Hello everyone,

Lockdown has certainly not been what we expected when we applied to be House Captains a few months ago, but not being in school hasn’t stopped us from producing creative and interactive projects! If anything, it’s exposed us to more opportunities as House Captains.  From asking Tutor Groups to walk 260,000 steps, to writing and singing our own version of ‘Our House’ by Madness, it’s easy to acknowledge that whilst all of these things have been incredibly fun, we probably wouldn’t have been able to do them in the same way if we were at school.

As opposed to the highly anticipated induction days, which we would usually have been a part of, we had the chance to reimagine this traditional experience. Straying from the conventional talks we would be doing if we were at school, we have produced a reel of TV shows in the style of Gogglebox, ranging from Brian Cox’s Secrets of the House System to a classic David Attenborough documentary, giving the new Year 7s an exciting way of being welcomed into the school. Whilst we’d love to be back at SGGS to meet all of the new Year 7s and Year 12s in person, we’re pleased to say our role in introducing the students hasn’t stopped. We know that as House Captains, our part in welcoming new girls matters more than ever before, due to all of the uncertainty surrounding the transition from primary to secondary this coming year.

We’re also incredibly grateful for the way that students have jumped into this new experience with us. Seeing so many still taking part in House competitions is really rewarding for us as House Captains; we know that despite these strange times, we can always rely on students to immerse themselves in House Spirit. We’ve been overwhelmed by entries for events such as House Music, as well as applications for the leadership positions of Year 11 prefects. All of this has shown us that even during lockdown, students are still keen to represent their houses.

As for staying in touch with one another, our fortnightly catch-ups on Microsoft Teams with our Heads of Houses have been incredibly useful in regard to managing our workload as House Captains, and never fail to put a smile on our faces. We all really appreciate the support we have received from them, helping to guide us through this new and uncertain territory. 

Being House Captains has truly given us many more opportunities for both conversation and communication than we otherwise would have had during lockdown. By working together as a team, we have been able to engage in more social interaction during school hours. Working on tasks together in this way helps to make everything feel a bit more normal.

We’ve got so many amazing projects planned for next year, including the infamous House Festival, on which we can’t wait to get started. Even though this has all been so unconventional, we’ve had such a great time as House Captains so far, and we’re all looking forward to the future.

Finally, we’d love to say a massive thank you to our brilliant Heads of Houses, who have been so helpful and understanding in working with us in these new times -- we couldn’t do it without you!

Kirsty Duncan, Eleanor Stephenson, Holly Hughes, Katherine Twohig, Emily Johnson, Emma Thornell, Imogen Barnes, and Imogen Sherlock