Upper House Handbook 22/23

2022/2023

Information For Parents And Guardians

Welcome to Upper House

Upper House will be your son’s base at Kingswood. It is where Registration, House Assemblies and other events take place and somewhere the boys can return to during break and lunchtimes.

Upper is well known for its friendly and welcoming atmosphere. It is where boys can store their personal belongings, relax with friends and also do their prep. I hope that your son enjoys his time in the House and considers himself to be part of Upper long after he has left Kingswood.

Upper House dates back to 1895 and derives its name from the old dormitory block where the three houses, Lower, Middle and Upper, were to be found. Upper House was based on the top floor where the New Exam Hall is now located. Upper is now located in the main school, at lower ground level, in the space that used to be called the Piazza. The Day House has just over 100 boys from Year 9 to Upper Sixth and a team of 10 tutors. Upper is paired with the girls’ School House for events and for House Entertainment.

Aims of the House Handbook

The aim of this handbook is to clarify the arrangements relevant to your son as a member of Upper House. It is not intended to replace the other school publications which you will receive.

All parents should receive a copy of the Kingswood ‘Pupil and Parent Handbook’ which contains essential information on all aspects of school organisation, rules, dress codes, etc. If you have not received a copy, please contact the School Office.

Please do get in touch with me if you would like more information or explanation.

Mr James Brown

Contacts

Official House address: Upper House Kingswood School

Lansdown Road

Bath

BA1 5RG

Upper House Mobile: 07914 286251

Upper Office: 01225 734427

Senior Houseparent, Upper House: Mr James Brown (jbrown@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

I will be starting my tenure as Senior Houseparent in September 2022 and will be responsible for the running of the House. I have been at Kingswood since 2009 and will have met many of you at weekend fixtures and other similar events in my other role as Head of Boys’ Games. Mr Barney Stuttard, Teacher of Geography, is Deputy Houseparent and between us we oversee the House during the day.

I am available at any time between 7.30am and 7pm and at any time in an emergency. If you are unable to contact me during the day, messages can be given to the School Office and there is a message service on the Upper Office phone.

Mr James Brown (Senior Houseparent)

House Staff

Upper Tutor Team

The Upper Tutor Team is completed by:

Mr Stephen Brown Head of Art (sbrown@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

Mr Dan Darwin Head of History and Politics (ddarwin@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

Mr Oliver East Teacher of Design Technology (oeast@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

Mr James Hills

Teacher of Business Studies & Economics (jhills.@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

Mr Jamie Matthews Deputy Head (Pastoral) (jmatthews@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

Mr Pete MacDonald

Assistant Head (Academic) (pmacdonald@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

Miss Amy Murtagh

Teacher of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (amurtagh@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

Mr Adrian Cottle Teacher of Computer Science (acottle@kingswood.bath.sch.uk)

We have a very experienced and attentive team of tutors in Upper. As a tutor team, we supervise the academic progress, extra-curricular involvements and general pastoral needs of all of the boys in the House In the first instance, your son’s tutor is the main point of contact, and I would ask you to contact them directly by email. For issues of routine and registration, such as absences and requests for early departure, please contact me, James Brown. For all other matters I am very happy to be involved alongside, or in addition to, the relevant tutor.

Each Tutor has responsibility for up to 14 boys and they will email parents early in the Autumn Term to introduce themselves and to establish lines of contact.

Upper Prefects

Head of Upper House: Rory B

1. The Head of House is the Senior House Prefect. As such, he should set an outstanding example to the other Prefects and to the House in general in his conduct, dress and dedication to the good of the House.

2. The Head of House is responsible to the Houseparent for the good order of the House, and it is his duty to see that anything untoward is brought to the attention of the Houseparent

3. He draws up rotas for the duty Prefects covering the House and allocates jobs when the House is on main school duty, in liaison with the Head of School House.

4. He attends meetings of the School PR and aims to represent the views of the House.

5. Chairs School Council on rotation with other Heads of Houses.

6. He liaises with the Head of School House to arrange events.

7. He assigns captains of Upper House teams, in liaison with the Houseparent.

8. He acts as head of his Dixon corridor and affords as much assistance as he can to Dixon Staff.

9. Decides on the House charity with Houseparent and organises any associated events or assemblies

10. Organises House assemblies for main school when required.

11. Organises House Music with Deputy Head of House

12. Spends significant time in Upper House getting to know all of the pupils in the House.

Deputy Head of Upper House: Elliot E

The Deputy Head of House supports the work of the Head of House and deputises for him when necessary.

