Summer Farewells

3 July 2023 - Butler

Following Long Leave, we were all ready to make the most of the second half of the Summer Term. Plenty of time outdoors with water fights, spontaneous Slip and Slide sessions and House rounders have been evening highlights as a House community. 

LVs were tasked at the beginning of the year to create a drama piece as part of an inter-House competition to be performed at the end of the academic year. They worked hard to perfect their lines, finalise stage directions and schedule rehearsal times once their internal exams were out of the way. It is an impressive feat to create a stage piece from scratch, but they brought in both humour and darkness within their 15-minute performance which involved the whole House group and were sad when it was all over! Well done all. 

LIVs have been working on their multi-disciplinary Dove Award and this culminated in a celebratory ceremony to recognise their efforts. Inaayat, Iris and Lucy received special prizes for their work both individually and as part of the Tutor Group. Thank you to Miss Sunil for co-ordinating the project amongst the group and supporting them. They have all produced projects to be proud of. 

Dove Day was marvellous. The whole school community came together for an array of summer fete style events such as the dog show, art displays, a gymnastics showcase and we were proud to perform our House Singing ‘Viva La Vida’ piece once again to a large audience. Our sporting prowess and physical strength was shown on Dove Day where we finished third place in a highly competitive Tug of War challenge! The highlight is always coming together for a House picnic lunch in the marquee as it is a chance for parents and guardians to socialise and celebrate all that has happened this year. It was lovely to have so many families with us. 

Our House Games Captains, Lara and Amelia have been a driving force throughout the year and never more so than this term with Sports Day and both tennis and cricket Funals on the horizon. Butler won the House Tennis competition and this then moved focus onto Sports Day. UIII joined their Senior House teams for the event which meant that it was a big community effort with girls of all ages competing in track and field events. High scores in field events secured us a strong set of results ahead of track finals so we were all anticipating a lot of exciting races to come. Every member of the House contributed to the electric atmosphere whether cheering, jumping, running or throwing and this effort resulted in the House winning the Senior cup as well as Liza receiving an individual award. Points were totalled across all age groups and Butler House was announced as the overall winner of Sports Day! This hasn’t been achieved by the House for many years, so we are all very proud! 

The House Outing to Windsor was a fitting final event of the term where we could come together with our domestic staff, Tutors and the House pastoral staff team to enjoy a River Thames cruise for an evening of dancing and a BBQ. There was great energy on board with plenty of singing and lots of celebrating. It was a chance too to say farewell to Cece, Ojasvi and Lucy who move on from Wycombe Abbey, as well as the LVI who move up to Clarence for their final year. Farewells were also said to Miss Lowther who is stepping down as Housemistress as she embarks on a year of travelling with the first chapter being to South America before Antarctica.

For all leavers it can be sad at the end of an era but Butler House will always be a ‘home’ and September is the start of a new chapter for us all so it is important to take time to reflect over the summer holiday and decide what to focus on next. Butler House has had a successful year in terms of competitions, perhaps the most successful in it’s history which of course we are very proud of. Success can only happen as a result of a strong community and happy pupils and this spirit has developed throughout the year groups over recent years, as well as amongst the staff so long may this continue! 

We welcome Miss Lauren Monteil as the new Housemistress and congratulations to Lara as she becomes Head of House for her LVI year! We wish everyone a wonderful summer holiday and look forward to seeing what September brings for Butler House.