Michaelmas Term 2022
Wishing all pupils, parents, staff and members of the Wendron-Gordon family a healthy and happy 2023. Thanks to all the boys for their efforts this term and to all W-G staff for their commitment and support for the House.
First Graders
In the final assembly of the Michaelmas term, the following were commended for the best engagement grades of the term in each year group within W-G: Larry To and Armstrong Dong (U6), Nikolay Kovalikhin (L6), Alex Cheung (F5), Arion Cheung (U4) and Marcus Ho (L4). Well done to all!
House Colours
House ties, awarded for commitment to a range of elements of School life, including academic, sporting, extra-curricular and House life, were presented to a number of boys at the end of term assembly. Junior ties went to Adrian Leung, Marcus Ho, Nicholas Kwok, Moses Kwong, Klement Man, Jarry Xing and Andile Zulu, whilst senior ties were given to Jerry Cheung, Abdul Mohammed, Josh Coyne, Ayush Gurung, Airan Thapa Magar, Jim Yang, Alex Cheung, Jacob Moore and Erik Pedaja. These are hard-earned, particularly by those who gain them in the first term of the year. We know that they will be worn with pride.
Commitment Awards
The Endeavour and Commitment awards, given to W-G pupils who have had outstanding terms are presented at the Final Assembly each term. For Michaelmas 2022, the Junior Endeavour prize was awarded to Jarry Xing, the Senior Endeavour prize to Nikolay Kovalikhin, and the Commitment award went to Josh Coyne, all of whom impressed considerably over the term, committing to their studies, to W-G and to the wider community with excellent efforts.
No Hams in Hampstead
Well done to our talented group of thespians who contributed hugely to a wonderful School play in December. It was brilliant to see such hard work and commitment from our lads toward ‘The Hampstead Murder Mystery’, a fast-paced comedy thriller that was a joy to watch. A real ensemble piece, Boris Belov, Zeman Woo, Josh Coyne, Marcus Au Yeung, Thando Best, Callum Wilkinson and Hamza Suleman were outstanding throughout.
Festive Fun
A hugely enjoyable Christmas party was held in the Hospitality Suite on Sunday, 11 December. A well-stocked buffet was soon demolished, with a background of Christmas jumpers, karaoke, termly awards, party hats and with an England World Cup football match on screen, to boot. Many thanks to Mrs Wilkins, Mrs Deverill-Skelding, Mrs Courtney and Mrs Hibell for their organisation, and to all staff who attended. Mr Hatfield’s excellent karaoke and Dr Morris’ Christmas jokes will live long in the memory. As always, the boys were great company – a lovely evening!
A Concerted Effort
Wednesday, 23 November saw the annual St Cecilia’s Day concert in Routh Hall, with some fabulous representation from W-G. Erik P, David C, Marcus H, Jarry X, Richard H, Ethan Y, Nicholas K, Ethan W, Alex C, Aaden C and Bowen C all played their part in a magnificent evening of music.
Relay Good Team
The Senior boys' swimming team showed great efforts in the Inter-House competition on 16 November, with a number of excellent individual performances and two relay victories out of four. Although it wasn’t quite enough to win overall, the boys’ collective effort was commendable. Well done to Nikolay Kovalikhin, Huxley Ngan, Bob Tse, Day Yu, Erik Pedaja, Ibrahim Muhammed, Oriol Sanchez Bosser, Airan Thapa Magar, Shahaar Selim, Ilya Volodin and Mikhail Barinov.
TT Champions
Well done to Frederick Tao and Thomas Cheung who continued our recent strong vein of form in table tennis, winning the junior Inter-House competition. Another cup for the shelf – the boys were delighted to see Frederick collect the trophy in Routh Assembly.
The Best Form of Defence
Saturday, 15 October saw Lt Peil give some instruction to a large group of W-G lads with a self-defence workshop. The boys enjoyed the activities and learnt some simple but effective moves. To a man they were a bit overawed by Lt Peil’s prowess – not at all surprising given her international medal-winning Taekwondo pedigree.
