In preparation for their roles as the most senior students at the College, Lower Sixth students took part in a series of teambuilding days. These annual events are designed to build camaraderie, trust, support and finely tune the students’ leadership skills.
Crawfurd
Crawfurd House students took part in an Apprentice-style challenge to create a brand-new cupcake business. After researching at Lola’s Cupcakes in Waterloo and Selfridges, they headed to a cookery school near Oxford Circus to bake their own creations: carrot cake, lemon drizzle, or devil’s food cake.
Following lunch around Carnaby Street and visits to more cupcake shops, including the famous Hummingbird Café, the teams returned to College to develop their branding, packaging, and adverts.
Two standout brands emerged: Tates Bakes, inspired by modern art, and Something Sweet, a wedding-themed concept. After impressive presentations, Something Sweet was declared the winner.
Forest
Forest travelled up to London in glorious weather. The boys worked through a series of treasure trails around Mayfair, Westminster and Hyde Park.
They avoided the temptation of Googling the answers, sticking admirably to the task in the hot sunshine and working together to find the right answers. Mr Cothill’s competitive streak saw his team win in record time, but everyone had a great time and the group are looking forward to leading the house next year
Holman
Holman’s Lower Sixth travelled (unknowingly) to Brighton, on an incredibly sunny day, where they had to solve cryptic clues to discover the treasure location of infamous pirate, ‘Horrible Hairy John’.
Having had a plentiful amount of fish and chips on the seafront for lunch, some even managed to find space to try cockles and whelks for the first time. This meant that the boys were fuelled up for a timed scavenger hunt of random items.
Since they were unable to access the internet, Holman’s students needed to be savvy to identify items that they had never even heard of (much to the public’s dismay).
Finally, the two teams were set against one another in a dramatic finale of Crazy Golf – in Ryder Cup style format. Upon returning to Epsom, the day was wrapped up with a BBQ, some garden games and some after-sun. With over 22,000 steps walked, the boys certainly slept well that night.
Murrell
The Murrell Lower Sixth had a great morning experiencing practical and critical thinking problem-solving activities in groups of mixed houses, as well as learning how to use a defibrillator and putting a casualty in the recovery position.
The afternoon was positively fun-filled (despite the lack of sunshine) with the It’s a Knockout inflatable assault course (photos below) and they were delighted to finish first among the girls’ houses.
Propert
Teambuilding Day provided Propert’s Lower Sixth with a great opportunity to collaborate with fellow Lower Sixth students whilst taking on challenges that wouldn’t normally feature in College day-to-day life.
After the success of last year’s event, this year – in order to make the most of the day – nine Houses (Murrell, Raven, Wilson, Granville, Propert, Carr, Robinson, White) collaborated to host their event on-site.
Following a reflective and motivational speech from Mr Russell, and an introduction to the day itself from Mr Buhagiar, the morning carousel sprang into action. The students, in mixed groups, attended five activities, including:
- a team building workshop delivered by Team Thinking
- an “escape room in an envelope”
- a bridge-building command task
- CPR and defibrillation training from the local NHS task force
- an interactive teamwork presentation from two OEs: GB Rugby 7s Olympian Grace Crompton and England Hockey talent Jess Dyson.
It was wonderful to see these inspirational OE Legends back at the College to talk about communication, teamwork and culture with the students.
After a hearty BBQ lunch, the afternoon event began with It’s A Knockout where seven of the Houses had to negotiate a series of inflatable obstacles, foam and puzzles. The brilliant catering team then put on a lovely spread in the Mermaid Café to round-off the day.
Robinson
Robinson House joined the morning carousel of leadership activities before departing for London. Three teams, accompanied by Mr Wilson, Mr Singh and Mr Gillespie, took on three treasure trails covering Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, The Mall, Temple and Fleet Street.
The cold weather meant that the groups stepped up to a lively pace and the challenging clues were no match for the impressive detective work of the Robinson Lower Sixth.
We all met for a group trip to Honest Burgers after the treasure hunt, where the food was swiftly devoured. It was a fantastic day out for a group that will certainly lead Robinson next year with a lot to offer.
Raven
Raven’s Lower Sixth battled the unfortunately cold conditions for their Team Building Day. Along with nine other houses they experienced a range of logical thinking challenges and even learned CPR!
They worked well with other members of the Lower Sixth and showed true Raven spirit. The day was finished off with the It’s a Knockout inflatables challenge where the girls’ competitive spirits rose above their shivers, even when they had cold water sprayed on them.
Rosebery
Rosebery’s Lower Sixth travelled to the South Bank in glorious sunshine to take part in a highly competitive Covent Garden Treasure Hunt. Three teams, led by Mr Conway, Mrs Watts and Dr Eliott Lockhart, competed to find enough clues on the streets of London to take the ultimate prize (giant M&S chocolate pennies).
Ultimately, Mrs Watts’ team won the day, amassing 22 points. We took a walk along the South Bank and a supper at Wagamama’s along the way.
Teamwork and inclusivity were the buzzwords for the day, and this incredible set of young women are ready to take the world by storm. We are so proud of them and ready for them to step into their roles as Upper Sixth Leaders.
White
The Lower Sixth had a great morning of problem-solving activities and talks including from former head of house and England Hockey player Jess Dyson.
The afternoon was spent at Go Ape, negotiating a very high ropes course and zip lines. The girls were brilliant in encouraging and supporting each other and we are excited about what next year will hold for this exceptional group.
