“Christ’s College and Flower’s House have created the environment to succeed, enabling me to take personal pride in challenging myself to do the best that I can.”
highlighted, with the school describing his tenure as Head of Boarding as “exceptional”. During his final year, he has helped to organise the student sleepout on the Quad to highlight homelessness in the city, along with raising nearly $4000 for the City Mission, and been involved with the Love Grace x Handbag Appeal, supporting the Christchurch Aunties group to empower victims of domestic abuse. He has also taken on the role of Sony Camp companion, supporting young people with disabilities. For Lachie, his biggest ‘win’ within the College community is ensuring that “boarders are more visible in the wider school”. “Being Head of Boarding in 2023 has been great,” he says. “The role has changed in my year. With the wide boarding set-up – and covering three different Houses – it has been a struggle to define the role previously. Right from the start, I have believed that the Head of Boarding can do more in the wider school and be more visible to all the boys. “There has been positive feedback over the changes, with a more prominent role in helping to run assemblies and organise the school ball. Within the boarding Houses, I have continued to run activities for the juniors, and also built stronger connections with
St Margaret’s College and Rangi Ruru Girls’ School. “In Term 1, I was fortunate to attend a boarding schools conference in Palmerston North and that helped to guide some of the changes to the role. It was also valuable being able to talk to other students in my position. I have aimed to become a conduit between boarding and the wider school while lifting the role of boarding in the College community.” Lachie reflects fondly on his time in Flower’s House, having been well-prepared for the structured environment following his years as a boarder at Waihi School. “While it was a bit of a culture shock moving from the country to the big city, we had just as many boarders as dayboys at Waihi, so I knew what to expect,” he says. “From Year 9, those good habits are ingrained in you, including early starts and not staying up late. In Flower’s House, I had boys around me doing the same thing and that helped – sticking to routines. It has certainly been an advantage with those routines in places. And the support system is a major factor for me. Housemaster Lionel Randall has been amazing. He is one of the most passionate, dedicated guys, and has got the boys’ backs 100 per cent. It is such a tight-knit culture. All the boys are
encouraged and accepted for whatever passions they have. And we greatly appreciated Matron Karen Adams. All the boys said she was our second mum.” An asset to the school debating programme and a valuable member of the Chapel Choir, Lachie has also stepped into the spotlight in several productions, including As You Like It , Light at the End of the Tunnel , and Peter Pan , and received an Honours Tie for Drama. He has also had leading roles in the REACTION House Plays and been involved with House Music. Equally importantly on the sporting side, Lachie has again led from the front as captain of the Ravens football team in his final year. For Lachie, it has been an exceptional year. While his personal highlights include “boarding and academics” – particularly having the “environment to succeed and taking personal pride in challenging myself to do the best that I possibly can” – his time at the school has been topped off with the trip of a lifetime. “Our North American football tour was the biggest highlight of my five years at Christ’s College,” he says. “With all that was happening, I debated about going on the three-week tour in September–October 2023.
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