What a lovely week it has been in school (events on Sunday evening doing much to make for a positive start to the week!) with a good variety of activities and events taking place, more on those below. In general, the house has been a hive of activity with a real sense of purpose in the air. I think this is because all of our 'main' sports have big events coming up (Roslyn Park and National Rowing, for example), exam groups can see exams approaching (mock exam results still focusing minds) and juniors have much to do both academically (end of year exams) and on the sports field. 

This being said, it would be remiss of me to point out that this sense of purpose is not universally adopted so the house (well, some members of!) have been reminded that when the wheels do start to wobble, they will be challenged and, if needed, sanctioned- a concept one would assume is a given! An example being, if you are caught chewing in a lesson, and are given a detention, because you admitted chewing, whinging about said detention is not only a waste of the earth's oxygen, but likely to annoy your Housemaster. Important life lessons happening in Bungites each and every day and, as Mr Brownlee says, 'it is what we do'. 

Bungites Sport 

Rowing 

This weekend, Durham School Boat Club attended the JIRR Trials in perfect conditions. The team delivered outstanding results across all events. 

The following Bungites raced. -

The Boys' Quad including Jason W finished 1st as the fastest boat of the day. -

The Boys' J15 Quad including Simon G secured 2nd. 

The Boys' Double including Jason W took 1st place. 

It was a highly successful weekend for the club, with impressive results and most of the pupils who competed will go through to represent the northern region at the Junior Interregional Regatta. 

Fencing

Hongyi L (Year 9) represented the school at the National School Fencing Competition on Wednesday and placed in the top 20 nationally. This is a fantastic achievement and we are immensely proud. 

Rugby 

Our U16s had a tough afternoon in the County Cup on Wednesday with the boys not hitting the heights they usually play at. With Rosslyn Park on the horizon, the coaches were keen to avoid injuries and it would no doubt be in the boys' mind, too. The U18s were in 7s action over at Dame Allans on Wednesday for what proved a frustrating afternoon. The boys started slowly but grew into the competition and, much like the U16s, eyes were certainly on Rosslyn next week. 

Special mention this week to Alfie S who has suffered a season ending injury at the worst possible time. Despite this, Alfie has been keen to come into school and 'push through' which is testament to his incredible resilience- very impressive. 

STEM 

Huge congratulations to Emile B who has secured a STEM work experience at the University of York. Fantastic achievement! 

Bungites Music

 Our musicians have been competing in The Chadeyron Music Competition this week which pits our most talented musicians against each other. I am very pleased to say that our very own Yunhao X placed second in the singing component of the competition which is a fantastic achievement. 

Bungites Academics    

Academic Lauds this week have been given to:

Adam A, Rowan B, Emile B, George B, Dan C, Alex C, Harry D, Jesse E, Sam F, Lucas F, Will G, Vincent H, Leo H, Mustafa H, Rory J, Evan M, Archie M, Daniel P, Freddy P, Ben R, Kanishk S, Arthur T, Joseph W, Hayden W, Jason W, Thomas X 

Massive congratulations to all of the boys above.

Boarding

We had a brilliant evening last Friday at the Annual International Dinner held in Big School. As always, we enjoyed great food and there was healthy competition between the tables to win the quizzes! We were also treated to music and dancing which added to a great evening. This weekend, the boys are off to summit Roseberry Topping so I hope the weather stays favourable. 

House Keeping 

House keeping this week, I have received a few emails from parents about missing kit, books and folders. While we are happy to keep an eye out for things, every boy has a locker and just because they are in a hurry to get toast or play football, they should always be used. Leaving things lying around is not acceptable . It is often too easy for them to say that they have left it in here and it has 'gone missing' or 'been moved by a cleaner'. I can promise you, the cleaners bring everything to us and we pass it to the boys without delay. 

At the time of writing, we have nothing belonging to the boys ion the house that is not with it's rightful owner! Looking forward to seeing lots of you this evening and do please pop along even of you have not RSVP'd- There will be more than enough refreshments! 

I wish you all a restful and enjoyable weekend.