Paintballing - our annual end of year trip

Only two photos to share from yesterday. I was too busy being targeted by Mr Caston and the Hilton boys!

Mertens House Review 2011-12

This year, Mertens House has gone from strength to strength. At the beginning of the year we welcomed our new Matron, Mrs Caroline Fairhall, who immediately made a remarkable first impression with her boundless energy and warm smile. Caroline is a huge asset to the house and has given her time generously, supporting us at all House events and competitions (even Mr Fairhall was a finalist in our Poker Night!) and becoming an integral member of our team. Thanks Caroline for a truly superb first year.

The Inter-House events this year have brought some exciting moments and great achievements; the rendition of ‘Stomp’ in House Music and Hang Kin’s solo piece during House Singing to name just a few. We began with the Steepo in October; the highlight being Eddie Davis’ emphatic victory in the Junior Boys race. Our performance in House Music was again daring and innovative; Anthony Yiu and Hang Kin Kwok performed memorable piano solos, Connor Norris a guitar solo and ‘Stomp’ (Laurence Haines, Gani Nuredini, Marcus Hunter, Will Salt, Marcus Monsell, Scott Bennington, Dan Frank, and Jonah Adomakoh) were together described as ‘appropriately energetic and inspiring’, whilst Mr Tester provided artistic direction and creativity. House Football held promise, especially for our juniors but a lack of cohesion brought us undone! Shell and Remove boys left their run too late, losing the first 2 games to Rhodes and Crosse but trounced eventual champions Hilton with a resounding 3-0 victory. House Singing arrived in February, the theme being ‘Motown’; and we were expertly led in a performance of ‘Stand By Me’ by James Mackay. Hours of rehearsal had the boys buzzing with confidence but a winning performance eluded us on the day, Mertens finishing 3^rd overall. Mertens boys did us proud in the House Hockey. In both seniors and juniors, we were outplayed by both day houses but secured the double against Hilton beating them comfortably in both. Congratulations to all Mertens teams for their drive and determination and pride in wearing the black.

Our weekend and house socials have been a highlight of this year and an important part of life in Mertens. More importantly, it has provided leadership opportunities for the younger boys and allowed some of our international boarders the chance to share some of their culture too. This year, Mertens boys have organised and hosted some incredible, memorable evenings including OktoberFest, Mertens Pub Quiz, 2 Mertens Talent shows, Chinese New Year, Poker Night and Curry Night. Without a doubt, the two biggest events have been OktoberFest, created and organised by a team led by Nico Neizert and Dan Frank and Chinese New Year led by Leo Ko; both evenings truly spectacular celebrations of all that is German and Chinese. Special mention must also go to the 5^th form boarders for their mouth-watering butter chicken on Curry Night!

Running a house effectively requires more than just one pair of eyes and ears. I have again been blessed this year with a brilliant Lower Sixth, who have helped me lead the House with determination, passion and ambition. Ably led by Leo Ko, this year’s team of House Prefects; Marcus Hunter, Nico Neizert, Connor Norris, William Salt and Manman Wong, worked well as a team and always had the best interests of Mertens as the focus of all they have done. Each week, through the Mertens Prefect Award, the Prefects recognised those whose contribution to the House or to their peers was above and beyond that expected. So far, they have awarded 14 students (Chris Pernet, Oli Deme, Max Pierce, Anthony Yiu, Benny Yu, Axel Goransson, Konstantin Schmeisser, James Mackay, Hang Kin Kwok, Ivan Tytarenko, Henry Hinder, Andreas Colucci, Ruaridh Kelly and Alex Summerfield) and I believe it is a brilliant way of recognising the depth of talent that exists in Mertens. Views of the Lower Sixth need to be supported by the views of others in House and to that end; our House Council has provided much insight and ideas. Thanks to Manman Wong, Gani Nuredini, Marcus Monsell, Laurence Haines, Tom Bell, Scott Bennington, Jake Freeman and Moritz von Contzen.

Mertens is slowly becoming synonymous with good food, for those who know teenage boys know they love their food. So it is this year that we have welcomed an addition to Mertens in the form of a new cooker. It has seen many culinary challenges from our homemade curries, to Bavarian sausage, traditional German potato salad and sauerkraut, through to Asian stir-fry’s and noodle dishes, and not forgetting our Italian pasta dishes. We have made cooking a part of life in Mertens and have hosted Lower Sixth, Shell and Remove dinners all prepared by the boys themselves.

As another busy, but hugely rewarding year, draws to a close, we bid farewell to a number of House Tutors. We say thank you to Mr Dominic Rapley, who is joining Harrow School in Hong Kong; Mr Martin Pascoe who is retiring after 25 years at Ardingly and 5 years in Mertens while Mr John Witherington is retiring after 34 years of service to Ardingly and 6 years as a Mertens tutor (not to mention a stint as Mertens Housemaster). These gentlemen have each left a positive impression on the minds of Mertens boys, past and present and I hope they enjoy whatever the future may hold.

Finding the right balance between a busy academic life, time to relax and unwind in the boarding house and time to pursue extra-curricular interests can be challenging. Mertens boys this year have struck this balance perfectly and we have a house where talent and commitment is in abundance. Whether it is the challenge of completing a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, staying out overnight on a CCF trip, acting an important role in, ‘A Visit to Hopeton’, cycling to Paris for charity, travelling to Kenya/Gambia, playing rugby for the first time, captaining the England ISFA representative side or simply giving a speech in front of your friends and peers; Mertens boys have done it all and more. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all boys in the House for their unswerving spirit and determination in making Mertens a home away from home, a place where boys from all walks of life can achieve excellence, take risks and flourish in an environment that supports and celebrates diversity and richness of talent.

Thoughts from Leo Ko, Head of House

Time flies. This is my 12^th school term in Mertens. With such a diverse and strong community, Mertens is truly my second ‘home’ away from home. It brings me friendship, love, care and support, while giving me a platform to shine. It is never easy to leave, but I am sure Mertens will keep making the following generations feel like home, just like I do.



SHELL - PIZZA EXPRESS!!

The boys are all smiles after fuelling up on pizza and chocolate dough balls!