House System

Family and inclusivity are incredibly important to us at Coleham, as is cooperation, which is one of our Core Values. To help build those relationships amongst all members of our school community, we have a thriving House system that every pupil and member of staff are members of. Only the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher remain outside the Houses so that they can act as impartial judges in competitions.

There are four Houses, chosen by the School Council, these are:

DARWIN

Named after the visionary naturalist and the most famous Salopian

GREYFRIARS
Named after the road the school is on and the local bridge over the river

SEVERN
Named after the river flowing through Shrewsbury

QUARRY
Named after the large park across the river from our school

The children chose these symbols as being iconic to our ‘Creative Curriculum and Coleham Community’ and you will often see our pupils out learning at these historical and geographical locations.

When pupils join our school, they are allocated a House at random, although siblings are placed in the same House. As well as Sports Day, there are a variety of competitions throughout the year where children compete with each other in a friendly, inclusive way. We find that the teamwork across year groups and Key Stages really helps to build a community across the school, and all the children benefit from working with children both older and younger than themselves. It develops confidence, pride in their community, resilience and determination which will help develop our children into fine young people when they leave us. The sense of pride; the friendly rivalry and the loyalty the children display for their Houses is palpable on Sports Days, or whenever House matters are at hand.

In addition to competitions, children can be awarded Dojo points within the Class Dojo app when they have displayed behaviour that matches our Coleham School Values: kindness, friendship, co-operation, honesty, respect, perseverance and ambition. These

points are counted up each week and the House with the most points at the end of each term win the House Cup.

Each House is supported by two Captains from year 6. The Captains are elected by each House in the autumn term and are vital to the school community. They are excellent role-models across the school and help to organise and coordinate many of the House competitions. They also provide leadership, encouragement and guidance to the younger children in their Houses.

Our House system and the sense of community, family and loyalty that it helps to develop is incredibly important to us at Coleham. It’s one of the things that makes Coleham such a happy, special place in which to work and learn together.