Argyle House Head Prefect, Stefan Newman, Deputy Head Prefects Jay Wilson and Rhys Laker design our new singlet.

Stefan, Jay and Rhys have spent the past five months going through the process of designing a Matthew Allen Cup singlet and seeking approval through official channels for its introduction for the start of the 2025 Hostel year.

The Honours Committee, which includes the Headmaster, has approved the Matthew Allen Cup singlet, and design, to be worn by all Argyle House boarders when competing against each other during all Matthew Allen Cup competition events throughout the year. The Matthew Allen Cup singlet will be a compulsory Hostel uniform item in 2025, with a final costing still to be confirmed for 2025, currently estimated at $95 per singlet if we proceed with placing your son’s first name and surname initials on each singlet.

As the Top 3 Prefects at Argyle House, they should be commended for this new initiative, in wanting to add value to Argyle House, for a competition that is a very special part of Hostel life. The entire process has been driven by Stefan, Jay and Rhys who formulated the idea at their first weekly meeting with Director of Boarding, Murray McKenzie, back in February. The design and approval process has been time-consuming, but enjoyable, for Stefan, Jay and Rhys, especially now they have seen their idea come to fruition. The process itself required consultation with the various parties involved to firstly gain interest from their fellow boarders and Hostel staff, whether there was a necessity for this uniform item and the practicality of the singlet being reversible to double as an Argyle House singlet. 

The initial drawings proposed (in coloured pencil!) by Stefan, Jay and Rhys, were then sent to the Paladin apparel design team. Paladin is the current sports apparel provider contracted to Hamilton Boys’ High School, who made up the mock designs. Since then, the four of us have been liaising with Paladin, sending through four further mock designs based on discussions Stefan, Jay and Rhys have had with their fellow Year 13 boarders and Hostel staff, to come up with the approved design (see attached).   

The singlet cut is modelled on the very popular Rugby 1st XV training singlet, a cut the Top 3 Prefects believe the boys will be proud to wear. The singlet is reversible, meaning it has a multi-purpose, with the boys having the option to turn it inside out to wear it when competing in a school House event e.g. Athletics Sports, Cross Country.

Murray McKenzie presented the approved design on behalf of Stefan, Jay and Rhys, along with the reasons for having the new singlet, to all boarders at our weekly House meeting on Tuesday evening, 25th June. This was the first time the whole Hostel had heard about and seen the approved singlet design. It was extremely well received with genuine excitement amongst the boys. 

A separate email will be sent to all parents and caregivers of our current Year 13 boarders, giving Stefan, Jay and Rhys, and their Year 13 cohort, the opportunity to order and purchase the inaugural Matthew Allen Cup Singlet in 2024. This is entirely optional. Orders for the singlet will be placed on Friday 5th July, to allow for a delivery in later Term 3, as Stefan, Jay and Rhys deserve the opportunity to purchase the singlet they themselves designed.

For those families that aren’t aware, the Matthew Allen Cup is an intra-house Hostel competition that all boys within Argyle are involved in, competing across all year levels in events that precede the school's House competition event. A Matthew Allen Cup event doubles as a trial, to allow our Prefects/Senior Leaders/House Captains to see, and then select, our 'best' students to represent Argyle House in the next school House competition event to be competed against the other five day school Houses. 

The Hostel is divided into two Houses; Bennett and Sutherland, named after the two longest serving staff members at the time the competition was created back in 1998. Jim Bennett (Hostel Manager/Headmaster) and Mary Sutherland (Matron). 

The competition is named in memory of Mathew Allen, a Year 11 boarder, who was killed in a car accident in October 1998.

The Matthew Allen Cup is a fiercely contested competition with each House led by a Head of Bennett, Henry Seavill, and Head of Sutherland, Tom Martin.

Bennett wears red and Sutherland wears black. Currently the boys wear their PE top and/or House t-shirt or, in reality, something that resembles mainly black or red. Wearing their Bennett or Sutherland House singlet will create genuine pride in their Hostel House having an official uniform to wear when competing and spectating. 

I thank you in support of this student-led initiative. Further information will follow in the coming months ahead, for those currently in Years 9-12 returning in 2025.