PICTURES: '˜Much-anticipated' Pancake scramble

Shoreham College stuck to tradition and had a flippin' great Pancake Day celebration, albeit very late.
Winners Jasmine Wheeler, Kian Moallemi, Jimmy Treadgold and Elliot Brand from Grenville House with head teacher Richard Taylor-WestWinners Jasmine Wheeler, Kian Moallemi, Jimmy Treadgold and Elliot Brand from Grenville House with head teacher Richard Taylor-West
Winners Jasmine Wheeler, Kian Moallemi, Jimmy Treadgold and Elliot Brand from Grenville House with head teacher Richard Taylor-West

The event finally happened more than a week late, under blue skies and sunshine, having been cancelled on Shrove Tuesday due to heavy rain and sodden grounds.

This long-running and much-anticipated inter-house competition was introduced in 1973 by then headmaster Cannon D.H. Booth, who borrowed the idea from a similar tradition at Westminster School.

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Teams of four year-five pupils were chosen to represent each of the school’s four houses. Each team occupied a corner of a marked-out square on the school playing fields and the rest of the school gathered on the sidelines to cheer on their house.

Winners Jasmine Wheeler, Kian Moallemi, Jimmy Treadgold and Elliot Brand from Grenville House with head teacher Richard Taylor-WestWinners Jasmine Wheeler, Kian Moallemi, Jimmy Treadgold and Elliot Brand from Grenville House with head teacher Richard Taylor-West
Winners Jasmine Wheeler, Kian Moallemi, Jimmy Treadgold and Elliot Brand from Grenville House with head teacher Richard Taylor-West

A huge pancake, with an 18in diameter, was tossed into the air by head teacher Richard Taylor-West. As soon as it left the tray, the teams made a mad scramble to pick up the pieces of the pancake and run back to their corners, where they deposited the pieces into a bag.

Mr Taylor-West said: “It was a terrific community moment, in the sparkling February sunshine.

“The houses got behind their teams loudly and Grenville managed to gather in a mighty 1,200grams, winning the day.

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“It was one of these moments when the college gathers, juniors and seniors, to celebrate Lenten traditions and to simply have fun.”

Once the entire pancake had been picked up, Mr Taylor-West did the weigh in, using a Newton spring-balance meter, and the winning team was announced to much cheering from the crowd.

The triumphant winners were Jasmine Wheeler, Kian Moallemi, Jimmy Treadgold and Elliot Brand from Grenville House, who won £20. Nelson was placed second, Raleigh third and Rodney fourth.