The House Structure
The pastoral system is designed around four Houses which each have approximately 245 boys.
All rewards and competitive activity are initiated through the House structure. Sanctions, monitoring and target setting are also activated through the four Houses.
• Aquinas (Blue): House Leader - Mr Rush
• Augustine (Green): House Leader - Mr Aspinwall
• Ignatius (Red): House Leader - Mrs Davies
• Newman (Yellow): House Leader - Mr Krause
Any Sixth Former that has already attended the College will remain in the same House upon entering the Sixth Form. Successful external applicants will be placed into a House upon entering the Sixth Form.
There are eight Tutor Groups in the Sixth Form which meet at the beginning of each day from 9:00 - 9:30. These have been structured so that Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth boys are equally mixed across the eight groups. This strengthens a sense of community and increases collaboration with regard to applying to and preparing for university. Priority has been given to the Sixth Form so that all the ICT suites within the College are used as Tutor bases.
Each Tutor Group has an equal number of boys representing each House. House Assemblies take place on Monday (Aquinas), Tuesday (Augustine), Thursday (Ignatius) and Friday (Newman) during House Period (9:00 –9:30) so a different quarter of the Tutor Group attends the assembly on each of these days. All Year groups within the College are present at each House Assembly.
Wednesday House Period provides a unique opportunity for all Sixth Formers to demonstrate leadership qualities through their integration into the House Groups in the rest of the College. A rota is published and Sixth Formers actually take the House Period with their younger contemporaries. They support the Catholic ethos by starting the session with a Gospel reading before explaining its meaning. They are then required to deliver a 5 – 10 minute presentation on any topic of their choice and teach the younger students. In an increasingly competitive globa employment market, this opportunity to refine their presentational skills is invaluable. A key benefit of this system is that it also allows the Sixth Form Tutors to plan individual meetings with their tutees during House Period each
Wednesday. An individual’s progress and performance is discussed and appropriate targets are established and then monitored by the Tutor.
Sixth Formers are supported by their Tutor, House Leader and Assistant Head Master, Mr McGrath, who has overall responsibility for the Sixth Form.
Sixth Form Leadership Opportunities
At the end of the Lower Sixth, teachers are invited to indicate their preferences for Head Boy, Deputy Head Boy and Prefects. The successful nominations for the most important positions are interviewed by the Head Master and the two most senior posts, Head Boy and Deputy Head Boy are then appointed. From staff preferences, six Prefects for each House are announced.
House Captains and House Vice-Captains are elected by their peers. Lower Sixth boys who wish to be considered are invited to write a letter of application to the Head Master. Individuals are then required to deliver a speech in their respective House Assemblies to the rest of their House. The whole House listen to each speech before voting for their House Captain and House Vice-Captain for the next twelve months.
The Sixth Form Leaders meet regularly with the Head Master to discuss both Sixth Form issues and the programme of competitive activities for the rest of the College to participate in which the House Captains plan and lead. They also form a very important part of the School Council, listening to the views of their younger peers before reporting their findings to members of the Senior Leadership Team.