This term has somehow been busier than the last and there have been some serious points scored.

We know you’ve all been waiting with bated breath for 13 weeks since the last report to know who raised the most money at the Christmas Markets. We can finally reveal it was a House that needs no introduction this year… McClure.

But ultimately, the MND Association was the real winner here, with £1455.04 raised on their behalf. This charity is close to the hearts of our community here at Mill Hill, and it was with great zeal that the pupils turned out to raise money for important research into motor neurone disease.

We kicked the term off with a very chilly January swim – hats off to all the pupils involved – Atkinson and Priestley placed second and third respectively, with School being the ultimate victors. And that wasn’t all for sport, in the House Netball we were treated to both a crisp sunny day and a showdown between Atkinson and McClure with McClure triumphing in closely fought final.

McClure’s prowess isn’t simply in the athletic realm proven on the last night of Spring 1 with stunning performances by Josh G and Nepheli K and a clean sweep in the Farrow. It hasn’t all been about McClure though. The new House Golf competition was a huge success, and we are sure the format will be repeated for many decades to come. Over the course of two weeks pupils spent their lunch hour swinging for gold in a closest-to-the-pin style competition. With three swings per pupil, Priestley were the most accurate on the day and worked their way back up the table and closer to the all-important shield. A few weeks later, after months of heats, Priestley also clinched the General Knowledge competition.

In our most recent House competition, the Newcastle, pupils from the CCF parade are judged on a variety of categories such as technical accuracy and uniform and Murray ran away with the competition.

Now, at the time of writing, our favourite competition, the Spelling Bee, is yet to reach a conclusion. Pupils have battled it out debating 'i before e' and double ‘n’s and ‘s’s for weeks and Winfield, Atkinson, Collinson and (yes you guessed it…) McClure are all through the semi-finals, let’s hope Mr Bingham has a real curveball up his sleeve for the decider.

It is not all about events and competitions. Every pupil in every House has the ability to win points towards the House Shield via the effort grades they achieve each term so pupils’ efforts in lessons directly affects their House's ability to rise up the table. Macgregor are the clear leaders in this element of the competition with Atkinson and McClure chasing them down.

At this very moment, we are gearing up for the spectacle that is the 6/10 Mile Cup – note the name change as we will be fielding six girls in each House from here on in – and the pace has been set, quite literally, by John-Michael (Priestley). John-Michael ran the fastest-ever lap last year for Oak House (MHI) and has since transferred to MHS and Priestley House. Will his leadership and coaching clinch it for Priestley; will Cedars retain their title; will Atkinson reclaim their throne, or will McClure’s six weeks of hill sprint training leave them ultimate victors? – surely not!