History of the Houses Who were the individuals behind the House names and what was their connection to the School? School Historian and Archivist, Dr David Bird, shares some insight into the origins and men behind the Houses. Today, there are eight Houses and, in the Senior School, each House is made up, on average, of 85 boys from Years 9-12. Tutors and respective Heads of House are responsible for the ongoing pastoral care of each student within the House. Outside the classroom, the life of the School community is very largely exercised through this House System. Not only do Houses organise sporting, cultural and charitable activities, such as the much-loved House Music Competition and ubercompetitive House Athletics, but they attempt to achieve the basic ideals of the School, which is the close co-operation between all its members and the care for each individual in their total education.
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Headmaster Alfred Hall, ‘the Old Boss’, presided over the introduction of a House system in 1924, with the original four Houses, Cresswell, Macrow, Maxwell, and Browne, and Camberwell Grammar’s pastoral care system has been based around the operation of the House and Tutor system ever since. To the regret of the retired Alfred Hall, the Council of the newly-sited School saw fit in 1935 to rename three of the Houses, replacing Hall’s original titles with those of two Council members and one other associated family (Macneil, Robinson and Summons) who were key members in the transition of the School between 1926-27.
