11 thanked matron for everything she has done with these.

Year 12 – Sam Hallatt (Boarding) and Tom Berkley (Day)

House hoodies were requested. Mr Settle gave the same response as above.

A better pool table was requested. This began a discussion that is set out below.

Mr Settle said he is unhappy with the current state of the day room outside matron’s office. This room is looking tired and needs improving. Suggestions were sought from the council. Council agreed that the room should be more functional as a pool/TV room and that the seating could be adjusted to become more functional thereby allowing more floor space. The pool table should be upgraded and the rug replaced. Mr Settle will look in to all of these changes with matron over the Christmas holiday and is very keen to get an improvement.

Skipwith Boys in the Paper

It was nice to see photos of the Skipwith boys in the Henley Standard last week. One was of our mufti efforts, the other of our rowers breaking a course record in Bristol.

Year 9 Dodge Ball

Last night the prefects organised a dodge ball competition for year 9 boys. We had 3 participants, and although it was all for fun, the most impressive game had to be Skipwith versus Orchard. 3 boys versus 12 boys. Who won? We did of course! An amazing game reminiscent of the classic film and a true underdog story. Thank James, Jacob and Oliver!

Poppy Appeal

Skipwith raised a grand total of £45.75 towards this year's poppy appeal. Thanks to all who donated!

Mufti Tomorrow

Mufti tomorrow is £2 per person. All money goes to the DEC appeal supporting those in the Phillippines.

National Computing Competition

Last week many Shiplake boys entered the National Computing Competition. The following Skipwith boys gained a distinction in the event, meaning they came in the top 25% of all those who entered in the country!

James Davie

Scott Lees

Joseph Szweda

Liam Peachey

Will Carey

Charlie Bertram

Samuel Ryder-Smith

Results Update

In the junior house rugby this week we came 2nd in the A competition and 4th in the B competition. Well done to all who took part!

House Badminton and Table Tennis

Over the last two days our badminton and table tennis players have been at work in this relatively new house competition. Again, we are awaiting results, but well done to everyone who participated!

Results as follows:

Juniors Badminton:

3^rd - Skipwith

Juniors Table tennis:

5^th - Skipwith

Seniors Badminton:

3^rd - Skipwith

Seniors Table Tennis:

5^th - Skipwith

Junior House Rugby

It was great to see nearly every year 9 and 10 boy who was not off games playing rugby for the house on Wednesday. We still await the results but even in their absence, the camaraderie is a real treat to see. A few photos in the gallery thanks to Conor Crowe in Orchard house.

British Legion

Brad Wilkins was helping to raise money for the British Legion yesterday by selling cards and decorations created in the Art department.

Fireworks!

Last night the Skipwith boarders hosted the boarders from other houses at our fireworks display. The boys supplied everyone with food and drink whilst Mr Settle and Mr Bradley took on the dangerous job of lighting the rockets. Many thanks to matron who spent the evening cooking hot dogs and slicing rolls along with her son Kits.

The boarders did themselves proud and were ably joined by Phil, Tom, Harry and Ollie.

Unfortunately, because I was lighting fireworks, this was the only photo I could get before it started!

New Junior Leader

Charlie Bertram takes over as Junior Leader this half term and we wish him luck in the role!

Junior Leader

The post of junior leader is up for grabs again and year 10 boys were asked yesterday to submit a letter of interest to Mr Settle by the end of the week. The post is for next half term and is a good opportunity for boys in year 10 to take on a bit of leadership and responsibility in the junior section of the house.

Junior House Football

It is official...WE WON!!

Henley 10k and Half Marathon

Several staff and students took part in the Henley running events today. Was it worth the pain, the sore legs and the getting up early to go running in the pouring rain?

Of course it was!

Captain of Boats

Many congratulations to college prefect, GB rowing junior and head of house, Harry Vardigans, for being appointed Captain of Boats!

