The inception of the Spring Term marked the hosting of House Countdown, mimicking the established game Countdown—previously a staple of British culture, and now soon-to-be a staple of Wilsonian society! In the run up to the competition, colourful posters and descriptive notices were displayed school-wide; nevertheless, with this being the first time in Wilson’s School history that the event has been hosted, the Greencoat House leadership team were worried that pupils would be reluctant to participate. But we were wrong, and how!

Having asked my team to tour forms to churn up enthusiasm, I was subsequently told that swathes of pupils were fighting amongst themselves to represent their form. As much as we would have loved to accommodate all keen participants, this was simply not possible; instead, each form selected four representatives—preferably their two best mathematicians and linguists—for Number Countdown and Letter Countdown respectively.

First up were Year Seven and Year Eight, who gathered in F16 and F17 on an ordinary Thursday lunchtime to engage in an intense "intellectual" battle. Tensions were high, minds were whirring, and an element of gamesmanship was certainly evident (I won't go into specific details, although it involved allegations of cheating directed towards whichever house was leading at various stages of the event!). With Year Ten pupils sitting their mock exams, Friday lunchtime was for Year Nine and Eleven. They were equally as desperate to win Countdown and secure the maximum number of house points for their house, despite adopting a significantly more laid-back persona than younger years.

All in all, House Countdown was a huge success. At the end of last year, I delivered a speech to my House, encouraging them to "give things a go, simply for the sake of stepping outside of one's comfort zone"—it was overwhelmingly pleasing to see pupils embracing this advice!

Ivor, Year Thirteen