b'THE ELLESMERIAN20Competitive Houses TALBOTHousemistress: Mrs. A.S. DonePatch Kids would sound more appropriate, as things can seem sour but dont give up, eventually they will turn sweet. Yet amid these House Tutors: Mrs C.S. Dilks, Mrs C.A. Empson, Miss L. Killen, challenges, I am proud to report that Talbot strived to reach higher and Mr R.J. Macintosh, Mr D.J. Morgan, Mr H.B. Orr, Mr G. Owen, continued to achieve more. Mrs S. Phillips, Mr S.J. Prescott, Mrs R.E. Waddams, Mrs N.J. Welti,Mrs C. WestwoodThe Talbot students strength and ability to persevere continued to fill me with admiration and gratitude. Talbot is a special House and all Captains of House: R. Wood, J. JonesTalbot students and staff, past and present, are special people.This year, the House Captains were Rosie Wood and Jac Jones. Both led by example, demonstrating their adaptability and inspiring others to This academic year has been a year unlike any other; a year of teachingfind new ways to prove that together they can overcome obstacles. and learning under new and challenging circumstances. The pandemicEven during unusual circumstances, Talbot continued to pride itself on has caused some disruption, and so the tradition related tobeing reliable, always turning up suitably attired and Ready to Competitive Houses at Ellesmere has been a little different this year.accomplish - Prest dAccomplir. Both Jac and Rosie were also College However, set backs will only affect us in a negative way if we don`tPrefects as were a significant number of our Year 13 team. learn from them. This year taught us that we should never view challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it is important for us toInter House Sport competitions continued, but events looked a bit understand that our experience facing and overcoming adversity isdifferent this year as we competed in year bubbles. The Michaelmas actually one of our biggest advantages. When we stop and take theTerm started with Indoor Football for boys and results were pleasing: time to analyse and observe our surroundings, we are often providedYear 9 boys came 2nd, Year 10 and Year 11 boys won their age group with new perspectives on our situations.and our Seniors competed strongly. The future looks promising for us at the moment and we are very proud to celebrate that! A famous line from Forrest Gump says: "Life is like a box of chocolates. This year, for some of us maybe, "Life is like a fistful of SourThe Year 9 girls competed in a Gym Test (1000m row) and our girls placed second. Year 10 and Senior girls played Netball with Year 10 placing 2nd and Seniors winning their age group event. Well done, girls! Due to adverse weather conditions, the Year 11 girls had to play bench ball as their opening sporting event this year. Bench ball didnt prove to be our undiscovered talent and we placed third in the end but the girls had lots of fun competing together. While it is true to say hockey wasnt our strongest sport this year, our girls showed consistency here and placed 3rd across all age group competitions. The boys ended the term with very good performances in the House Rugby: Year 9 and Year 10 won their age groups, with the Seniors coming fourth and the Year 11 boys finishing runners-up.Unfortunately, not many House events could happen during the Lent Term this year as the nationwide lockdown forced us to put action on pause for a while. At the end of the Lent Term, House Football and'