The House System
Respect, Responsibility, Relationships: These are our the core values, and they provide the foundation upon which our House System operates.
Through the House System, we serve our school community to:
- encouraging healthy competition
- value participation
- providing opportunity for personal growth and leadership, and
- extend our beliefs to support those less fortunate than ourselves.
Anderson, Hawking, Lytton, Mandella.
The Houses are named after persons of note of any Nationality, no longer alive, who embody the Core Qualities of Ridgeway Academy: Respect, Responsibility, Relationships. All House members are expected to know the Legend of their House.
At Ridgeway Academy, our houses have a vertical structure, with students from Years 7 to 13 in each House, along with school staff. Tutor groups will have mixed houses, and students will be assigned to a House when they enter the school. In most cases, siblings will belong to the same House. House Assemblies also take place during each half-term.
Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain and was the founder of the country’s first hospital for women.
Head of House: Dr B Hercus
Hawking
Stephen Hawking was the noted physicist who contributed deeply to our understanding of the physical world and space, and worked despite suffering from Motor Neurone Disease.
Head of House: Miss C Digweed
Lytton
Constance Lytton was the suffragette, writer and speaker who campaigned for prison reform and women’s rights under an alias to avoid special treatment due to her family connections.
Head of House: Mr K Amstutz
Mandela
Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa, who after being imprisoned for thirty years, was freed and led a multi-ethnic government to bring an end to apartheid.
Head of House: Mrs C Jackson
Student leadership.
Each House is led by a member of staff, assisted by House Captains selected from Year 10, following an application process. The Sixth form supports them as mentors. The House Leadership Team meet approximately once a half-term.
All students will have the opportunity to lead, with each form having a representative for each House. Any decisions or ideas will then be fed to House Captains and the Head of House for further discussion. Students also have the opportunity to contribute to our Character Magazine as a means to reflect and to advertise upcoming events.
Student participation and House Points
Students will earn points for their House through;
- Participation in school activities – ranging from clubs to Open Evening.
- Achieving Bronze, Silver and Gold Certificates from the Ridgeway Academy Character Offer.
- Placing in competitions.
- Attendance and merits.
- Out of school events that reflect positively on the student and/or school.
Consequences are not linked to the House Point system.
