The House System & Tutors
Wolgarston High School’s House system provides a wide range of opportunities for students to participate in social activities, charity work and an ever-increasing number of inter-house competitions. Most of these carry points which, along with achievement points lead to an annual presentation for the winning House.
Wolgarston High School operates a vertical tutoring system with new students being placed in mixed-age tutor groups. These groups consist of students from each of the lower school year groups.
Students remain with their tutor group, usually with the same tutor, throughout their time in the school. Each tutor group is designated to one of our four Houses – Alps, Himalayas, Pyrenees and Rockies.
When assigned to a House in Year 9, students represent that House for the rest of their time at the school and in the community. Each House is supported by a Head of House who lead the team of Tutors and are responsible for the welfare and progress of the students in Years 9 – 11.
The Tutor and the Head of House are responsible for overseeing students’ pastoral wellbeing, behaviour and attendance. They stress the importance of excellent standards and the development of well-rounded individuals and maintain close contact with parents. Please use your child’s tutor as the first point of contact for any issues or questions that you may have.
House Leaders
Alps – Mr Paulauskas
As Head of Alps, I am very proud of our House system and the fantastic group of tutors that we have, particularly in the way that we work together to make every student feel welcome and help them succeed. My best piece of advice for any student at Wolgarston is to get involved. There is no better way to make new friends and feel part of our community than to join clubs, take part in competitions and get stuck into Wolgarston life!
Himalayas – Mrs Dodd
A big warm welcome to the Wolgarston community. As Head of House for Himalayas I can confidently say that all our tutors and indeed myself, will go above and beyond to ensure you all grow into organised, confident, and ambitious students. Everyone needs a dream or a goal to strive for. My little piece of advice to you all would be to ‘do something today that will make you feel proud tomorrow’
Rockies - Mr Ahmed
Welcome to Rockies where our tutors will help you reach new heights! As House Leader with the support of your form tutor, we will ensure you have all the support and guidance you need to be a great success at Wolgarston. I can promise that any challenges or obstacles faced will be tackled together to ensure we see the best version of you. I hope you have a great time at Wolgarston and take part in all the extra-curricular activities on offer as this is a great way in which to broaden your experiences and continue to develop as a young person. As Sir Edmund Hillary famously said, ‘It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.’
Pyrenees - Mr Mason
Pastoral Care
We strongly believe in developing the whole person at Wolgarston. Whilst we are rightly very proud of our academic record, our most important achievement is the well-rounded young citizens who have made and will continue to make a positive contribution to our community and beyond. All staff are committed to helping students achieve this.
Your Form Tutor is the first contact point for most issues and House Leaders will also become involved where needed. In addition, we have the Inclusion Hub which has specialist staff to support with a number of issues and provides mentoring sessions for students in need.
Personal Development
Personal development is enriched at Wolgarston in the form of House Focus. There are weekly tutor sessions that cover more life-skills based topics such as first aid, politics, current affairs, environmental issues, careers, personal finance, charity work to name but a few. Tutors will discuss with students, show short videos and news clips in a bid to develop awareness about the world around us. Students in Year 9 also have a weekly lesson of Personal, Social and Health Education lessons as part of the Key Stage 3 curriculum.
Weekly House assemblies also frequently develop ideas taught in House Focus or encourage discussion of social issues.
The Wolgarston Eco-committee
The Eco-committee is a student-led group whose mission is to improve the environmental impact of the school. The committee is an opportunity for students to make a real difference in the school and their local community and to take a leading role in achieving the internationally recognised Eco-Schools Award. The Eco-Committee is responsible for:
- Ensuring that the whole school is aware of the Eco-Schools programme.
- Carrying out the school’s Environmental Review.
- Ensuring that everyone in the school community is represented in the decision-making process.
- Providing a link between pupils, teachers, senior management team, governors and the whole school community.
- Taking the lead in delivering the Eco-Schools Action Plan, designed to make changes that could benefit students for years to come!
