Ightham
History of Ightham:
The House was created in 2005 and was the smallest House with one form entry.
When Mrs Kleywegt started at DGGS in 2009, she was the tutor of 11I, who called themselves “the Originals “ as they were the first Year 7 to be called 7I”
Ightham is named after a renovated romantic moated manor house in Kent near Sevenoaks called Ightham Mote.
Built nearly 700 years ago, this house has seen many changes and been owned by Medieval knights, courtiers to Henry VIII and high society Victorians. Highlights include the picturesque courtyard, Great Hall, crypt, Tudor painted ceiling, Grade I listed dog kennel and the private apartments of Charles Henry Robinson, who gave Ightham Mote to the National Trust in 1985.
The house is surrounded by peaceful gardens with an orchard, water features, lakes and woodland walks.
Venture onto the Ightham Mote estate on one of the three estate walks, which offer unique views across the Kent countryside and stunning displays of flora and fauna. There is the renowned ancient bluebell woodland in spring at Scathes Wood, wildflowers in the summer, autumn colours and the crisp days of winter to come back and enjoy. Hoppers' huts and the source of the water spring that feeds the moat at Ightham Mote would also be worth discovering.
Saved from demolition by an America, Mr C.H. Robinson and passed to the National Trust on is death, this house has undergone massive restoration in recent years. Built in 1340 by Sir Thomas Cawne, it has been added to by subsequent owners. Moated and beamed, it has Jacobean, Tudor and Victorian features which show that it has been in almost continuous occupation. ‘Mote’ comes from the ‘moot’ or meeting place of the local council who used to gather in the most prosperous house in the neighbourhood during the Middle Ages. It is said that Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers, intent on destroying Ightham as a Royalist stronghold, got lost in the deep wooded valleys of the Weald and ransacked another house instead – another very fortunate escape for one of Kent’s most beautiful early moated English manor houses.
House Colour: Orange
What is the meaning of the colour orange?
Orange is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. To the human eye, orange is a very hot colour, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red.
Orange represents us as it shows our bright, vibrant personality and enthusiasm which is represented through the years. The link to Tiger highlights our energetic nature which is part of what makes Ightham so special.
Your Ightham House Team for 2022-2023:
| House Captain | Tianna 13A |
| Deputy House Captain | Folabomi 13G |
| Deputy House Captain | Stephanie 13G |
| Senior House Prefect | Molly 13A |
House motto
"Personal achievement comes from bouncing back - Believe in bouncing back"
Our Charity event
For Ightham’s charity event we decided to have a bake sale and also non-school uniform for the members of Ightham. We had the bake sale take place during break and lunch. The non-school uniform was split over two days. The first day was for years 7, 8 and 9. The day after was for years 10, 11 and the sixth form. We also had me dress up as tigger (our house mascot). In total, we raised £385 for Princess Trust.
Our new charity that we will be supporting is Action for stammering children.
This is a personal charity for us as they helped one of Ightham’s members. Sean Ryan in year 12 used to find it impossible to speak as a young child but this charity helped him overcome his stammer and build his confidence and that is why we will be supporting them as a house. The Ightham house in DGGS has an amazing history of bouncing back from an adversary. Our house mascot, Tigger, reflects our values as a house and our ability to bounce back from any setbacks. We are the newest house in DGGS but this doesn't stop us from trying our best in every competition. I hope the new Ightham year 7s have settled in nicely into DGGS. I hope every member of Ightham keeps on supporting and respecting one another.
House Mascot: Tigger
Tigger is a fictional tiger character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals. Nowadays he is most widely recognized as reinterpreted by the Disney studios, with distinctive orange and black stripes, large eyes, a long chin, a springy tail, and (the one detail originating from A. A. Milne) his love of bouncing. As he says himself, "Bouncing is what Tiggers do best."
The message we can take from Tigger is that he has bounceability!
Bounce = Rebound, Leap, Spring Jump
Ability = Capacity or power to do something, talent, aptitude or competence
This is what IGHTHAM HOUSE is all about…..BOUNCEABILITY!
What we stand for?
"Bouncing back no matter what"
Being an IGHTHAM HOUSE MEMBER is all about being able to bounce back. It's having the resilience to try again or take a different route to achieving a goal. It's recognising when something isn't working and having the courage to make a change.
Year 7 House Visit
On Wednesday 19 September our form went to Ightham Mote, this was to learn the history of our house and for our form to get to know one another. It took 30 minutes to get there by coach and when we arrived; our whole class had lunch together.
Once lunch was over, we were taken to look around the grounds where there was a spectacular, sparkling waterfall and a gleaming pond with water lilies dotted on the surface.
We were then escorted through a vast, wooden oak door and into the house. In the house there were antique and decayed mirrors. The windows were designed with a lattice decoration which showed it was from the Tudor times. We later discovered that all the portraits inside the house were from many different eras. We observed the distinctive faces of architects carved into wooden pieces all around the house. Our form then caught a glimpse of Chinese pottery and wallpapers.
It was nice to see how people lived years ago and to imagine what it would have been like in tudor times. It was a lovely place and we all had an enjoyable first school trip.
On Tuesday 21September, our form went on a trip to our House (Ightham Mote), a manor house which is around 30 minute’s drive away from school. Going there gave us the perfect opportunity to get to know each other better.
Once we arrived, we took a walk around the manor house. We saw many things from an ancient dog kennel to paintings that amplified the history of the house. We were in awe of the different styles of furniture and how it was so unique compared to the furniture most of us would have nowadays. I think we learned a lot from this trip as we added to our knowledge on the origins of the house.
We then went into the gardens and took some photos whilst playing games and running around energetically, or whilst sitting and sharing stories with our friends. We also had the opportunity to go to the gift shop and buy interesting items; the most popular one being the friendship bracelets that will be reminders of our time together with our friends as a form.
We had a successful trip, and I particularly enjoyed getting to know my form better. We had fun exploring the house as a team. I feel like the house is a good symbol for us as it is brave and strong and has stood throughout history. It also represents the uniqueness of the houses within the DGGS House System, which is like the uniqueness of each student.
Fajr 7I
