Sadly, we were unable to invite our parents and guests to witness the awards, as this would have raised our onsite numbers which was beyond the Ministry guidelines. Our one guest was the TBHS Rector, Dave Thorp.

All housemasters and boarders were present in the dining room, prior to the ringing of the ‘Vigorous 1943’ bell, which currently resides just outside the dining room, and was rung by the youngest Hostel boy Jayden Lay. We were then treated to a duo of bagpipers; Ben Fifield and Angus Murray, who heralded the arrival of the Year 13 Leavers’ of 2021, by playing ‘Balmoral’.

The Year 13 Leavers entered the dining room in alphabetical order and took their places at the prominent table. Each boys’ place setting included a placemat with well-wishes from the staff and boarders of Thomas House and included photographs of them as Year 13’s and as Year 9’s, when most of them first arrived at the beginning of 2017.

Jayden Lay and our Head Boarder, Robbie Adams, cut the Leavers’ traditional cake; the type chosen for this year was a chocolate mud cake.

Following a short introduction to the evening by the Director of Boarding, Mr Fogarty, we began upon a fest of delicious food, made and delivered to our tables by the team of catering staff and cleaning ladies. Hats off to Mr Holman, Catering Manager of Thomas House, who organised the menu, which was partially requested by the Leavers', and of course to the catering team.

To give you an idea of the menu:

Entrée: Popcorn shrimp, chips and greens aioli.

Main: Rib roast of beef. Slow cooked lamb shank on a bed of crushed new potatoes, with sides of roasted vegetables and salad.

Dessert: Pavlova, ambrosia, fruit salad, and ice cream.

Needless to say, we were all overfull by the end of the dinner, with Mr Thorp commenting that it was, “perhaps the biggest meal I have ever eaten”.

The 2021 Leavers’ certificates were presented by the Assistant Manager, Mr Michael Howard.

Angus Munro came forward to present a gift to Mr Howard and his wife Melanie, who are leaving us at the end of the year, and emigrating to Australia.

Toasts were given by seniors prior to the speeches.

Mr Fogarty gave his speech as an address, followed by speeches from Mr Howard and Rector Dave Thorp.

Mr Thorp then presented the Academic trophy awards. These were given to:

Year 9 – Oliver Mills
Year 10 – Reuben Brown
Year 11 – Lachlan Adam
Year 12 – James Guerin
Year 13 – Nathan Harbutt

Then began the presentation of cups to the Prizewinners.

The Junior Tennis trophy was awarded to – Ryan Watt

The Senior Tennis trophy was awarded to – Aidan Watt

Mr Grant McFarlane and Mr James McFarlane presented the McFarlane Family Cup, which is the first time being awarded to a Year 9 boarder who displays positive character, values and morals in line with Thomas House. This year the award was given to – Ryan Bell

The Residential Manager's Cup is awarded to a Year 9 student who has dealt with challenges in his first year of boarding at Thomas House in a positive manner and embraced the values of the hostel. This award was given to – Ryan Thomas

The Housemasters Cup (senior) was awarded to a boarder who displays positive character values and morals in line with Thomas House. This was awarded to – Angus Neal

The Housemasters Cup (junior) boarder who displays positive character values and morals in line with Thomas House. This was awarded to – Hamish Melville

The Rector's Trophy is awarded to a Year 12 student who has continued to develop and display leadership qualities during their time at Thomas House. This was awarded to – Jackson Ross

The Director of Boarding trophy is awarded to a Year 11 student who has successfully managed transition from junior to senior boarder while displaying Thomas House values. This was awarded to – Malachi Cleland

The Arthur Dyer Trophy is awarded to a student who has grown and developed during their time at Thomas House, and is a Year 13 student who has made a contribution to Thomas House and displays good character. This was awarded to – Dan Patterson

Robbie Adams, Head Boarder for 2021 gave his speech, prior to the announcement and Badge presentations to the prefect team for 2022, accompanied by Mr Thorp and Deputy head boarder; Angus Munro.

The Prefect team for 2022:

Harry Small – Prefect
Thomas Fulton – Prefect
Academic Captain/Prefect – Sam Wilson
Sports Captain / Prefect – Jackson Ross
Council Captain / Prefect – Mitchell Bowmar
Deputy Head Boarder – James Guerin
Head Boarder – William Mackenzie

At the conclusion of the evening, the Leavers left the dining room, with the boarders and staff standing in acknowledgement. Staff and Leavers were offered tea and cake, prior to the commencement of a water balloon fight !

Unbeknown to the juniors, the seniors had reserved some rotten eggs and sour milk for the occasion, and these were distributed quite readily during the water fight. No one was hurt in the fun and apart from the mass of wet laundry that our poor night supervisor had to wash and dry – the evening ended on a fun note.

In this issue

Junior Prizegiving