When students join Westcliff in Year 7 and the Sixth Form they are placed into 1 of 4 Houses – Harrier, Kestrel, Merlin and Osprey.

Placing students in Houses enables inter-school competition at all levels as well as creating a sense of belonging. At the end of the year, the points gained during house competitions are totalled up and the winning House receives the Phoenix Cup.

THE HOUSE SYSTEM

Message from the Senior Head of House and House System Coordinator, Mr Barber:

I am the Senior Head of House, House System Coordinator, and a Head of Department at WHSB. This is an amazing school to work in and the students are fantastic. I am very proud to be the House Coordinator and strongly feel that the House System is very important. A priority of mine is to promote the full and active engagement of pupils in the House System and to motivate individuals so that they take advantage of the numerous extracurricular opportunities available at the School. This is so that the pupils become well-rounded and broadminded individuals ready to face the challenges of the 21st Century.

The House System has continued to go from strength to strength and it is an honour to serve as Senior Head of House with responsibility for coordinating the House System as a whole. I have been a House Leader at WHSB for over a decade.

Recently, our emphasis has been on developing new House activities and broadening participation in the Sixth Form. New events have included among others House: Poetry, Lord of the Rings, Magic the Gathering, War Hammer, Bake-Off, Christmas Cards, Star Wars, Sports Quiz, Combined Sciences, Algorithms, Cartography, Harry Potter, and Improvisational Theatre ‘improv’.

More well-established events have also taken place such as House: Spelling, General Knowledge, Current Affairs, Music, Badminton, Rugby and Business.

I would like to thank the House Captains, Vice-Captains, Year Representatives and all the students that have got involved to help make the House System a success.

Upcoming events taking place will include:

House Countdown

House ‘Keepy-Uppy’ -football challenge.

House Mario Cart.

House Rocket League.

House Online Chess.

House Chinese New Year Report.

House Capital Cities.

House Robert Burns Research Project.

House Year 7 Mission to Mars Habitat Challenge.

House Design and Create a Species.

House Spanish/Languages.

House General Knowledge.

Please see electronic communications and listen to announcements in registration for more details.

If you have any ideas about any new House events or would like to assist with organising an activity, then please do not hesitate in contacting me.

When students are not in School physically, a wide range of remote opportunities are available, so that they can engage with the House System virtually.  Some of these events are hybrid events where students can engage both virtually and physically.  Here are some recent examples below:

House Festivals and Culture Bonfire Night Celebrations Report, House Remembrance Poetry, House Christmas Cards, House Christmas Quiz, House Treasure Maps, House Creative Writing Key Stage 3, House German Crossword, House Rocket League, House Mario Cart, House Halloween, House Festivals and Culture Diwali, House Chemistry Mastermind, House Super Smash Bros and House Christmas Bake-Off. House Camping, House VE Day Challenge, House Cooking, House Countdown, House Zoo Virtual Fieldtrip, House Ditloids, House Computer Games, House Gardening, PSHEE House Butterfly Survey, PSHEE House Housework, Natural History Museum Virtual Fieldtrip Report, House Find the Connections Competitions, House PSHEE Photographic Competition, WHSB Knowledge of the School House Quiz, House Motorsport, House Typing and House Impossible.

Remember, it is all about getting involved, trying new things, and most importantly having fun!

HOUSE CAPTAINS

Each House has 1 house representative from each year, alongside 1 House captain and 2 Vice-Captains from the Sixth Form.

YEAR REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• To organise and select teams for their year group's competitions.  
• To ensure all team members know when they are competing. 
• To ensure fairness and equal opportunity for all. 

VI FORM CAPTAINS' AND VICE CAPTAINS' RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To display team lists on the House notice boards. 
• To meet with the House coordinator to plan each term's competitions. 
• To lead House assemblies with staff support. 
• To provide officials to support the running of competitions. 
• To provide inspiration and motivation to all pupils in their House. 
• To oversee and support the Year Group Representatives. 
• To provide information for their Year Group Representatives. 
• To ensure the House notice boards are informative and well maintained.
• To receive trophies at the end of term assemblies

EPRAISE

ePraise allows staff to award House Points to Years 7-11 pupils electronically. This can be viewed by the students and parents.