House System & Form Tutors

All students belong to a house, which is like a family providing support, encouragement and people who know each other well and the house comes together most weeks for an assembly. There are many opportunities to be involved in house activities and competitions, including our annual "House Arts Week" and "School Games Festival"; there are also many chances to win house points which promote pride and a sense of belonging.

We asked the girls to suggest inspirational women as the house icons and they chose three great women: Anne Frank, Helen Keller and Rosa Parks. Here is a little information about each of them:

Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (12 June 1929 – March 1945) is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films. The Frank family moved from Germany to Amsterdam in 1933, the year the Nazis gained control over Germany. By the beginning of 1940, they were trapped in Amsterdam by the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. As persecutions of the Jewish population increased in July 1942, the family went into hiding in the hidden rooms of Anne's father, Otto Frank's, office building. After two years, the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps. Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, were eventually transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in March 1945.

Otto Frank, the only survivor of the family, returned to Amsterdam after the war to find that Anne's diary had been saved, and his efforts led to its publication in 1947. The diary, which was given to Anne on her 13th birthday, chronicles her life from 12 June 1942 until 1 August 1944.

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker. A prolific author, Keller was well-travelled, and was outspoken in her opposition to war. A member of the Socialist Party of America, she campaigned for women's suffrage, workers' rights, and socialism, as well as many other causes.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (Feb 4, 1913 - Oct 24, 2005) was an African- American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement". On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks, age 42, refused to obey bus driver James Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. Parks' civil disobedience had the effect of sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Parks' act of defiance became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement and Parks became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including boycott leader Martin Luther King Jr., helping to launch him to national prominence in the civil rights movement.

Form Tutors

In each house there are forms from each year group. The Form Tutor meets the group every day at registration, knows the girls well and is always available to help if problems arise. The Form Tutor will also see individuals on a regular basis to discuss progress and targets and has the clearest picture of overall progress and academic achievement.

The Form Tutor will, in most cases, be the first point of contact for any parents. Any concerns, problems or particular needs will usually be identified by the Form Tutor, who will liaise closely with senior staff to ensure effective support and help is provided.

Each team of Form Tutors is led by a specialist teacher called a Head of House who is here to oversee support for all parents, carers and students linked with their house. Please do not hesitate to contact one of the Learner Services team if you would like to make contact with a Head of House:

Darren Ashurst – Head of Anne Frank House
Alexa Collier – Head of Helen Keller House 
Sharean McGougan – Head of Rosa Parks House

Form Tutor Programme

More information for 2022-23 will be provided over the coming months.

House Competition

We encourage healthy competition between each House to promote active engagement in a range of different activities and themes. We have a number of House competitions throughout the year, that include:

• Attendance (ongoing throughout the year)
• House Points (ongoing throughout the year)
• Form Challenge (ongoing throughout the year)
• Harvest Collection (October)
• House Arts Competition (November)
• Sports Day (June/July)

We also explore other means of engaging students with enrichment activities and often host additional events throughout the year that contribute towards House competition, such as the Bake Off challenge and engagement with Excellence, Friendship and Respect focus week activities.