Houses
Each pupil is allocated to one of the houses upon entry to the school. In 1981, four new houses (Brecon, Camberwell, Greencoat and Hayes) replaced the previous six (Jephson, Kelly, McDowell, Nairne, Whiteley, Wilson), and in 2002 a fifth, Southwark, was added, when the school became five form entry before the new foundation building was opened in 2005. Stundents in the same year in the same house are in the same form, and have registration, form period and lessons in years 7 and 8 together. Having once faded almost to complete insignificance in the life of the school, there is now renewed interest in putting the houses back at the heart of school life. House points are awarded for academic, sporting and extracurricular success; all members of the staff (including all ancillary staff, though not senior management) are allocated to Houses; all students wear a lapel badge of their house shield. House standards have been created for use on Sports Day; these are now kept on permanent display in the main school hall. The houses are also now used to differentiate who uses the different school canteens: Brecon, Camberwell and Greencoat use the 'South Canteen' while Hayes and Southwark (with also the staff) use the 'North Canteen'.
Greencoat currently has the highest number of house points from golden tickets and certificates due to academic work and is also the strongest house for sport, winning sports day in 2009-11.
There are currently five houses in the school, corresponding to the five forms of entry. They are:
| BRECON takes its name from the Brecon Beacons, originally the venue for the field-study trips taken by the majority of Year 7 students (which was changed in 2008 to Abergavenny due to high maintenance costs) and Geography students. Colour: red. Motto: Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN ("The Red Dragon goes on and on" – the unofficial national motto of Wales). The current Head of House is Mr N Hudson, and House Captain is Neresh Anandakumar | |
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CAMBERWELL This house is named after the school's original location in south-east London; the phoenix refers to the school's rebirth in 1883 and again in 1975. The current head of house is Mrs K Gill (who will be followed by Mr R Fletcher), with House Captain Richard Rose Colour: blue. Motto: VIVAT REDIVIVA ("Live Again Live Forever") |
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| GREENCOAT named after the Greencoat School. The Greencoat Courtyard houses the sculpted figures of two schoolchildren from Greencoat School. Colour: green. The current head of house is Miss N Lambert and the House Captain is Aaron Abrams Motto: VIROR VIRES VIRTUS ("Green our strength and courage") | |
| HAYES takes its name from the school's alumni sports club, the Old Wilsonians' Association, located in Hayes, Kent. Colour: yellow. Motto: OMNIBUS QUISQUE CUIQUE OMNES (" All For One And One For All") The current Head of House is Ms R Atwell and House Captain is Samir Dewan | |
| SOUTHWARK refers to the Church of England's Diocese of Southwark, with which the school has historical links and which has representatives on the school's Board of Governors. The design is taken from a mediaeval ceiling boss in Southwark Cathedral that shows the Devil eating Judas Iscariot. Colour: purple. Motto: MODO MODO INCEPTUM ("We have only just begun")The current Head of House is Mr J Ng with House Captain Lucky Niranjan |
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Famous quotes containing the word houses:
“Trust him to have his bitter politics
Against his unacquaintances the rich
Who sleep in houses of their own, though mortgaged.
Conservatives, they don’t know what to save.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“In America the taint of sectarianism lies broad upon the land. Not content with acknowledging the supremacy as the Diety, and with erecting temples in his honor, where all can bow down with reverence, the pride and vanity of human reason enter into and pollute our worship, and the houses that should be of God and for God, alone, where he is to be honored with submissive faith, are too often merely schools of metaphysical and useless distinctions. The nation is sectarian, rather than Christian.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)
“The cart before the horse is neither beautiful nor useful. Before we can adorn our houses with beautiful objects the walls must be stripped, and our lives must be stripped, and beautiful housekeeping and beautiful living laid for a foundation.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)