Lent Term 2023
End of Term Assembly
Our Final House Assembly of the Lent term saw a number of awards given out to celebrate commitment, hard work and community spirit shown over the term. Senior House colours were earned by Michael Barinov, Felix Rohde, Shahaar Selim, Boris Belov, Shivam Chawlia, Huxley Ngan, Jordan Nonyelu, Aidan Swadling, Howard Wong, Zeman Woo and Day Yu. Junior ties were awarded to Wise Boginisoko, George Lau, Lester Ng,Sammy Ntodi, Tom Shaw and Frederick To. Congratulations to these boys – I know the W-G ties will be worn with huge pride. The commitment awards, given for outstanding efforts in school and house, went to Sammy Ntodi (Junior), Erik Pedaja (Senior) and Boris Belov (Endeavour) – well done! We also celebrated the best engagement grades of the term, which were gained by Jarry Xing (L4), Alvis Luk and Arion Cheung (U4), Erik Pedaja (F5), Nikolay Kovalikhin (L6), and Armstrong Dong (U6).
Reading Competition Participant
Well done to Ricardo Cruz Pinto who read superbly in the Staff Reading Prize in this historic competition that takes place at the very end of each Lent term. His reading, a piece of prose and a piece of poetry on the theme of ‘Nature’ was excellent; although he did not claim the winner’s bragging rights, he did himself proud by reading so well in front of the whole school.
Grand Masters At Work
Mark Reading Presentations
A large number of Wendron-Gordon boys gained recognition for their contribution to school sport at the end of term Mark Reading. Caps were gained by Marius Chung (Badminton), Callum Wilkinson (Cross Country), Marcus Au Yeung (Volleyball) and Yui Cheung (Football). Minor colours for Badminton went to Nathan Chan, Shivam Chawlia and Marcus Chung, for Hockey to Hriyaj Gurung and for Football to Shamip Rai. Table Tennis minor colours were awarded to Alex Lau, Ambrose Ho, Howard Wong and Alvin Wu, whilst Frederick Tao picked up the Player of the Year award. Minor Colours for Basketball went to Jordan Nonyelu, Day Yu, Aidan Swadling and Erik Pedaja, whilst Fourth form commendations for Basketball went to Lockey Wigglesworth, Kingsley Anyadiegwu, Evan Zhou, Klement Man, George Lau, Daniel Lau and Lester Ng. It was great to see W-G represented so strongly; and indeed amongst the school sports captains who were announcing the presentations, in the form of Nikolay (Swimming), Callum (Cross Country), Marcus (Volleyball) and Marius (Badminton). Additionally, Callum Wilkinson and Noah Rogers went up on stage to receive their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards – a magnificent achievement.
National Success
The boys were delighted to hear some amazing news from Henry Goldstraw’s entry to the UK National Powerlifting competition in mid-March. Not only did he win all three categories that he entered (Deadlift, Bench and Squat) but he also gained a national and a world record to boot. Very fittingly, he went up to receive the school’s congratulations and a handshake from the headmaster in Routh Assembly. Well done champ!
Congratulations – Or Well Done
Congratulations to our Senior Drama cast on their magnificently epic, chilling version of “1984” by George Orwell. Weeks of hard work went into the preparation of this piece, and the boys continued to build their strong reputation in this field with another powerful performance on the Cobham stage. A huge well done to Marcus Au Yeung, Callum Wilkinson, Chi Lam, Boris Belov, Jordan Nonyelu, Thando Best, Zeman Woo, Airan Thapa Magar, Nukohma Gurung, Isaac Chan, Hamza Suleman and Josh Coyne.
Cultures Connected
Well done to our participants in the wonderful Cultures Connect concert on Saturday 11 March, a real highlight of the term. Yui set the ball rolling will a medley of songs on piano, with Bob following up with a lovely vocal piece. David and Larry also performed a wonderful piano and vocal duet, Marcus performed as part of an ensemble, and Shahaar showcased his fire dancing skills. A lovely night!
House Football
Well done to our A and B Senior teams, both of whom acquitted themselves superbly in the inter-House football competition on Saturday 25 March. The B team managed a win and a draw, alongside a narrow defeat in their group, whilst the As won all of their games and the semi-final, to reach the final, where they were pitted against Elmshurst. The teams could not be separated during the final, and even the penalty shoot-out was neck-and-neck for many kicks, until eventually Elmshurst prevailed. It was a lovely atmosphere and a brilliant afternoon’s efforts. Well done to the A squad of Kaan, Olly, Yui, Michael, Adryan, Isaac, Ayush, Henry, Thando, Shamip and Oriol; and to the B team group of Erik, Ale, Alex, Day, James, Felix, Oleksii, Ibrahim, Konrad, Josh, Francisco and Huxley.