Birthdays

Birthdays in Skipwith are always a special occasion and every boy deserves cake on his special day. Our super matron always makes sure the boys are well supplied and that the boys are able to celebrate with their friends. Today was the turn of Will Bailey, and with 80 boys in house we never have to wait too long before the next on comes around!

House Council

To follow up from the minutes below, I have added in red some relevant updates to show what has been done so far.

Support Clinics

Most if not all departments at Shiplake offer some form of support clinic. The current offering can be found here so there are no excuses for not being able to get a little help for that tough piece of prep!

In the paper

Shiplake had a great showing at the Worcester Head last week and it was great to see a good number of Skipwith boys in the Henley Standard photo and article!

Team Photos

Senior Football

Junior A

Junior B

Junior House Football Day 2

Many thanks to Henry Blois-Brooke for the match report below. We eagerly anticipate the official results!

We went into the match with our heads up after 2 great wins in the bag! Our first match was against Burr A. Burr kicked off and Henry Atkinson quickly intercepted the ball and made an excellent run down the centre of the pitch. He passed the ball to a striker, who pelted the ball into the goal which made the score 0-1 to Skipwith. Burr fought back and not long after, Burr were running down the pitch with determination and scored a goal. Burr kicked off again and we were playing amazingly. BUT not well enough and Burr slipped down the side of the pitch and scored another goal. Final score 1-2 to Burr.

After a defeat in our last match we were even more determined to win our next match against Welsh. We thought that Welsh would be a walk in the park but they were fantastic. Within the first couple of minutes of the first half, Welsh broke through our defence line and scored a goal in the top right hand corner. We kicked off into the second half and passed along our line of strikers who brought the ball up into Welsh's box. Christian took the corner but unfortunately a Welsh player took the ball and kicked the ball back into our half. The whistle blew! Final score 0-1 to Welsh.

We started our last match against Orchard A. This was going to be the toughest match. Henry Atkinson changed our positions. Orchard kicked off and Jacob intercepted the ball and passed it to Oli West who had a shot at the goal. Unluckily, Oli just missed and the score was still 0-0. Orchard took the ball quickly and ran the pitch with lots of support from their strikers. Orchard scored and the score was 0-1 to Orchard. Orchard kicked off and took a long shot from the half way line. They scored! The score was now 0-2 to Orchard. Jacob intercepted the ball and passed it to myself. I passed the ball to Henry Atkinson and he smashed the ball into the goal. We ran it up and took it quickly. Oli ran down the pitch, passed it to Christian Marks and scored a goal. Score 2-2! Orchard were now under pressure and started playing even better than they already were and scored a goal in the last second! Final score 2-3!

By Henry Blois-Brooke

Junior House Football Day 1

Many thanks to Henry Blois-Brooke for providing a report of the days events. Things are looking good with our teams having notched up some significant wins.

We started our first match against Everett A. We kicked off and within a couple of minutes we scored a goal (cannot remember who scored). Everett kicked off and the second half got even better. Henry Atkinson tapped it to Christian Marks and Chris smashed it into the Everett goal. Final score 0-2 to Skipwith.

After a great win against Everett we played Orchard. Orchard are a very strong football house so we knew that this match was going to be tough match! We kick off and Orchard stole the ball from us and their striker ran down the centre of the pitch and kicked it into our goal and made the score 0-1 to Orchard. We were all even more determined to win now and went into the second half with our heads up. Jacob made an amazing run into the Orchard's goal box. Jacob was fouled and we got a penalty. Henry Atkinson chose Elliot Jordan kicked it into Orchards goal which made the score 1-1. There was 5 minutes to go and we played that last 5 minutes amazingly. I ran the side of pitch and then passed it to Christian Marks who propelled the ball into Orchards goal at speed. Final score 2-1. Close match! 

House Council Minutes

Year 9 – Cameron Bell and Joe Szweda

-          Everyone is loving it.

