Chigwell School - Senior House System

Senior House System

The senior school is primarily built around the four day houses. All students and most teachers are in one of the four houses. Each house will have a Housemaster/mistress with different year groups organised split into form groups tutors arranged from the teachers assigned to the House. Each House has a main common room, with most Houses having a separate Sixth Form room. Penn's and Swallow's have several separate rooms. Pupils will attend Call Over in their House's main common room every morning, and will sit in Chapel, Church and School Assemblies in their House groups. Each House has a budget, which usually is spent on things such as entertainment (e.g. pool tables), maintenance (e.g. mending damaged furniture) and House Music (coordinated costumes).

Furthermore, pupils wear ties which note their House and age group. The senior school tie has a black background with diagonal stripes of the House's colour. In the senior school these diagonal stripes are thick but become thinner in the Sixth Form, and for House Prefects (in the Middle Sixth) are thin lines on a black background.

There are many inter-house competitions throughout the year, such as inter-house football, cross-country and debating. These competitions culminate in the presentation of two trophies at the end of each academic year to the house that has won the most sporting and academic competitions. However, the House system is not inflexible. During breaks and lunch, pupils will frequently spend their time in other Houses. Groups inside years will often socialise in a particular place in a particular House.