From Year 9, all pupils, whether boarding or day, belong to one of 13 Houses. Each House is a physical building where pupils meet, relax, eat endless snacks and form lasting friendships. It is the bedrock of the pastoral care your child receives, a tight-knit community of friends, peers and staff and a place that your child can call their own.
The Benefits of a Boarding Routine
Epsom runs a traditional Boarding School model, with longer days and Saturday school. This allows our pupils the time and space to develop friendships, interests and discover themselves as they move through their teenage years. All our pupils benefit from this system – regardless of whether they are a boarder or a day pupil.
All Houses are structured the same – with Matrons, Housemasters/Housemistresses and their Deputies, plus a team of Tutors. The only difference is that day pupils have study rooms, while boarders have bedrooms.
Around 60% of our pupils are day pupils. The 40% who board are comprised of weekly boarders and full boarders. Full boarders are usually students from overseas, and account for just under 20% of the total student population.
The school day runs from 8.20am to 6pm, and provides a rich and broad mixture of academic lessons, games, co-curricular activities, clubs, societies, Duke of Edinburgh, CCF and charitable service in the community. To make room for everything we provide, we also run Saturday school, with three lessons on Saturday mornings, followed by sporting fixtures in the afternoon.
The Structure
Each House is run by a Housemaster or Housemistress (HMM), assisted by a Deputy HMM, a Matron and a team of tutors. Their role is pastoral in name, but it goes deeper than that. They guide your child through the choppy waters of adolescence; providing support, kindness and the time and space to develop into young people who are confident and assured in who they are and what they stand for.
Day houses have between 70-80 pupils, (slightly fewer in Boarding houses) with 15 or so from each year group. Sixth Form students take leadership roles, mentoring and supporting younger pupils. This ensures strong support networks are formed across year groups, and new pupils integrate quickly and successfully into their House.
Friendly Rivalry
Bonds are strengthened through a packed calendar of inter-house events such as Cross Country, Choral Competitions, numerous sporting competitions and the annual Pancake Race.
The rivalry with other Houses is friendly, but the desire to win is strong. Above all, the events are fun and help pupils to form strong bonds, and develop teamwork and leadership skills, while also teaching them how to win or lose with grace.
Lower School
Our Lower School provides pupils in Years 7 and 8 with the perfect stepping stone between Primary and Prep school and life in Senior School.
Because we carefully curate this ‘soft landing’, pupils who join us in Year 7 begin their time at Epsom in the purpose-built Lower School. This allows us to design a curriculum and pastoral system that is tailored to the unique needs of our youngest pupils.
While they won’t join a physical House, each pupil still becomes a member of one of four Lower School Houses:
As in the Senior School, pupils learn to work and play for their House, competing in sporting events, and earning merits in lessons. All of which prepares them for life in the Senior School when, in Year 9, they join one of the 13 senior Houses.
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