A Sporting Evening
Some thirty boys enjoyed a night out at the footy, taking in a midweek match under floodlights. Dr Morris and Mr Hatfield took a motley crew of W-G lads to support the local football team – Bromsgrove Sporting, which currently plays in the Southern League. The boys enjoyed the experience of walking to the Victoria Ground and watching the match against league leaders Tamworth. Although it finished in a narrow defeat for ‘The Rouslers’, this didn’t dampen spirits, with food, drink, and merchandise purchased and a great atmosphere enjoyed. The match wasn’t even the only local rivalry of the evening – with Elmshurst boys also in attendance with Mr Giles. Huge thanks to Dr Morris for his efforts in organising the trip.
Junior Rugby Warriors
A brave effort in junior Inter-House rugby on 21 October saw our A and B teams battle to some fine performances. Although failing to make it to the final, our teams, as always, did Wendron-Gordon proud. Well done to the A team squad of Damon L, Andile Z, Kingsley A, Ethan Y, Suyash S, Lockey W and Lester N, and to our B team of Aidan S, Moses K, Biron G, Jarry X, Sammy N and Sadeeq T.
Junior Badminton Aces
Congratulations to our Junior Badminton teams for their commendable performances in the Upper and Lower Fourth competitions. Marco C, Evan Z, Thomas C, Alvis L George L, Moses K, Sacha O and Lester N produced some brilliant play. Great stuff boys!
Day Room Believers
The Unison House Song competition this year had its theme as ‘Days, Months and Years’. A highlight of every year, it did not disappoint this term, with the W-G entry, a version of ‘Daydream Believer’ by the Monkees, another excellent effort. Many evenings of practice led to a polished and enjoyable performance in the competition, with yet another House Song award coming to the House. David Corcoran won the prize for Best Conductor, which reflected his dedication and hard work, and also that of all of the boys, who responded so well to him. For such a large group of boys to sing so well speaks volumes about the efforts of all involved. Many congratulations to the Upper Sixth leadership team, and especially to Larry To who accompanied so well on the piano. The link to watch is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PELl5TCNTTc
A Pizza the Action
The Lower Fourth formers enjoyed a pizza night on 13 October to celebrate their excellent first set of AE grades in the Senior School. All of the lads gained fine academic results, an incredibly positive start to the year – well done
Kings of the Court
Monday, 26 September saw the junior basketball team retain the Inter-House trophy that they won last year. A very strong performance in the group stage saw W-G again come up against Elmshurst juniors in the final, and a brilliant team display saw our lads take the score away from their opponents, resulting in a convincing victory. Well done to Evan Z, Kingsley A, Lockey W, Sadeeq T, Oscar H, Freddy I, Jordan W, Suyash S, Damon L, Lester N, George L and Daniel L on bringing home the trophy. Many thanks to seniors Felix and Day for helping to organise and coach the boys.
A Good Knight’s Entertainment
A meeting of minds took place on 8 October, with more than twenty boys taking part in a House chess competition. Hot favourite Larry T ended up as the winner, despite being taken all the way in a close semi-final game with tournament organiser Armstrong D. Kaan E was runner-up in the competition, with Sean M beating Maksym G in the plate final. A really nice way to spend a Saturday evening!
Junior Swimming efforts
Well done to our junior swimming team who had a really good go in the Inter-House competition on 22 September. Many of the squad were making their first foray into house competition for W-G. Well done to Samuel Chan, Henry Lai, Tom Shaw, Lockey Wigglesworth, Sheldon Mou, Adrian Leung, Lester Ng, Ethan Yiu, Freddy Ingram, Klement Man, Frederick Tao, Alvis Luk, Brandon Tang and Rex Cao. It was great to have so many volunteering to swim for the house.
International induction and New Joiners
We welcomed thirty-five new joiners to the House in September, all of whom have settled quickly and are already making their mark in Wendron-Gordon. It was great to meet some new parents at the International Induction just prior to the start of the new School year. Fantastic too, to see some of our Sixth Formers cut their own holidays short in order to be on hand to help our new pupils to settle in.
A Superb Makeover
Term started brilliantly as the long-term refurbishment project was drawing to a close. The boys and staff were delighted with the results. The House looks absolutely superb, with all boys in en-suite rooms, a new and improved kitchen and laundry and an exquisitely decorated day room. The House is now as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.
