Equipes

The word Equipe is French for ‘team’ and each student will be placed into one of the four Equipes. The Equipes give the students a community and sense of identity within the College and they allow their endeavours to be rewarded with points towards The Vine Cup, our overall Equipe championship.

The Vine Cup is named after the founder of the Equipes, Mr E Vine, and is awarded to the Equipe with the most points at the end of each academic year. As such, it represents the hard work and dedication of all students throughout the entire year and is the ultimate prize across the College. Every other Equipe competition contributes points to the overall standings in the Vine Cup. These were initially only sports based competitions, but have been complemented by many other types, including commendations, a quiz, and artistic competitions such as performing arts, songwriting, photography, and design.

The old trophy was replaced with a larger one in 2015 in response to the increasing importance of the Equipes at Hockerill. After leading Brunel for eight years, Mr G Dinwiddy was appointed Head of Equipes in 2021 with each Equipe now led by a pair of Sixth Formers: a Head and Deputy Head of Equipe.

As part of these changes and to better reflect the diverse community we live and work in, the names of the Equipes were renamed in 2021 to: Bader Ginsburg, Mandela, Seacole, Seacole, and Turing.

Bader Ginsburg

“Speak Your Mind”

Originally named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this Equipe was renamed after Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. After the longest wait without a Vine Cup win, they have now won four times in six years.

 

Bader Ginsburg’s colour is pale blue and the logo shows RBG, as she has become to be called by some, on the staircase of the Supreme Court.

 

Head of Bader Ginsburg: Jess Dixon

Deputy Head of Bader Ginsburg: Roisin Overend

 

Vine Cup wins: 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021

Mandela

“Impossible Until it’s Done”

As Da Vinci this Equipe previously won the Vine Cup three times in four years. Now named after former South African President Nelson Mandela, its students are keen to bring back the winning times.

Mandela Equipe’s colour is red and the logo shows Cape Town and Table Mountain as seen from Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in 1964.

 

Head of Mandela: Abbie Younger

Deputy Head of Mandela: Natalia Asemota-Lopez

 

Vine Cup wins: 2002, 2009, 2011, 2012

 

Seacole

“Equality Elevates”

Now named after Jamaican-British nurse and business woman Mary Seacole, who came to prominence during the Crimean War, Seacole Equipe was previously called Goethe.

 

Seacole’s colour is green and the logo is based on contemporary sketches of the British Hotel in Crimea that Mary Seacole ran during the Crimean War.

 

Head of Seacole: Callum Abouharb

Deputy Head of Seacole: Olivia Glover

 

Vine Cup wins: 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2018

 

Turing

“Imagine Anything”

The most successful Equipe by number of Vine Cup wins, having won five of the first six years of the competition, Turing was originally called Pascal. Turing is now named after Alan Turing who worked at Bletchley Park during World War Two and whose work on artificial intelligence helped develop computer science as we know it today.

Turing’s colour is white and its logo depicts Bombe, the machine that decoded Enigma, complete with the coloured bands that encircled each drum.

 

Head of Turing: Charity Rymer

Deputy Head of Turing: Sofia Martinelli

 

Vine Cup wins: 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2017

 

Winners of the Vine Cup

2000-01   Pascal

2001-02   Da Vinci

2002-03   Pascal

2003-04   Pascal

2004-05   Pascal

2005-06   Pascal

2006-07   Goethe

2007-08   Goethe

2008-09   Da Vinci

2009-10   Pascal

2010-11   Da Vinci

2011-12   Da Vinci

2012-13   Goethe

2013-14   Goethe

2014-15   Pascal

2015-16   Brunel

2016-17   Pascal

2017-18   Goethe

2018-19   Brunel

2019-20   Brunel

2020-21   Brunel

2021-22  Seacole

2022-23  Mandela