Reflections from Clarence Heads of House
16 October 2026 - Clarence
We have all enjoyed a busy start to Clarence life so far! Moving from our Senior houses seemed, at firs, to be a scary change, but the flurry of activities we’ve been able to enjoy with our year group has helped us settle in quickly. We started off the year strong with a trip to the Works for an escape room, followed by ice-cream! Although some groups did a little bit better in the escape rooms than others, we all definitely had a great time, and the relaxing outing helped us destress before heading into our Progress Tests.
The ability to cook together in our houses has undoubtedly been a highlight for all (even with the occasional fire alarm…), and other House activities such as pool and Mario Kart competitions have really helped us bond as a year group! Clarence Bar on Saturday night is another great opportunity for us to come together in the Common Room to enjoy a movie or engage n endless chatter with a selection of snacks. It’s also been lovely to get to know Mrs Sparks and Mrs Hamilton better through our hot chocolate evenings. We know they’ll be a great support system for us throughout our A-Level period and can’t wait to spend more time with them over the year!
It’s been amazing to see the UVI get involved with all the Wycombe 130 events so far. The Southwark Cathedral trip commemorating the School’s history was warmly received and we all enjoyed dressing in our fanciest business attire for the service. Having the opportunity to sit with our Senior Houses at the service was also a great pleasure, allowing us the chance to catch up with younger girls on their school lives and their House activities. As well as honouring Dame Frances Dove, Founder’s Day definitely helped us all channel our inner Upper Three personalities with all the carnival rides on offer: the carousel was most certainly a Clarence favourite, as we all rushed to select our favourite horse and find a friend to sit with! Finding time to enjoy moments with our friends in such a busy year is something we are all very much appreciating. The huge turn out at the Colour Fun Run definitely reflected this, with a large group of us ready at the start line to kick off the festivities and lead the School on the run. We all made sure to get absolutely coated in colour and stick together as a pack as we braved the hills of the course! Since most of us had been able to experience the Colour Run back in Lower Four, it felt like a lovely full circle moment: we were able to put aside all our other commitments for the day and focus on attacking each other with neon-coloured powder, as well as dancing out on the pitches with the rest of the school in a Wycombe-style mosh pit!
As the Clarence Heads of Houses, we have been super excited to take on our roles to the full and plan out fun initiatives for our year group. We introduced a Senior Sunrise event, where we managed to pull everyone out of their beds at 6:30am one Saturday to gather together on the pitches and watch the morning sky. We made a large cardboard photo frame which people were able to pose with in front of the beautiful sunrise backdrop, making sure to be dressed in our Clarence-branded merch for the best matching photos! It was great to see Mrs Sparks and Mrs Tidbury come out and get involved: it made the whole thing very special! Our next plans include hosting younger years for a Trick or Treat (without any tricks) around Clarence, followed by a Halloween costume party. We know that we can trust in our year group to dress up in their best costumes and come to the Common Room for an evening of pumpkin carving and scary-themed snacks. So far, Clarence have thrown themselves into each and every opportunity with unwavering enthusiasm, so we can’t wait to see what else the year has in store!
Eletta, Candice, Amalia and Tahlia