Upper Senior Prefects: Rory M

Hari M

Magnus S

Kingswood Head Boy: This year, the Head Boy is Upper’s Louis R

House Routines and Rules

House Routine

If your son is absent owing to illness or other circumstances, please email registration registration@kingswood.bath.sch.uk with a copy to me jbrown@kingswood.bath.sch.uk and your son’s tutor. You could also call the main school office on 01225 734200 as soon as possible.

The School is required to keep detailed and accurate registers and documentary evidence is required from parents to cover every period of absence. Registration takes place at 8.25am every morning and your help and co-operation are appreciated in ensuring that your son arrives in Upper by 8.20am. Please inform me in advance of any planned absence such as medical or dental appointments and also send requests for any other type of absence as early as possible.

Morning registration will be followed by either tutorial time or assembly depending upon the year group and the day of the week.

The earliest time of departure for pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11 is 5.30pm. If for any reason your son has to leave before this time, I need to have written notification from parents All pupils must sign out in the school office if they need to leave school before 4.20pm

Pupils may stay for supper and/or prep by prior arrangement with Mr Stuttard at morning registration. Upper pupils who stay for supper and prep will do their prep under supervision, in the Library, with pupils from Hall House.

If required, temporary boarding can usually be arranged in either Middle House or Hall House, depending on capacity. Please contact me by email in this case.

Upper House Rules

• Normal School rules apply in the House.

• Entry to Houseparent’s office is by invitation only.

• Members of other Houses to be in Upper House Common Room by invitation only.

• No changing in the House.

• All damage to be reported to the Houseparent straight away

• Respect the House and the other people in it. This includes noise levels and treatment of equipment and furniture. It is our space and it is important that everyone can enjoy it to its fullest.

• Mobile phones may not be used at the times given on posters in the House

House Sanctions

All of the usual School sanctions apply in the House but, in addition, a number of House sanctions are applied if the House rules are broken. Boys are expected to pay for any damage caused in the House although any such request will involve direct contact between the Houseparent and parents. Boys may be excluded from the House if their behaviour falls below expected standards, the length of this exclusion will depend on the seriousness of the offence.

House Arrangements

The House Fund

The House facilities include a television, table tennis table, table football and kitchen facilities. A number of Upper House social events take place during the course of the year. The School provides each House with a small allowance to help towards the cost of these, but I also have to apply a small House levy of £5.00 per term from each boy, which is added to the School account.

Valuables

Personal money and articles of considerable value pose security problems. Laptops, tablets and mobile phones are allowed in School but borrowing and lending are discouraged and the owner must be entirely responsible for their own property. Please note that the school does not provide insurance for valuable items. Every boy in Years 9 to 11 will have a locker for all possessions and valuables. They are strongly encouraged to secure them with their own padlocks and to get into the habit of using them in order to avoid the frustration of having to search for missing equipment or kit. I can take care of spare keys in case the main key is lost. Years 12 and 13 keep their possessions in their Study in the Dixon Sixth Form Centre.

Please ensure that your son uses a kit bag to bring sports clothes to school and that all of your son’s clothing is clearly labelled so that we can return lost items.

Medical Centre

Health and medical needs are dealt with in the Medical Centre during the school day. It is also somewhere students can go if they are upset or need someone to talk to.

Email: kingswoodmc@kingswood.bath.sch.uk

Tel: 01225 734483

Additional Support for Pupils

There are a range of services at Kingswood designed to offer students support. Their tutor and Houseparent are the initial points of support but a student can communicate with any member of staff they feel comfortable speaking with. This could also include speaking with the Deputy Head Pastoral/Designated Safeguard Lead or any of the other Deputy Designated Safeguard Leads.

The additional support systems in place include the School Counsellor, the Medical Centre and independent listeners such as Off the Record, Childline, Frank, the Riverside Clinic and the Office of the Children's Commissioner.

The contact details for these services are displayed in the school and on the boarding house notice boards.

House Events

Typically, every year sees a number of inter-house competitions and other events involving all year-groups. Some trips and functions happen in conjunction with our paired house, School House.

Some of the traditional events are listed below

Autumn Term

• House Music competition (with School House)

• House Rugby

• Ice Skating (with School House)

• Wide Game (with School House)

Spring Term

• House Cross-country

• House Hockey

• Upper Sixth Curry Evening (with School House)

• Easter Quiz (with School House)

Summer Term

• House Swimming Galas

• Sports Day – House Athletics.

• End of Year House Entertainment

Photos of events can be found on the house blog http://kingswood-upper-house.blogspot.com