Head Boy

Seven years ago, I turned up at Russell House in Nursery, a timid little boy, literally scared of my own shadow. But I have grown in confidence, and I’ve learnt a great deal in those years. Here I am now, saying my thank you and goodbye speech, which really does make me quite sad, yet excited to move onto new adventures.

I cannot thank all the teachers and my classmates enough for this. To finish my Russell House journey as Head Boy has been a dream come true. This school has made us all who we are, made all of us more rounded people, with incredible opportunities; in class, in the music room, the art room and on the sports field... making us the best we can be.

Look, this is a school, where if you get to school early enough the Headmaster, no less, opens our car doors like we are Hollywood stars at a premiere. We should know how lucky we all are and how unique this school is. A little community that I and all of us in Form 7 will sorely miss.

I will miss my classmates and I’d like to share a poem about them, the school and all of things that have stood out for me:

A is for Amber who does love a chat!
B is for Bright, our Ella R, who’s certainly that
C is for Charlie, King Charlie who rules at sport
D is for Dakota, Miss Fantastic Gymnastic
E for Ella M, relaxed and happy-go-lucky, nothing fazes her
F Is for Fry, Connie, that is, superb performer heading for showbiz
G is for Mrs Gascoigne, or Mrs G, who we will all miss now she is a retiree
H is for Henry Dawes with his huge muscles and huge trainers
I is for Inter House rivalry and all the competition over the years
J on that note is for Johnson, Nightingale, Cavell and Fry
K for Kayla with her beautiful art and kind heart too
L is for Lexi, the dancing queen, young and sweet and only, er... 11
M is for Maddie, as quick as a cheetah round the track
N is for Nicole, who seems to speak every language known to man
O is for Oli, Bam Bam Bailey on the drums and on the tennis court
P is for Peng, Connor steaming in left arm over the wicket
Q is for Quiet, measured Maia, who carefully takes everything in
R is for Really tall Will Stanley, a singing maestro who can reach high notes as well as high shelves
S is for Scarlett, fearless and fun
T is for Thomas, Niah is our creative one, a poet, a writer and a singer
U is for Ulyzc, Eva our Netball queen, who is 11 going on 19
V is for Very kind and that is our Mevna, always fair and always friendly
W is for William Ford, super bright and humble with it
X is for Xstatic that I have nearly reached the end now
Y is for YO! A big shout-out to Dex, last but not least, an all round good guy and foodie
·Z is for… I am struggling to be honest.

Anyway, these are my Form 7 memories. I will miss you all. The good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the tears and the laughs. Good luck in the future, everyone.

Head Girl

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. I would like to tell you a little bit about my time here at Russell House.
 
Russell House has been an amazing prep school and I am so happy that I have the opportunity to share some of my memories with you. I’m not going to stand here and talk about myself, that would be very boring for you all!  I want to tell you all about my class, the teachers and some of the fantastic things we have done together.   
 
I joined Russell House in Robins; I met my best friend Lexi there and I know we will be friends forever.  We all moved normally through the school together, until Easter 2020 when Covid hit and it was time for online school.  Luckily for us, as soon as it was possible, Russell House opened back up and we spent the end of Form 4 in a tent, in two separate groups called the magenta and cyan bubbles. It sounds so ridiculous now!

Then we had a bit of a stop-start; back to school, back at home! However, during this time, we all got very good on our computers and our ability to chat online, even hiding our computers in our rooms for late night chats - sorry parents!

We have been on amazing trips to Norfolk Lakes, to France and to Italy for skiing.  Apart from a few travel sickness issues (you know who you are), they were all a great success and have given us memories that will last a lifetime!  
 
Russell House has a special way of finding something every pupil enjoys and is good at. We have some brilliant singers; William Stanley, Mevna, Amber, Maia and Kayla. We have our dancers; Madison, Connie and Lexi. Our hockey players; Ella M, Ella R and Nicole.  We have quite a few tennis players; Dexter, Oliver and William F. Our cricket players; Henry and Connor. Our footballers; Charlie and Arthur. We even have a couple of cheerleaders; Dakota and Scarlett and our poet is Niah.

Netball is my main sport and when we got to netball season, I was very excited. We trained hard and the work paid off!  Finally it was time for ISA. We came third… and that meant that we had made it to nationals.  Sadly, the English weather got in the way and the tournament was cancelled.  So I think we can assume that we would have won that one!
 
I am, of course, sad to leave, but my memories will be happy ones. Russell House will always be a massive part of my life and I cannot think of a better place to have gone to school. However, it is now time for us to move on to a new chapter of our lives; I hope that we can all keep in touch and that everyone has a great experience at secondary school. From all of Form 7, thank you to all the Russell House staff here for giving us an amazing
last year (after the exams) and we wish everyone all the best for the future.