The House System

The House system helps to draw out the best from each boy through motivation and competition. Boys are placed arbitrarily in one of the four houses on entering the school– Cooper, Jenkins, McArthur or Wood – which compete with each other in a wide variety of activities, and boys quickly develop a loyalty to their house. He can contribute to its success not only by his work, games and the arts but also by his general good behaviour and helpfulness around the school. Staff are attached to houses, and boys in their tutor group come from the same house.

This is a page from the Jenkins House book dated January 1st 1935. The text is copied below it.

 

The House system was started at Caldicott in the summer term of 1928 when Mr Nicolson became House Master of McArthur house, and Mr Walden House Master of Jenkins house. A cup was presented by Miss Ingram to be competed for annually by the two Houses. The House colours were: Jenkins House Cerise; McArthur House Green. McArthur House won the cup in 1928. In September 1928, Mr Cooper became Housemaster of Jenkins, Mr Walden having left to go abroad. In this year Jenkins House narrowly won the House Cup, the result being in the balance right up to the last event of the swimming sports at the end of the summer term. In the year 1929-1930 the cup went to McArthur House, but in the following year (1930-1931) the position was again reversed, Jenkins winning after a hard struggle. During this year a new system of points in the House Competition was started, and work, conduct, neatness, all games and the sports now count towards the House Competition.