Old Alleynians - Houses - Day Houses

Day Houses

All boys are members of one of eight day houses or Athletic Houses as they were originally known. The Houses were the brainchild of W.D. ('Scottie') Gibbon, an assistant master and rugby coach. The idea was decided upon in 1919 and in the school magazine, The Alleynian, of March 1920 the process was described. The division would be into six houses to be named after distinguished Englishmen of the Elizabethan period (see table below). The name of Shakespeare was omitted as being considered pre-eminent. Upon their original creation Boarders and Day Boys were divided thus: Grenville included Blew House, Marlowe included The Orchard, Spenser included Elm Lawn, Sidney included Ivyholme and two entirely Day-boy houses were created: Drake and Raleigh. The table below displays all the houses and their respective colours:

The athletic houses were created to improve the standard of games at the college, which had deteriorated during the First World War. Before the creation of these houses, the most keenly anticipated matches were the Boarders vs Day-Boys or the Prefects vs The Rest of the School. The Athletic Houses produced, and still produce, Big Sides and Little Sides for competition. Big Sides are Houses teams that include players who also represent the school and Little are House sides that do not include school sporting representatives. A boy's house is decided randomly or through family connection where possible. The houses continue to compete in sporting and cultural competitions (such as music, drama, chess and debating). The Cock House Shield or Cup are presented to the leading House at the end of the school year taking into account all competitions.

• House colours

House colours are awarded by the Day House Masters and differ in form depending on the age of the boy:

• • Lower and Junior Schools: House Colours Badge – in the Junior School this is simply a round badge with a monogram of the first letter of the house (save Spenser where a "P" is used); for the Lower School the badge displays the colours as depicted in the above table.
  • Middle School: House Colours tie – Colours as displayed on the above table are arranged in a striped pattern running diagonally upward from left to right on a grey background. The stripe consists of the main colour (that which is not Black or White) being in the middle with edges of the secondary colour (either Black or White). In the case of Marlowe House the main colour is White.
  • Upper School: House Colours tie – As for Middle School except:
    • (1) the background colour of the tie is Royal Blue;
    • (2) The stripe runs in the opposite direction for Drake House and Spenser House;
    • (3) The Main Colour and secondary colour are reversed for Sidney House and Spenser House (Red of Sidney House forms the edges of the stripe, with the Black in the centre, Royal Blue of Spenser forms the edges of the stripe with White at the centre);
    • (4) Spenser House tie background is slightly darker than the other Houses (due to the House colour being the same as the general background for the Upper School House Colours tie).