Oundle School
Houses
The House system is at the heart of life at Oundle. It is in the community of the House that most pupils find the confidence and sense of purpose that lead to fulfilment in the larger community of the School.
Leading the pastoral care within the House is a Housemaster or Housemistress, resident in Boarding Houses, supported by a deputy Housemaster or Housemistress. A team of visiting tutors share both the responsibility for daily duties, and most importantly the individual care of the pupils in that House.
Oundle has a day house - Laxton; a junior boarding House, the Berrystead; and thirteen senior boarding Houses - eight for boys and five for girls.
Laxton currently caters for 244 day pupils from 11 to 18 years of age, and
is situated at the heart of the School, using buildings which were part of
the original Grammar School foundation of Sir William Laxton. A range of studies,
year-group common rooms, and changing facilities are situated within the House,
and members Laxton sit down for lunch each day in their own refectory. The
Cloisters provide sheltered space to gather and for registration, and the
Laxton Long Room is an important venue for assemblies, receptions and concerts.
The Berrystead houses around 40 boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 13. It is a smaller, mixed, junior House, in which 11-plus boarding entrants will spend their first two years, before they move on to a senior House.
The senior boarding Houses are specifically designed to have accommodation for approximately 60 pupils, or roughly twelve pupils in each year group. The accommodation varies between Houses, with some pupils in bedsits in their first year; whereas others may share small dormitories and work in separate studies. All sixth formers are in bedsits, and all Upper Sixth formers are in single bedsits. Each boarding House has common recreation areas, a library, TV room, computer room and kitchens for pupil use. In addition, all Houses have their own dining room where the members of the House sit down together for breakfast, lunch and supper. All boarding Houses have a full-time resident matron, who manages the domestic affairs of the House and provides first hand care and attention for those aches and pains.
The Houses are scattered throughout the town, and each retain their own individuality, whether fashioned by the Housemaster or Housemistress, its pupils, its architecture or location, whilst adhering to the philosophy of the School.