-          Lock on toilet door needs replacing. Matron will ask maintenance to do this ASAP. This has now been done.

Year 10 – Henry Blois-Brooke

-          A request for more chocolate spread was made. The cost of this is quite high and the supply is limited as we need a ‘nut free’ spread. Matron will see if we have the funds to get more. We do not. The cost of all the birthday cakes is proving a bit limiting.

-          Squash was requested for break times. This has been requested before and Mr Settle said that this will not be a regular thing due to organising its provision and trying to keep the kitchen clean as we want to avoid any pests. However, Mr Settle will continue to provide squash and donuts on such occasions when the house has earned them.

-          Big packs of tangfastics were requested for tuck shop. Mr Settle said no to these as big bags of sweet treats were not really needed as part of a balanced diet and were probably doing more harm than good.

Year 11 – Louis Bossons-Sartain

-          It was suggested that the house council was consulted on house trips and activities. Mr Settle informed the council that the council were consulted about house trips but the fact that they were had clearly not been fed back to the year groups.

Year 12 – Sam Hallatt (Boarding) and Tom Berkley (Day)

-          Stronger flushing toilets upstairs were requested. Matron will ask maintenance to investigate.

-          Some boarders feel day boys are not respecting living space. Mr Settle reminds boarders that the sixth form corridor is not just for boarders and that the day boys should be using it as well. It was emphasised that the only restriction in place was that day boys should not enter boarding dorms and that anyone in year 11 or below should not enter the 6^th form corridor.

-          Air freshener was requested for dorm rooms. Mr Settle said boarders were free to purchase their own but not the aerosol spray types.

-          Boarders feel the laundry is taking to long to come back and some items have gone missing. Matron will investigate this further to see if laundry can be returned quicker. We may consider buying our own washing and drying facilities if the situation can not be resolved. We can not buy our own washing machine, but the laundry should be working efficiently now. Boys are reminded to put their laundry in the bin first thing in the morning to ensure it goes to the laundry that day.

-          An extra loaf of white bread was requested for the upstairs kitchen. Preference is for white bread over brown bread. Matron will arrange for this to be supplied. This is now being done.

-          A request was made for house football socks. Mr Settle reminded council that Skipwith already has its own version of house socks, which are know as half colours. These are free to boys who earn the right to wear them. Mr Settle will not be buying extra kit or clothing to sell to the boys. Mr Settle also reminded council that cufflinks exist for members of the sixth form and they can be purchased.

Mr Settle also said that the recurring issue of weak wifi on the top floor is being addressed with new wireless routers being installed in the coming weeks.

Senior House Rugby

A good effort from the Skipwith boys today but unfortunately we finished 4th overall. Thanks to all the boys involved and to captain Bodie Deane for organising the players during the matches.

Skipwith Communion

Once every half term, the rev delivers holy communion in every house. Today was our turn but instead of using our day room we decided to take advantage of the good weather and host it on the tower. This was a real treat to be able to see the views on such a nice day whilst also taking communion together.

Dark Dog Walks

Skipwith looks pretty amazing at 6am at the moment. Unfortunately the daily morning dog walk is getting a bit more hazardous!

Slovenian Championships

Last weekend Henry Blois-Brooke became the Slovenian national champion in J14 doubles along with Seb Newman from Orchard house. Junior house leader, Henry, was in Slovenia with a group of boys from the college representing Henley in a town twinning initiative with the town of Bled, which also happens to be the home of a famous and very beautiful international rowing lake. Also present were many of Henley's Olympians and the mayor. Harry Vardigans, head of house, was also present and he won a silver medal in the Junior Pairs event, only being beaten by the Slovenian Junior Pair, who had previously won Bronze at the Junior World Championships.

Summer Exam Timetable

It may seem a long way off, but the summer exams have already been provisionally timetabled. Although we do not anticipate too many changes, I will keep the link on the right hand side of this page up to date. The timetable can also be viewed here.