House Volleyball
Well done to our Senior and Junior Volleyball teams. Although they were not able to retain the trophy from last year, they thoroughly enjoyed the inter-house competition, held on 10 March. Thanks to Juniors Evan, Damon, Freddy, Oscar, Klement, Arion, Brandon, Thomas, and Seniors Zeman, Nukohma, Day, Jordan, Marcus, Henry, Shahaar and Howard.
Senior Hockey
Although made up more of footballers than hockey players, the Senior W-G hockey team gave more fancied opponents a run for their money in the inter-house competition. Superb efforts from Alex, Nukohma, Marcus, Henry, Hriyaj, Ayush, Shamip, Thando and Airan saw the team play some of the best hockey of the day. Well done!
1.2 Winners
This is a house competition that means a lot, and one that the pupils really want to win. An unbelievable race, fitting for such an historic part of Bromsgrove tradition, saw a gritty and gifted W-G team take home the 1.2 Relay trophy. Although at stages in the race it seemed like School House would run away with it, superb efforts from the whole team saw Callum take on the last leg with an 8 second lead – only for him to run the fastest lap of the competition himself to secure victory. Huge congratulations to the team of Lester, Lockey, Hriyaj, Bob, Yui and Callum. With the whole school watching out on Gordon Green, and having been pipped at the post last year, it was an amazing feeling to see the ‘boys in green’ win.
Charity Derby
Sunday 12 February saw a charity football match between Elmshurst and W-G. Lots of players, a raucous crowd and hot chocolate and snacks sold on the sidelines all added up to a really fun afternoon. Although Elmshurst squeaked the win, it really could have gone either way, with W-G unlucky not to score on several occasions. The real winner was the Ukraine appeal; together with donations from the spectators and sales of snacks and drinks from Oakley and Mary Windsor pupils, the boarding community raised a grand total of £1000 in just one afternoon. Well done to all involved!
The Kings of Queen
On Friday 10 February the inter-House music competition took place with the Ensemble and Solo competitions in the afternoon and evening respectively. Weeks of dedicated practice led up to an amazing performance of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen on Routh stage from an 18-strong ensemble. Chi, Aiden, Larry, David, Klement, Marcus, George, Huxley, Jerry, Nicholas, Aaden, Ethan, Bowen, Alex, Lockey, Richard, Bob and Jarry were simply awesome – they had themselves a real good time - and well done in particular to Marcus and Larry for their organisation and direction of such a large group.
House Music Solo Competition
In an amazing evening of musical talent, well done to our competitors Nicholas, Larry and Chi. Chi was highly commended in the intermediate category for his performance of ‘Empty Chairs and Empty Tables’ from Les Miserables, whilst Larry was awarded runner up in the advanced category for his stunning piano playing.
Senior Badminton
On 3 February our boys played really well to come runners-up in the Senior Badminton competition, Well done to Sean, Marius, Jayden and Nathan. The A team won their competition but the combined score saw W-G just pipped at the post into second spot. A good effort!
No Hyding on Stage – Junior Winners!
Huge congratulations to a talented and dedicated cast for their efforts in the Junior House Drama competition. With superb direction and assistance from old hands Hamza, Josh, Zeman and Boris, our Fourth Form thespians were able to put on a superb piece – a dazzling extract from ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Many hours of preparation went into the play, which was performed on 2 February in front of a captivated audience in Cobham theatre. Well done to our cast of Sammy, Wise, Tom, Jarry, Andile, Alvis, Aiden, Jordan and Shusank. The adjudicator was duly impressed, awarding Best Play to the boys, with Shusank also picking up the Special Adjudicator’s Award for his powerful portrayal of Hyde.
Hockey Heroes
Superb efforts on the astro saw the A and B Junior teams acquit themselves admirably in their respective competitions. Although neither group had high expectations of winning, they put on performances of grit, determination and skill that showed real house spirit. The Bs managed some great results in their competition, whilst the As almost pulled off a huge shock by going close to eliminating eventual winners Lupton. Some lightning fast breaks and goal poaching from Oscar complemented heroic defending and great goalkeeping at the back. Well done, and big thanks to: Kingsley, Lester, Oscar, Lockey, Sadeeq, Damon, Bharath, Suyash, Shusank, Rex, Andile, Sasha, Sammy (A team) and Henry, George, Klement, Aaden, Brandon, Aiden, Arion, Evan, Samuel, Adrian and Daniel (B team). Great stuff chaps!
Senior Table Tennis Winners
Well done to Howard W and Alvin W who won the Senior Inter House table tennis competition on 20 February. Both boys played strongly to finish in first place, ahead of Elmshurst and Housman Hall. The boys in the house were delighted to see Howard collect another trophy in Routh Assembly.
A February Front Door View
