The 'Battle of the Houses' 2026

11th March 2026

Battle of the Houses – Installment 1: Drama 

For our first challenge, students from Years 7–10 came together in their houses to create a drama performance framed by Miss Woolman. Many of the students had never worked together before, but that didn’t stop them from throwing themselves into the challenge with enthusiasm, creativity and real team spirit.

The room was buzzing as ideas were shared, roles were taken on and performances began to take shape. It was fantastic to see every student given the chance to shine – a real celebration of confidence, collaboration and inclusivity.

 Star Student: Martha 
 Star House/Winners: York (Charlie/Tom/Ellie/Leah)

Installment 2: Chess ♟️

Representatives stepped up to the board to battle it out in a series of intense matches.

Each house brought a different style to the game. Cameron and Lawson both played with patience and defensive discipline, carefully protecting their positions. Meanwhile, Emily played with real clinical precision throughout the tournament, making decisive moves and capitalising on opportunities as they appeared.

There was plenty of banter across the tables too – especially from the Stuart representative, who could hardly believe that York was actually winning for once! The atmosphere was brilliant, competitive but full of good humour.

A special mention goes to Cameron, who arguably had the toughest challenge of all, playing four games back-to-back with barely a moment to reset.

Most impressive of all was the focus in the room. Students were completely absorbed in the game and clearly loving every minute of the challenge.

 Star Student: Emily 
 Star House / Winner: York

Installment 2B: Escape Room 

Session 2B saw the competition take a dramatic turn with the Escape Room Challenge led by Escape Room maestro Miss Woolman.

Two students from each house stepped into a gripping mystery: Dr Eleanor Graves had been found murdered in the archives library of Windsor High School late last night. Security cameras mysteriously failed for 15 minutes, and only three people were in the building at the time. The challenge? Work through the clues, analyse the evidence, and crack the case.

For 30 minutes, the room was filled with intense concentration as each house worked methodically through the clues. Students were completely absorbed in the investigation – piecing together evidence, testing theories and debating suspects.

In an impressive display of teamwork and problem solving, every single house successfully cracked the case.

Two houses achieved the joint highest score of 12 points – Stuart and Lancaster. However, there could only be one overall winner…

 Overall Winner: Stuart, who cracked the case first!

A special mention goes to Zayn, whose sharp thinking and determination earned him Star Student for the session.

 Star Student: Zayn
 Winning House: Stuart

Installment 3: Spelling Bee 

We really ramped it up this time with full audience participation! Students with the top credits across Years 7–10 sat proudly in the audience, representing their Houses against a spectacular backdrop, ready to cheer on their champions.

Each House sent four students to compete in a full-blown Spelling Bee, which featured four exciting rounds:

 Individual
 Relay
 Rapid Fire
 Context 

Fabulously delivered by the Spelling Bee Queen Mrs Tinson, with judging by Spelling Bee Side-Kick Miss Bradshaw.

The students were completely engaged throughout, enthusiastically representing their Houses. Lancaster impressed with an infectious vibe, even featuring their house mascot, Charlie, but in the end, it was York who took the crown with an outstanding 75 points!

 Star Students: Emaan & Malak
 Winning House: York

 Instalment 4: Maths Challenge 

Session 4 saw another audience-filled round with the epic Maths Challenge, led by none other than Maths Grand Master Mr Wilson!

Students from across the year groups threw themselves into three brilliant rounds designed to challenge and engage everyone:
 Team Challenge – teams of 15 had 10 minutes to tackle 15 tricky questions
 Shuttle Round – a fast-paced relay where teammates raced to answer correctly
 Cross Number – a crossword-style round where students applied logic and number skills to complete the puzzle

Meanwhile, the audience joined in with their own Maths challenges, making the room buzz with excitement and competition. Who knew Maths could create such energy and enthusiasm outside the classroom? A huge thank you to Mr Wilson for giving the students the chance to love Maths in a fun and collaborative way.

 Star Student: Lexie
 Star House / Winners: York 

Installment 5: The General Knowledge Grand Finale