St Edward's 150 Years - by Nicola Hunter

St Edward’s: 150 Years

Chapter 3 / Houses

Above: Five Kendall lads in a Henley VIII, 2011. Aboveleft:CharlieBaggs,JamesCope,MarkLauder, and retired House Matron, Maggie Rutherford. Left: Fourth Form en route to Snowdonia 2012. Below: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award: cycling.

Right: Leavers Ball, 2011. Below: 24-hour charity football v. Field House.

Like all Houses, Kendall has had its academic successes and failures, but on the whole has been very true to the work hard/play hard ethos that all three Housemasters have worked to instil. It is more recent achievements of course which I can remember, and as a House there have been many successes. We have been blessed with good sportsmen, and in 2012 at one stage were holders of all trophies for major Senior Competitions, that is Rugby, Football, Hockey, Steeplechase and Rowing. Such dizzy heights are obviously a one-off but we do continue to do well in both junior and senior sports, and are currently holders of the all-round House sports trophies at both junior and senior level, as well as having won the Senior Steeplechase for the last four years. However, perhaps one of

my proudest achievements for the House is that in the last four years we have twice been winners of the House Challenge – a University Challenge-type event. The boys on the team have shown some seriously impressive knowledge of trivial and vastly intellectual questions – even more impressive as their Housemaster seems to know none of the answers. Where we have been much less productive in terms of silverware is in House Singing. I have asked the two other Housemasters to dig deep in their memories to try to recall a Kendall House victory in the Shout or the Harmony but they are unable to recall one. However, we have of course been robbed every year. James Cope Housemaster, Kendall (H)

Kendall (H) Kendall House is now in its 14th year, with its third

the rooms are still North Uist, Benbecula, Raasay and so on. Kendall has had two Matrons. The Scottish drive was enhanced by Maggie Rutherford, who was in the House until 2008, and Kathy Bailey has been Matron since. They have had contrasting styles but all the boys in Kendall will have their own stories and memories of their Matron and know they have had very good care from them and fun with them. The House, of course, is named after the long-serving and illustrious Warden Kendall (1925–54). I think Warden Kendall would be proud of the House as it is now, although not so impressed that still rather too many boys and parents misspell his name, and thus infer he was a mint cake rather than a Warden.

Housemaster. The sequence has been Charlie Baggs, Mark Lauder and then myself, for roughly equal periods of time, although I can now claim to be the longest-serving/suffering. Charlie Baggs mastered the move from Corfe House in 1999 and has in fact been Housemaster of three Houses at St Edward’s: Corfe, Kendall and then a term in Avenue House. He handed over to Mark Lauder in 2003. Mark drove the House forward in his strident fashion and his voice still echoes along those long Kendall corridors. There are also still remnants of his attempts to make the House a Scottish enclave, as

An early morning fire drill followed by House Run.

Senior House Rugby, 2011.

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