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At Bethany, we have three competitive Houses: Kiplings, Roberts and Speakers. Each pupil belongs to one of these three houses who battle it out for points throughout the year in various events, and the winner takes home the coveted Jessel Shield.
This week we delve a bit deeper into 2023/24 Jessel Shield winners, Speakers House, as Head of House, Mr Garcia, explains all.
Speakers is named after the Speaker of the House of Commons. Approximately 100 years ago when the competitive house system was first introduced at Bethany School pupils at the school contacted the then Speaker of the House of Commons and asked for his permission to call themselves Speakers. The Speaker, a man from Kent, immediately agreed and gave permission and thus Speakers house was born.
In the 100 years since then, the competitive house system has evolved and moved with the times. In the current day, the importance of having a competitive house system is to help to encourage individuals to participate as team, and in turn help to develop teamwork and communication skills.
All competitive houses at Bethany encourage hard work and effort within each pupil participating, as it creates a sense of belonging within the community of the school, as well as creating their own school identity. All three competitive houses always reward pupils and competitors for their work, shaping them into the best future selves they can be.
As Speakers we value confidence, teamwork, respect, courage, and creativity. Courage and resilience are key to Speakers as we compete in many challenges, whilst creativity helps us bring fresh ideas to our competition. Together we strive to be strong and communicate well in and out of competition.
The Speakers competitive house is currently thriving, having taken home the Jessel Shield last year and have made an excellent start this year too, securing second place in several competitive house events such as sports day, frisbee golf and the merit system. With a diverse community of talented members, Speakers are very committed to working as a team and including using everyone’s individual talents as a strength.
This inclusive house structure creates a rich exchange of ideas and experiences allowing younger members to learn and bond with their older peers, while contributing fresh perspectives and learning from their older peers. In the future we will continue to strive towards these key aspects of our house aiming for improvements and development both as a team and individuals.
Mr Garcia
Head of Speakers House