John Wollaston’s pastoral care approach is underpinned by a vertical House System in the Secondary School where students are mixed rather than being grouped by age.
Eight groups operate in each of the four Houses – Charter, Hale, Ramsden and Scott – generating positive interactions throughout the year groups.
House Teachers also encourage their groups to create their own point of differentiation to create a sense of belonging. This is the main objective of the House System – to build stronger relationships that provide the basis for good pastoral care within the School.
House Groups meet for 15 minutes each morning and for an extended 50-minute session on Wednesdays. Wednesday morning sessions consist of Assemblies, Worship or Inter-House activities. House Worship has been a particularly positive innovation, with each House Service taking on a character of its own.
Numbers can be controlled across the groups rather than being determined by the size of the cohort. This results in smaller groups, allowing the House Group Teacher to form stronger relationships with the students.
The vertical groupings also mean that any problems within a year group are not carried into the House Group. Teachers comment on the way in which students’ behaviour in House Group tends to be self-regulating.
The vertical House System also encourages an increase in student leadership. Year 12 School Prefects have a wider range of duties and are more visible around the School, while the senior students in the vertical House Councils have a greater profile.
Charterhouse is the school that John Wollaston attended in England. His father was a schoolmaster there and his grandfather was Headmaster. John Wollaston and his wife were key people in establishing the Anglican church in Western Australia in the 1800s. He was considered a pioneer of the Anglican faith and worship and a local saint and hero of the Anglican Church of Australia.
EMBLEM: Symbolising our strengths and values are the Green Dragon
VALUE: Commitment
Scott house is named after Thomas Hobbes Scott who was a hard-working Anglican clergyman in Western Australia during the 1800s. Culturally, Scott House has a strong inclusive and supportive culture that begins with our students and is facilitated by caring House teachers and Head of House.
EMBLEM: The House emblem is the phoenix which represents ‘a new beginning’ and symbolises rebirth, resilience, healing and peace.
VALUE: Honesty
The name Ramsden is derived from the middle name of John Ramsden Wollaston (b March 1791 – d 3 May 1856) after whom our School is also named. John Wollaston was an Anglican Priest who was instrumental in the establishment of the Anglican Church in Western Australia. In 1848 John Wollaston was appointed as the first Archdeacon of Western Australia. In Ramsden our students are encouraged to listen to the words in our Ramsden House Prayer which mention the House core value of Responsibility and remind the students to be accountable for their daily actions. Students in Ramsden are also encouraged to be friendly, kind, caring and compassionate towards others, work as a team, participate enthusiastically and encourage fair sportsmanship.
EMBLEM: The House emblem of Ramsden is the Gryphon. It is a mythological creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and eagle’s talons as its front feet. The gryphon is typically a strong creature and all students are asked to demonstrate strength of the Gryphon.
VALUE: Responsibility
Hale House was named after Mathew Blagden Hale, the first Bishop of Perth. He was born in Alderley, Gloucestershire, England on 18 June 1811. He was ordained Priest in 1837 and he became an Archdeacon in Adelaide, Australia in December 1847. He visited the Western Australia Diocese in 1848 and during the visit he met the Molloy family at Vasse. He married Sabina Molloy, daughter of Georgiana Molloy (Georgiana Molloy Anglican School) in Busselton on 31 December 1848. In 1857 Mathew Hale was consecrated as the first Bishop of Perth. In the following years he opened a school called the Bishop’s School (which eventually became Hale School in 1929). Between 1881 and 1884, as senior bishop, he presided over the General Synod of the Church of England in Australia.
EMBLEM: The House emblem of Hale is the Pegasus. It is a mythological creature; a pure white stallion with wings. The Pegasus represents the universal symbol of liberty and free spirit. It is known for being mighty and well. We encourage all students to demonstrate the strengths of the Pegasus.
VALUE: Respect
