13 September 2018
House Festival is a much loved and long-standing tradition, in which the Woldingham community comes together at the start of the academic year with an extravaganza of drama, dance and song. This year’s theme was the continents; each House had a different area of the globe to bring to life with an ongoing narrative, song and dance. Barat had North America, Digby had Africa, Duchesne had Europe and Stuart, Asia.
All pupils participate in their Houses, providing an early opportunity for new girls to make friends across the year groups and for the newly in post House Captains to develop their leadership skills. It is also a lot of fun for both pupils and staff. This year’s performances were slick and fast-paced, entertaining the audience with sharp comedy and crowd-pleasing song choices.
Stuart were the Fashion show winners, creating some beautifully intricate and delicate kimonos. Barat won the Dance show, demonstrating great use of the stage, sharp choreography and loads of enthusiasm. Each year group in Barat performed their own routine as a ‘dance off’, joining into a whole House dance at the end. From Year 7 to Upper Sixth they were motivated and organised – mastering the complicated choreography and helping each other to create a performance full of energy and flair. Duchesne won best song and had everyone singing along with their Mamma Mia rendition. The Duchesne Sixth Formers displayed excellent initiative and leadership skills, working hard to support the House Captains. Head of House, Miss Banton, was particularly pleased with how willingly the girls volunteered for the range of tasks from acting, to prop making and AV.
Miss Andrews, Head of Digby House, was impressed by the community spirit and the rapport that developed between the Lower Sixth and Year 7 - both in the fashion show, which involved dressing the girls up as a flamingo, a gazelle, a giraffe and an elephant, and in the Year 7 dance. Digby won the award for best storyline, which included some expertly delivered comedy, and were also awarded overall winners for the second year running.
