The House system is a key part of Beeston, with the four houses which have remained unchanged since the earliest days of the school. Danes, Normans, Romans and Vikings, with their bold colours of green, blue, red and yellow, evoke memories and loyalties for Old Beestonians that last a lifetime. The House system is designed to embody the values and ethos of the school and aims to be an integral part of our community, fostering a spirit of camaraderie and teamwork.
Our aim is to provide children in each house with:
Being a Prefect is sometimes tough but is a rewarding position to hold.
Year 8 Prefect
Throughout the year, children compete in a range of sporting and non-sporting events. In addition to this, the House system promotes hard work and citizenship, with every merit and super merit awarded, contributing to the House scores to win the termly and annual prizes and cups. One of the most popular events is the Lent term House singing competition, where the whole House perform a song in front of the rest of the school and are judged on both musicality and performance. Then there are the termly, often keenly contested House matches where epic battles can take place!
There are leadership and teamwork opportunities for all pupils of all ages within the classroom and in the wider school community. Through the school, opportunities to take responsibility emerge, from saying Grace after Junior lunch (for Year 4) to becoming a prefect, welcoming visitors and showing them the school. We celebrate the leadership skills of our Year 8 children by appointing a Head Boy and Head Girl, as well as prefects, and a range of other captaincies. Attached to each of these is a set of responsibilities and organisational tasks that the children invariably jump to, but also the point of aspiration for the remainder of the school.
The School Council is made up of Form Captains and Vice Captains, and it meets several times each term to discuss the views of the classes, concerns or suggestions. The school menus and our school uniform policy are old regular chestnuts, but the core purpose is to promote ideas about democracy and good listening. Most recently we have voted to ban single use plastic in the school. The popular Green Team is made up of from representatives from Year 3 to Year 8. They are part of the Eco-Schools programme, where pupils are empowered to lead change within the school and have a positive impact in their wider community. The programme encourages pupils of all ages and abilities to work together to develop their knowledge and environmental awareness.
As well as House, Form and Dorm Captains and the roles on the School Council and Green Team, there are many other ways we develop leadership in School, for example library monitors, chapel monitors and contributions to house duties, competing for the all-important Thorpe Cup!
Pupils show a strong and growing awareness of the impact of the choices they make on their own future. They realise that the key to success in their future life is often hard work and practice.
ISI report 2017
