Senior School

Pastoral Care at the Senior School is principally delivered through the House system; however, there is also further support available through the Head of the Senior School–Welfare, the College Counsellor and the Spiritual and Community Outreach Co-ordinator. The school nurse is also often a kindly professional ear, particularly for boarding students.

The houses in the Senior School have three major functions: most importantly to provide a framework for pastoral care, based largely on restorative justice; to allow for participation in inter-house competition in debating, music and sport; and to enable efficient administration of day-to-day matters with students. Most Community Service and Social Service fund-raising activities are also conducted on a house basis.

There are about 80 students in each of the eight houses, consisting of a mixture of boarders and day students. Students are allocated to a house based on academic and sporting ability as well as gender, except when a student belongs to a family that has had a past association with a house.

The Tutorial System is part of the house system whereby students within each house are divided into groups and each group is allocated a member of staff, a ‘Tutor’. The allocation of students to a tutor group is decided by the Head of House in consultation with the house Tutors. Tutorial groups meet for pastoral time three times a week. Tutors keep up to date with the academic progress of each of their tutees, are aware of their socialisation within the school community and are alive to their needs and aspirations. Parents are encouraged to contact either their child’s Head of House or their Tutor for all pastoral matters.

The Tutors report to the Head of House and through him/her to the Head of the Senior School – Welfare.