From the address delivered at the Argyle House Leavers' Dinner by Head Prefect, Harry Grainger.

This is a time for reflection, a time to look back on the highs and the lows that we have all experienced during our time here at Argyle, whether that being all five years of your high school career or whether you have only joined us this year. I want us to enjoy the fact that for many of us, this will be one of the last times where we are all under the same roof enjoying a meal together like we have done during our time here at Argyle House.

Now we can enjoy ourselves and talk about past memories before we are formally farewelled from Argyle House in two days time. During my time here I have gone under many names, most notably and the one which I am now known for is Gazz. Alongside a few other boys, I come from the mighty King Country, I live on a sheep and beef farm outside of Te Kuiti and went to a small primary school with an incredible roll of 45 students at its peak. I then moved to a larger primary school in town to complete my senior years. This move was necessary in order for me to be somewhat prepared for moving to a larger high school which turned out to be HBHS. Even though this move helped, nothing could have prepared me for the massive leap that is going to a school with a roll of over 2300 students. But what was once such a daunting environment has slowly become a second home over the past five years.

Coming to HBHS, and especially Argyle, has allowed every single young man here in this room the chance to gain opportunities and experience in whatever they may want to do, whether that's academic, sporting, culturally or service orientated, living here on campus has something to offer for everyone and this year group has made the most of these opportunities. Several here have excelled in their respective areas as National representatives in Rugby and Ice Swimming, playing in top school teams, gaining Academic Honours, gaining Scholarships, Gold Service Badges, the list goes on. This year group has firmly cemented their place in this school and have made an impact on the school and hostel once we leave, as not only senior students, but amazing role models and men who can be proud of themselves.

The memories that we have all made together during the past five years will stay with us as we have made life long friends that we hope to continue to make memories with in the years to come. The things we did together have made us come closer together from strangers at the start of our high school years to the brothers we are today. Things like playing mud rugby, pool rugby, watching horror movies in the senior lounge, games of sting pong, flipping beds at the end of each term and so much more. These things bonded us all together.

I can remember the first moments of being a new Year 9 walking into Argyle House, pulling up the sleeve of my oversized blazer and shaking Mr McKenzie’s hand at the door. At that very moment, I realised that I had walked right into the bottom tier of the pecking order and just shook the hand at the top. But over these past five years I have realised that the man at the top isn't actually that far away. Mr McKenzie works so hard at keeping this Hostel running, on top of the many other roles that he has in the day school, but on top of being the Head of Hostel, he tries to be as relatable as possible for us. Working a lot with him this year has made me personally see the amount that he does for the Hostel and the boys within it.

One of the main reasons as to why this Hostel runs so well is because of the hard work that the staff does. I would like to thank all current and former Masters. Every single one of you has helped shape us into what we are today. I want to thank the Masters for taking on this job, sacrificing so much of your free time and energy to deal with us. I know many of you now have young kids so you want to keep as much energy to deal with them before us but without your efforts, this Hostel would not be the same place. So thank you.

To our Grove Masters this year, Mr Moorby, Mr Te Ruki-Chambers, and Mr Corban. I'm sorry but that doesn't sound right. Moorby, Jonnie, and Zac. You guys have made our last year at HBHS and Argyle House one of the most enjoyable years of our lives. Even through all of the nagging that you do for us to clean the kitchens and the odd comment about the state of some boys' rooms, your support for us this year to become the best versions of ourselves as senior students is a major reason that many of us have finished the year and are sitting in this room this evening.

To our second mum, Matron. You do so much for every single one of us boys, current and previous. And the amount of thank you’s, and shows of gratitude that you get will never be anywhere near enough to make up the worth of what you do on a daily basis. I want you to know that what you do does get severely underappreciated but not unnoticed, so I want to extend one massive thank you once again and hope you continue to support the Hostel with all that you do.

I also want to thank the other people and groups that help keep the Hostel running. To Katrina, our Laundress, Lagi, and our Weekend Matron, Leanne, the amount of admin work that you have just to keep all of our parents kept up to date, among so many other things that I couldn't list because we would be here until tomorrow morning, a huge thank you has to go to you and the work you do.

To the kitchen staff, thank you for keeping the boys running throughout the day and having every single Year 9 boy running to the dining room wondering what was for lunch. Thank you for providing us with some interesting topics about dinner, whether that being creamy chicken, again, or fried rice, again, or even ice cream sundaes, again. But even though we make these sorts of comments, we are all thankful for your efforts in the Hostel.

A group that we have not yet thanked are our parents and caregivers. I know the sacrifice of letting us go and not seeing us every day must have been a tough choice, but the reward of seeing us sitting here as confident young men who are well equipped to take the next step in life is well worth it.

These past five years have been some of my most memorable and most enjoyable and I want to thank everyone here for being a part of it. Good luck to everyone in your paths ahead, wherever they may lead you, and I’ll hope to run into some of you somewhere along the line.

Argyle House Prize Giving: Award Winners

Argyle House Scholarship winner: Maxwell Kara

Matron's Cup for Best All-Round Year 11 Boarder to Alex Arnold

Matthew Allen Memorial Cup for the Inter-House Challenge to Bennett House, accepted by Head of Bennett, Lachlan Pickett

William MacErlich Memorial Fixture - Boarders vs Day Boys - 2023 Champions: Boarders 42-19

Tylee Cup for Best Junior Sportsman to Maxwell Kara

Blythe Cup for Best Senior Sportsman to Oli Mathis

Morris Trophy for Outstanding Junior in Visual or Performing Arts to Fraser Gray

Coltellaro Trophy for Outstanding Senior in Visual or Performing Arts to Jack Higgins

Margaret Beattie Scholarship for Junior Dux to Hayden Sherlock

Year 11 Top Academic Prize to Alexander Brown

Year 12 Top Academic Prize to Dylan McConnell

Headmaster's Cup for Academic Excellence as the Dux of Argyle House to Joshua Wickers

Leigh Cup for Service and Leadership displayed over two consecutive years by a Year 11 and 12 Boarder to Rhys Laker

Bennett Trophy for Outstanding Service and Contribution to Argyle House to Harry Grainger

Cramond Cup for Service to Argyle House to Johno O’Brien

Argyle Cup for Leadership to Harry Grainger