Possibly the most exciting and much-anticipated highlight in the St John’s annual calendar is the infamous House Pancake Race! Delayed by bad weather, the event took place at lunchtime on Thursday 3 March.
Pupils from across the School excitedly took part in the annual house competition, with teams of four relaying around The Quad, cheered on by the whole school. The event is very popular amongst pupils and staff, and this year was no exception. Huge crowds gathered to follow the thrilling action and cheer on their house.
The excitement of the post-pandemic return of the pancake races meant the energy and excitement levels were incredibly high, with this being the first experience of the live event for several pupils and staff in the School.
Pupils from each team were poised at each corner of The Quad to run and flip as fast as they could, with the hope of taking the coveted first place. The event is taken very seriously, and competition is fierce. Marshals were placed at each side of The Quad monitoring the quantity and quality(!) of pancake flipping and ensuring fair play.
This year’s ‘flipping champions’ were…
First: West House
Second: South House
Third: Hawkins House
The House Pancake Races are a fantastic event that we enjoy as a school community every year. The first recorded pancake race in The Johnian Magazine was the prefects pancake race in 1973, and the present inter-house pancake race around The Quad was first introduced by the Reverend Clive Case (Chaplain 2008-2011) in 2009
