“We pride ourselves on the pastoral care our students receive.

Each student is allocated to a tutor group, which meets for fifteen minutes at the start of the day.  Like many schools, our tutor groups are mixed age and are made up of students in Years 7 to 11.  Our students tell us that this helps them to settle; those who come from smaller primaries are used to working with younger and older students anyway.

There are four Houses, named after four famous Elizabethans: Burghley, Galileo, Hardwick and Shakespeare.  Each House is led by a Head of House, who will often be the first point of contact if a parent or carer has any concerns about their child’s welfare or progress.  There are also two Assistant Heads of House who are non-teachers and therefore often able to pick up any immediate concerns there may be.

Where possible, we seek to keep close family members in the same House: this allows parents and carers to forge a good working relationship with one Head of House rather than having to get to know a number of the pastoral team.

There are numerous opportunities for students to contribute to the wider life of the school through both their tutor group and their House.  Positions of responsibility exist at both levels, with the most senior student roles being that of House Captain.  It is from the pool of House Captains that we select the Head Boy and Head Girl each year.

Inter-House competitions strengthen the importance of the House system.  Two major events in the school calendar are the Eisteddfod (a school-wide festival of culture) and Sports Day.  We believe that all students should have the opportunity to take part in these, as both provide a chance to strengthen their sense of belonging and reinforce our key values.

Our House system is augmented by the Pastoral Support Team, whose functions are wide and various.  As non-teachers, they too often have the scope to deal with immediate situations should they occur.”

The Pastoral Team

• Miss Clark (Vice Principal PDBW)

Heads of House

• Mrs Foulds (Hardwick House)
• Mr Ciardulli (Burghley House)
• Mrs Mason (Galileo House)
• Mrs Glaister (Shakespeare House)

Pastoral Support:

• Mr Ciardulli (Pastoral Manager)
• Ms Dunk (Senior Midday Supervisor & Patrol Duty)