News from the Houses

News from the Houses Pastoral teams in all ten Houses were extremely busy during the Summer Term. Housemasters and Housemistresses were on hand to support and offer guidance at any time, during morning registration and whole-House meetings, as well as in individual phone calls and online catch ups.

In order to keep in touch during this period of absence, House Facebook Groups were created for parents to join, with the aim to further facilitate communication with pupils’ families and also share news from the Houses. Handford House set up a Zoom ‘get together’ for parents; Manor shared their Lockdown Music Summer Concert, as well as a ‘Pet Corner’ section and a photography competition. The annual School House Supper was shared on Facebook, as well a Spring Photography Challenge and In-House Joke competition for Saints’. Sankey’s shared details and results of their very own Bake Off and Rainbow challenge, which included a song written and performed by Anya and Kira Caro.

Assistant Housemistress Siobhan Airey reported from Handford House: ‘From wall sits and plank challenges, to singing happy birthday on 20 different occasions in a rather amusing, out of sync yet brilliant fashion, to sharing photos and videos of our pets from around the world, Virtual Handford has certainly been booming from the very start of lockdown. We had quiz nights and afternoon teas, fancy dress Fridays and 2.6 Challenges (raising money for The League of Worthing Hospitals & Community Friends). We’ve produced a House Cookbook, and showcased a virtual art gallery and a photography competition inspired by Mental Health Week and captioned ‘something that makes me smile’.

Possibly the biggest project of all involved creating and hosting our very own Virtual Farewell Supper: a two-hour film with speeches, quizzes, video messages from Tutors, and a slideshow of photos and music from the past few years. It was a wonderful way to say goodbye to all our leavers and celebrate their time here at Lancing.’

A Virtual Leavers’ Supper The abrupt end to the academic year meant that the typical end of term celebrations had to be postponed indefinitely. Despite this, we were able to hold our own virtual Saints’ House Leavers’ Supper on Zoom. Combining our Leaving Lancing meal plan with the occasion, we dined in front of our screens on homemade spaghetti bolognese, followed by desserts of banoffee pie and apple crumble. Not only did this offer a chance to finally hold the second Saints’ Supper, but it also served as a cheerful reunion for both students and members of staff. The evening also offered inventive dedications: from witty poems and creative puns to heartwarming stories and even a presentation by our Tutors. It was a wonderful occasion to wish us all the best of luck for results day in August and successes in our future endeavours.

Steph Ormond, Upper Sixth

My Life in Lockdown We hear from Upper Sixth Former Polly Maltby (Field’s House): ‘To keep myself busy I have been creating video projects with some friends in and out of school. It has been challenging creating these videos from home but I’m glad I did it as it gave me a chance to collaborate with my friends in a time when we couldn’t see each other in person. For nearly 12 weeks I have been working at my local Tesco store from 6am every day, preparing online delivery orders for people in the community. I’m glad I have been able to do my bit to help out and, as I had never worked in a supermarket before, I have learnt a lot of new skills.

I have also really enjoyed taking part in Lancing’s virtual music programme and it’s great to have our pieces recorded; we can look back on the videos to remind us of how well we coped during the pandemic.’