Harvest Festival

The annual Harvest Festival is nearly upon us again and the chaplain has sent me this request for donations. If you can help out with a donation then please do send it in to matron who will collect them all together and present a box at the festival. Many thanks!

The College’s Harvest Festival Service will take place on Sunday 6 October at 19.30 in the Church.  This year’s service is being organised by the community of Everett House.  As in previous years, we will be supporting the work of the Reading Drop-in Centre and could I ask for your assistance again this year in collecting grocery and other items for them.  Perhaps Matrons could supply a box for the collection of these items and could House Staff convey this information to your parents and pupils.  The Drop-in Centre have suggested the following items that they are particularly short of.

·         Any tinned meats

·         Tinned peas or carrots

·         Salad cream

·         Mustard

·         Marmite

·         Peanut butter

·         Chocolate spread

·         Breakfast Cereals

·         Coffee

·         Squash

·         Sugar

Also toiletries:

·         Toothbrushes and toothpaste

·         Hand wash

·         Shampoo

They have requested no pasta or rice as they have recently had a bulk donation.

We give grateful thanks for your help and support.

Early Promise

Year 9 Skipwith played Orchard house today in a football tournament organised by the college prefects. Pleasingly we beat Orchard in one game and drew the next. A great effort all round and thanks to the prefects for organising everything.

CCF Promotions

Many congratulations to the following boys for their promotions in the CCF Army section this year:

Sergeant Harry Hogan
Corporal Harry Berkley

Black Tie Dinner

The black tie dinner for parents was last night and was well attended by over 50 people. The evening was so good and the food so excellent that I was distracted from taking any photos with the exception of Sam who provided music at the start of the evening. Thanks to all who came and I hope you all had a really nice time.

Year 9 Hockey

Year 9 boys had their first go at Shiplake hockey today. Next week they try rowing!

Boarders and Bowling

Last night the new boarders from Skipwith, Everett and Welsh went bowling in Maidenhead so that they could get better acquainted. The scores are pretty irrelevant (especially mine and Mr Bradley's!) but everyone had some fun nonetheless.

Sixth Form Cufflinks

Members of the Skipwith sixth form are allowed to purchase a set of Skipwith cufflinks. As this week has been such a good first week I am offering a deal on these for one week only. They will now be offered at a sale price of £10, which is a bargain for a decent set of cufflinks.

They can be purchased from Mr Settle (cash only).

Year 9 Pastoral Parents Meeting on Saturday 21 September

I am writing to invite you to the Year 9 Pastoral Parents Meeting on Saturday 21 September.  Parents will be listening to a talk by Mr Karl Hopwood, a specialist in online safety, which he will be repeating for pupils at 11am.  The itinerary for the morning is as follows:

9am to 9.30am                  Coffee

9.30am to 10.30am          Karl Hopwood talk to parents in the Old Vikings Room (the room off the Great Hall)

11am to 12                       Karl Hopwood talk to pupils in the Old Vikings Room

Pupils will be free to go home after their sporting commitments as usual.

I do hope that you will be able to come to this important pastoral occasion and would ask that you email Sue Bond, the school secretary, so that we can organise catering and seating; her email is sbond@shiplake.org.uk

House Trip

Skipwith took to the river today for a boat trip to Henley followed by a walk back (a run for some) to Skipwith. The weather was far better than forecast which was a relief but not as big a relief as finding that Marsh lock had reopened only minutes before we were due to go through it!

Boat Trip

Tomorrow the house will be taken by boat to Henley. Once there, the boys will team up and walk back along the tow path, giving them ample amounts of time to talk and get to know each other. Looking at the weather forecast, it would be wise to have a waterproof handy!

Year 9 Swim and Capsize Test

Always a good chance to capture the boys first steps in a boat...and who knows, one day these boys could be the GB rowers of the future. More photos going in to the gallery. Thankfully, the weather stayed hot and sunny so they have done this just in time!