The House Music competition is one of the Harrow Schools’ traditions. House competitions and House spirit are an important part of student life at Harrow Shenzhen.
The theme of this year’s House music competition was “British pop music”. Each House had a chance to vote for the song of their choice to perform. After deciding on the songs to sing, the students rehearsed for four weeks. They sang, danced and practiced together to prepare for a perfect performance on the stage.
Harrow students have experienced many rehearsals.
The Harrow Shenzhen House Music Competition came to end after the final chorus competition on October 18.
Which House will stand out?
Let’s review it!
Rehearsal
For the past four weeks, Harrow students rehearsed seriously, they looked forward to the moment when they got on stage to give their best performance.
Performance
The following Houses were introduced to give a live performance.
Song Qing Ling House
The first performer was Song Qing Ling House, they performed a classic pop song called, “Reach for the Stars.”
This song was released in 2000 and is about good friends sticking together to reach heights, look up at the stars and realize each other’s dreams.
Song Qing Ling House sang this song to express the spirit of helping each other during the music competition. This is one of the core values of “Fellowship” at Harrow Shenzhen.
Deng Xiao Ping House
The next performer was Deng Xiao Ping House, they sang the song called “These Days”.
Harrow students added their own creativity to the song by changing the lyrics of the rap part of the song to the memories of study and daily life in Harrow Shenzhen.
Through this song, Deng Xiaoping House hopes to express the feeling that school life is the best days of their lives. When they look back the time in Harrow Shenzhen, they will still have deep and unforgettable memories.
Marie Curie House
Marie Curie House sang “Monsters”, which is a song from Katie Sky. This is a song about fear and salvation.
In the interview before the competition, the House leader said that there was a student in the House who was worried about the performance, and other members of the House gave him help and warmth, which made him feel reassured and more courageous.
In this process, Marie Curie House not only sang the spirit of “Honour”, but also showed two of Harrow’s core values of “Fellowship” and “Courage”.
The Marie Curie House’s performance began with many Harrow students expressing their fears. It is common to express fear in this way, but as long as we unite and help each other, we can overcome fear and regain courage.
In this performance, it was the first time to see a live band show. The surprise was all band players are the students from Harrow Shenzhen. It shows the educational philosophy of Harrow Shenzhen focusing on the all-round development of students.
John Lyon House
John Lyon House, named after the founder of Harrow UK, performed a new version of “Uptown Funk“.
The video of the original song by Bruno Mars has been viewed more than 4.3 billion times on overseas platforms so far, it was the most popular song (by views) in the show.
The rhythm and groove of this song are relatively compact, and the lyrics are relatively simple. However, after the adaptation, the song became more difficult and required a lot of practice by Harrow students to present a perfect performance.
In this process, John Lyon House reflects the core value of “Fellowship“ at Harrow Shenzhen, which balances the stage performance of all students and allows the talents of each Harrow student to shine through. It also demonstrates the excellent connection that John Lyon House had with the audience.
David Attenborough House
The song from David Attenborough House was “Stop”. This joyous song was released in 1997. It is a great song to dance to.
David Attenborough House choreographed the show’s best group dance performance.
The exercise of coordination in dancing was already challenging. But for David Attenborough’s Harrow students, singing along with dancing is even more difficult.
After few weeks of practice, their hard work paid off. At the end of the performance, the audience gave David Attenborough House the biggest applause and cheers.
Winston Churchill House
Winston Churchill House, the winner of last year’s House singing competition, appeared last on the stage to close out the show. They performed the song “Hey Jude” which was originally recorded by the Beatles.
This song is like a senior talking to a young person, ‘Be brave to conquer fear, don’t be afraid of the dark times in your life, stay positive, your future is in your own hands’.
This is also about Harrow’s spirit and educational philosophy. The school teaches the Harrow core values of “Courage, Honour, Humility and Fellowship“. It not only teaches knowledge, but trains Harrow students to self-achieve. Harrow students will lead the world to a better tomorrow in the future.
Release the Results
The judges of this competition included:
- Mr Qian – Harrow Shenzhen Chinese Principal
- Mr Foster – Harrow Shenzhen Deputy Head Master
- Mrs Herting – Head of Harrow Little Lion EYC
- Mr Marshall – Head of Harrow Shenzhen Lower School
- Mr Schofield – Head of Harrow Shenzhen Upper School
- Mr Tong – Harrow Shenzhen Whole School Director of Studies
They rated each House’s performance based on the following five criteria.
- Vocal Quality
- Engagement
- Movement and Choreography
- Stage Presence/Costume
- Student Leadership/Innovation
Champion: John Lyon House
Second place: Deng Xiao Ping House
Third place: Marie Curie House
Comments
Song Qing Ling House：What a wonderful harmony of both music and movement.
Deng Xiao Ping House：A very controlled and well delivered performance with fellowship in a song.
Marie Curie House：What an intricate and multisensory performance. We had a lovely a shot build up to a really big finish.
John Lyon House：Uplifting us all up in every way possible. You own this song and you own the stage.
David Attenborough House：That was nice and spicy. The last thing we wanted was for you to stop the colorful, truthful and dramatic performance.
Winston Churchill House：Not just the house, but the house band, a great rendition of a really great song.
Extra Performance
In addition to the excellent performances of the six Houses, there were two additional performances which were not included in the competition, namely the pre-recorded chorus of Harrow Shenzhen Little Lion Early Years Centre.
And the piano solo of Ella, an outstanding student.
Audience
Students from six Houses are both performers and audiences.
While they sat on the auditorium, they gave wonderful feedback about the House that was performing.
The Harrow Shenzhen House Music Competition came to end.
For more highlights,
please review the live recording.
