Beckoning Butler

16 October 2026 - Butler

Living on site at Wycombe Abbey makes us the happy few, able to enjoy 170 acres of countryside and proximity to the bright lights of Wycombe town centre. The trees outside Butler are an ever-present reminder of the passing of the seasons and they are surely at their most beautiful in autumn. The ‘season of mist and mellow fruitfulness’ may have had less of the mist and more of the sunshine this year, but the colours have been as magnificent as ever.

September 2026 saw us welcome Miss Nikam (Resident Tutor), Mr Fitzgerald (House Tutor), our LIV Butler girls (two of whom were new to Wycombe), two new UIV pupils and one new Mons (LVI). They have been terrific additions to our community, and I have been amazed at how brilliantly they have settled in, thanks to both their wonderfully positive attitudes and the warmth of welcome they have received from the rest of the House.

Emma (Head of House), Cynthia (Deputy Head of House) and the rest of our Mons have been leading the House superbly, and we are very grateful to them for their support and encouragement of the younger girls. Whether it be inviting them into the Mons area for hot chocolate, joining in the House activities or taking opportunities for quiet check-in chats, they have set a wonderful tone and always provide a superb example.

The first Closed Weekend of the year saw us enjoy a beautiful service in Southwark Cathedral, following in the footsteps of Dame Frances Dove and her girls 130 years ago, and a Colour Run, kicking off our birthday celebrations in style. A couple of weeks later we marked Founder’s Day with a service followed by a funfair, which was thoroughly enjoyed by pupils and staff alike.

The Butler spirit is alive and well, and a sense of fun and mutual care can be felt throughout the House. However, that and healthy competition are not mutually exclusive, as could be seen in the Just Dance competition held in House Families early in the term! Indeed, the girls have made the most of their co-curricular activities and are fully involved and represented in every area of School life. A hearty “bravo” goes to all the Butler WACMF (Wycombe Abbey Competitive Music Festival) finalists, who performed so superbly –  Alexandra, Ava, Elizabeth, Vivienne and Yuki. And special congratulations must go to Alexandra, winner of both Intermediate flute and piano competitions, as well as to our House Conductor, Elizabeth, winner of the Open competition with a performance on the marimba that simply blew everyone away.

Activity Days’ just before Short Leave saw the UV leave the House in remarkably impressive spirits for their trip to Belgium (given the 4 am start!), before the UIV and LV headed off to Leicester and a Duke of Edinburgh expedition respectively, at a slightly more sensible hour. The National Space Centre in Leicester got a big ‘thumbs up’ from the UIV; as for the LV, reports of their excellent navigation skills were sent back by numerous supervising staff. Meanwhile, LIV enjoyed a trip to Bletchley Park on the first day and an in-house Film School the next – their fantastic murder-mystery play ‘They Bled Orange’ was greatly admired by all who watched it!

More recently, the UIV made us very proud as they competed in superb ‘orange style’ in the House Dance competition last week. Although they didn’t place, there was very little separating the Houses, and their performance was a hit with all in the audience.

The Wycombe tradition of creating an object or fictional character in the colour of one’s House as a ‘guy’ on Bonfire Night is held in great affection and LIV have been working extremely hard to get theirs ready for November. This year’s House entry – ButlerJet – is looking in fine, aerodynamic shape. Photos to follow in next half-term’s blog!

The healthy love of food in Butler is undiminished, and every evening sees it celebrated in some form: all are looked forward to and bring the House together for all-age chats. Thanks to Miss Nikam’s love of crafts, this term has also seen the girls paint mugs, crochet, and sculpt and paint air-dry clay creations. Card and board games have also been enjoyed, and we hope to make more of these in House Family competitions as the year progresses.

It has been lovely to have had the opportunity to catch up with some of you – our wonderful Butler parent and guardian body – at House Drinks, or when you have popped into House to collect or drop off your daughters, who can look forward to a very well-deserved break over Long Leave. In the meantime, we in Butler shall look forward to welcoming them back in November, with excited anticipation of all the fun that the festive season will bring.