HOUSE : Music
On Thursday 6th and Friday 7th February, nearly 120 pupils took part in our first ever Inter House Music Competition. We had a fantastic variety of instruments and pieces across five classes: Strings, Woodwind & Brass, Piano, Drum kit & Percussion and Vocal.
The adjudicators were choral conductor Mr James Davey and Royal College of Music postgraduate opera singer Ms. Annabel Clapham. They had the unenviable task of providing clear and detailed feedback for all competitors and awarding the winners and highly commended prizes for each class.
Mr James Davey writes, ‘It was a pleasure to listen to so many talented instrumentalists and singers during the course of the two days. In every class, there were exceptionally good performances representing every level of musical development and skill. I was particularly struck by the supportive environment the students provided for each other, and the spirit with which everyone entered into the competition. Congratulations to the winners and to everyone for performing with courage and confidence.’
Ms. Annabel Clapham writes, ‘What an honour it was for me to be invited to adjudicate Presdales first ever inter-house music competition. I must say I was very impressed with the high standard of entries – which made my job very difficult! All the students should be extremely proud of what they achieved.’
The winners and highly commended awards for each class are as follows:
String Class Beginner-Grade 3
Winner: Gemma Archer Highly Commended: Abbie Oldham
String Class Grade 4-6
Winner: Lucy Kennard Highly Commended: Adesola Jinadu-Adewale
String Class Grade 7-8+
Winner: Charlotte Waring Highly Commended: Grace Farrell & Sophie Pratt
Woodwind & Brass Beginner-Grade 3
Winner: Louisa Safo Highly Commended: Gemma Archer
Woodwind & Brass Grade 4-6
Winner: Caterina Daffada Highly Commended: Georgiana Fowler & Kittie Walton
Woodwind & Brass Grade 7-8+
Winner: Hope White-Heath Highly Commended: Caterina Daffada
Piano Beginner-Grade 2
Winner: Imogen Warhurst Highly Commended: Amelie Holmes
Piano Grade 3-4
Winner: Rachel Harvey Highly Commended: Saranya Lister & Ishara Hettiarachchi
Piano Grade 6-8+
Winner: Annelise Apling Highly Commended: Deniz Isingor
Drumkit & Percussion
Winner: Safia Sipi Highly Commended: Alicia Sharpner & Jessica Pryke
Vocal Year 7
Winner: Poppy Croucher Highly Commended: Saiunnati Siddantham & Madison Scully
Vocal Year 8 and 9
Winner: McKenna Hunter Highly Commended: Esmé Sabin & Amber Wingrove
Vocal Year 10-13
Winner: Connie Marshall Highly Commended: Amelia Acheson
Please do show your support to all these pupils by attending the Inter House Winner’s concert later on this year (more details to follow). We hope to see you all and more return next year.
Results
Tomorrow’s Engineers Week was held on the 4th-8th November. At Presdales we celebrated the week with visiting Engineers and the House Competition ‘The Egg Challenge’.
Sally and Chai talked about projects that VolkerFitzpatrick have worked on including the upgrade of Tottenham Hale Railway station.
Wednesday was ‘Egg Challenge’ day. Teams from Years 7 to 9 launched eggs from the top of the mansion staircase. They had been given the task to design a vehicle to transport an egg safely from the top of the staircase to the ground (photos above). 
On Thursday lunchtime, ex-Presdales student, Ruth Wilson, came and talked about her experiences as a Civil Engineer. During her career, she has had plenty of opportunities to travel, managing projects such as the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town and Lu Sail Motor racetrack in Qatar.
On Friday Sue and Su Corrin (Ex-Presdales student) visited Year 8 Assembly. Su works for the FA and leads Health and Safety. Her role is very diverse; she is responsible for the safety of everyone who enters Wembley Stadium and St George’s Park, also the safety of all 28 National Football teams.
