House Blog – Welcome to the UVI
18 October 2024 - Clarence
On Sunday 1 September, I had the privilege of welcoming the new Upper Sixth to their new home in Clarence. As it is every year, it was a rather daunting but thoroughly enjoyable task to learn 97 names and 97 individual characters, but the House team and I had a good head start after meeting them during the induction programme at the end of last term. They bring with them a lot of energy and enthusiasm for their final year of school and we are really enjoying getting to know them all.
One of our Clarence Chairs, Amelia, tells us what it’s been like for her so far:
The start of term and the change of moving to Clarence has been a wonderful experience for us all. While it can be a big change from our Senior Houses, everyone has settled in and we are enjoying our newfound independence. One particular highlight has been Clarence kitchens, with new food connoisseurs in the making with every passing night. Above all, we are very appreciative of our proximity to each other, as well as the time we spend and memories we share together as a result. We have loved our first six weeks in Clarence, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of this year has in store!
Chung Yu shares more about the House trip to play Monopoly Lifesized:
At the start of this term, we took a trip to Monopoly Lifesized in London, marking the final and greatly anticipated stage of our Clarence Induction. We started at Go and ended up all over the map with varying degrees of financial success. Some teams conquered every territory while other less fortunate groups (such as my own) had not a single property to our name. After eighty minutes of solving puzzles and scaling obstacles, the game came to a dramatic end, featuring wins, losses, unexpected outcomes, and a 10% discount on drinks at the Top Hat Restaurant. All in all, we had a great time, and it’s safe to say my geographic knowledge of London has marginally but certainly improved.
I asked the UVI to tell me what their favourite thing so far about Clarence life has been and here are some of the responses:
My favourite part of Clarence so far is cooking with friends in the shared kitchens and playing werewolf for game night in CCR.
Playing board games with my friends in House 10 kitchen on Saturday nights!
My favourite things about Clarence thus far is being reunited with my year group again and playing pool on Saturday nights with Clarence bar each week!
My favourite thing about being in Clarence is being with my friends from previously different senior houses.
My favourite thing about Clarence so far is cooking dinner with my friends on Saturday night. ‘Girl dinner’
One of my favourite things about Clarence is getting to celebrate 18th Birthdays with the girls. They are allowed to invite their friends to join them for cake and “Birthday Bubbles” and it is so special getting to be a part of their big day.
I am very much looking forward to the next half term and to welcoming the girls back, along with their Halloween costumes, from a well-deserved Long Leave.