House and Tutor System

Students are allocated a tutor group within one of the 5 Houses: Ashley, Budbury, Conigre, Huntingdon, Westfield and would usually stay in this group until they leave the school. Siblings are allocated to the same House to ensure good links between school and home and in particular, strong communication between the tutor, Head of House, Assistant Head of House and parents. The tutor is a key person in our student’s school life. They should be the first port of call for any questions or queries.

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Within each House, there are ten vertical tutor groups. This means that there is a mixture of Year 7 through to Year 13 students within every tutor group which helps to create a supportive and caring ethos with lots of opportunities for personal development through leadership and mentoring opportunities. In a large school like St Laurence, the house system forms a family within a family and creates a sense of belonging.

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Students have daily contact with their tutor between 08:35 and 9:05am and follow a weekly programme of activities, some of which are linked through a particular theme or topic, or PSHE content or which has relevance to the school calendar.

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This programme captures the distinctive ethos of St Laurence and includes:

• Collective Worship in the Wiltshire Music Centre which provides students with the opportunity to gather in an atmosphere of stillness and to reflect upon the deeper, spiritual side of life through an understanding of “Christian values”.

• House Briefings in Trinity Hall with input led by Heads of House, students and staff and themes linked to the wider tutorial programme.

• Tutorial activities with a focus on:

• Collective activities with a spiritual, moral, social and cultural focus e.g. House charities, current affairs, House and School Council projects, St Laurence Reads (all students read the same book and explore key issues and themes together), inter house competitions inc the weekly interhouse quiz.

• Year group specific activities such as preparation for exams, special events and other personal development activities.

 

There are many other ways in which students receive support and guidance at St Laurence. Please see the wellbeing page for further information.