King Edward VI Five Ways School
Scotland Lane, Bartley Green,
Birmingham, B32 4BT
Tel: 0121 475 3535
House system
Vision and aims
The vision for the house system is to provide fun, engaging activities for students and staff, which enrich the curriculum and enable students to gain new skills, confidence and friendships across the school. This is something we want students to develop during their time at KEFW and take into their adult lives; looking back with a sense of pride and belonging at being part of their house.
Over the course of the academic year we aim:
- To provide each student with the opportunity to participate in a diverse range of House Competitions.
- To help students develop the character virtues of leadership, courage, community spirit, emotional intelligence, creativity, performance and scholarship.
- To enable students to foster a sense of belonging and make a positive contribution to our community.
The Current House System
The House system originally began in the 1880s and took the names of the four members of staff who ran them. This House system existed until the early 1970s.
In the 1990s the House system was reintroduced and took the names of the first four Heads:
- MacCarthy (1883-1916)
- Barker (1916-1933)
- Dobinson (1933-1946)
- Roach (1946-1951)
All Houses are led by a Head of House and all staff, teaching and associate, are attached to one of the Houses. The aim of the House system is to generate interest and involvement of the whole school community across a range of activities, but on a vertical grouping so that various ages may mix more readily. It also offers an opportunity for far more pupils to be involved beyond the key school teams. Support from staff is important and all staff are attached to a House. House Captains also lead on events during each term, under the direction of the School Captain for House.
Student Leadership
Each house has two House Captains from Year 13 who go through an application and selection process in order to be successfully appointed, led and organised by the School Captain for House. These students support staff to select teams and encourage students to participate in activities. They also support the hosting of House events by setting up equipment, keeping score, timekeeping and officiating where appropriate.
Two students from each year group are chosen as ‘House Managers’ to support the selection of teams within their year group. They also act as leaders during the competitions, ensuring full participation, as well as challenging and motivating their peers to achieve their potential.
House Competitions
To encourage a range of House Competitions that provide a diverse range of opportunities for students, we categorise the events into six areas, led by the Heads of House and House Captains, and supported by staff and departments across the school. We aim to have at least one event from each category each half-term, proving over 36 events across the year for students to participate in
- Team Sports:
- One team sport each half-term to encourage friendly competition in school
- Individual Sports:
- To promote and champion individual performers and help foster the development of those who may not participate in team events.
- Creative:
- Non-sporting activities to help promote creative endeavours and widen participation in House events.
- Community Spirit:
- Fun events to help foster belonging and new friendships, building community cohesion both within and across year groups.
- Performance:
- To allow the expression of individuals beyond the curriculum and create opportunities to develop skills in front of an audience.
- Scholarship:
- We encourage each department to contribute one event over the year that can be awarded House points.