Eagle

Housemaster: Ivan Sambles

Ivan Sambles has been Housemaster of Eagle from September 2007. He is a member of the Maths Department and a keen footballer, golfer, cricketer, snowboarder, and film buff.

 Outside of the house he coaches the 2nds Cricket team, U14Bs Hockey and helps coach the U16s Rugby and the senior football. He has also helped in the CCF since 2008. He married Sarah in July 2000 and the couple have been blessed with 2 beautiful girls.

 Eagle House is a boys’ Boarding House situated at the southern edge of the College campus, close to the Astroturf.

 Each year-group occupies its own floor in the House and all share excellent communal facilities including kitchens, social areas and a lawn for recreation. 

The Eagle House Report for 2009 - 10

by Ivan Sambles, Housemaster

Michaelmas Term
September 2009 saw a fresh start in Eagle with a brand new batch of eager Lower Sixth and Shell arriving and in tremendous form. I also had a new tutorial team working alongside me. Adam Hopcroft proved to be an outstanding resident House Tutor and the boys quickly took a liking to him. Karen Pattison settled in very well and has worked extremely hard with Remove this year and although she is now moving onto St John’s, I am pleased to say that she will still be tutoring some Upper and Lower Sixth Eagle boys. James Constant took over as House Captain and soon started to realise the extent of the job ahead of him.

In the House competitions, it was clear from the off that this year would produce a mixed bag of results. The first House event was, as usual, Top House where we went out in an early round against what was, frankly, a very strong opposition. This was followed by the House Music competition. Curiously, the boys seemed to dread and yet enjoy this event at the same time. Alex Treharne and Matt Roper produced an excellent piece for the ensemble but I have to say that, in my view, our rendition of New York, New York deserved a much higher score than it received! In any event, I am hoping for better things next year. The House Play Competition followed and Sam Cox wrote a new play for the Eagle boys to perform, based on the myth of Pandora’s Box. Hugo Healy and Isaac Yule starred in a great production and both of them were on the shortlist for Best Actor, but they couldn’t have done this without the support of Sam Cox, Andrew Everall and Zack Pinsent.

The Sport went well this term. The Juniors won the House Rugby (again) (Jack Briggs and Ollie Bunn played great matches and special mention must be made of Franklin  Wilson for his Jonny Wilkinson style impressions as he nailed mighty drop goals from all over the park) and came a creditable 3rd in the Water Polo. The Seniors fought hard, too, winning the Water Polo and acquitting themselves well in the House Rugby. The school disco added a  fluorescent glow to the end of the year. Congratulations go to Harry Agombar for his contributions to the disco and we all wish him well next year when he will be responsible for its overall organisation. It was great to finish the term off with another fantastic Carol Service and it was wonderful to see so many parents for mulled wine and mince pies. A thoroughly deserved Christmas break was then enjoyed by all.

Lent Term
The Lent term began with a lot of energy from some and a little over-exuberance from others! Academic studies suddenly started to get much more serious for the Fifth form and the Lower Sixth. The Shell had now really settled in and started to show their true potential. House Debating was again very strong with Kenan Ceylan leading the team through to the final where we were just narrowly beaten. Junior House Hockey was probably one of the best for many years because no single House dominated. As a result it was simply great fun to watch (and umpire) and I must congratulate everyone involved. The Senior matches were also of a really high standard and I hope that next year we will see equally spirited and professional competition at both levels. Eagle performed well in the House Swimming Competition (well done everyone, particularly to Alex King and Tim Jackson).although Star just pipped us by one point to the win overall.

Summer Term
Half term and Easter suddenly rattled by and, almost without missing a beat, the Summer term was upon us.
As term began, the Fifth Form, of course, really felt the pressure. Exams were looming and the boys had to buckle down quickly to some serious study. As usual the House Cricket was great fun giving the boys a chance to give the ball a really good old slog. Our Seniors did very well again, ably led by Jay Barclay and our Juniors performed well ‘though sadly slipped from 1st to 4th place in the last round of matches. At this time of year, we also hold our interviews and vote for the coming year’s House Captain. Congratulations to Henry Hume- Kendall; I am looking forward to working with him next year.

This term, we also organised (for the second year) a pupil versus parent Cricket match to accompany the House Hog Roast. The food was of a considerably better standard than the cricket but we all had a great time. Congratulations to Eagle parents for a well deserved victory (well, 12 fielders are allowed occasionally …) but beware for I am sure the boys will come back stronger next year. The term finished with more memorable events such as the Leavers’ Service, Prize Day and Sports Day; the latter was a very busy, but outstanding day and the Eagle boys set a fine example. Well done, and thanks to all who took part.

Next year I know that the House will continue to get stronger yet remain a very warm and welcoming environment where all the boys feel safe and relaxed. We are already planning for the coming year and looking forward, particularly, to the Golf Day but before I finish with the academic year of 2009/10, I must thank James Constant for helping to set the tone in the House; Alex Treharne, Tim Jackson and Josh Laker for their role as prefects in looking after Shell and Remove pupils, Alex King for sorting out the teams, and all the boys in the House for making Eagle such a great place to live.