Houses

Houses

All boys and girls join a house when they enter the College. There are 10 houses, six for boys and four for girls. Five of the houses are for day pupils and five are for boarders.

All houses are staffed by a resident housemaster or housemistress who is supported by a team of tutors which includes a resident tutor in the boarding houses which also have a resident matron.

While the housemaster or housemistress provides continuity of care from before arrival through to university and beyond, each house tutor will share responsibility for their tutees’ welfare and academic progress. The housemaster or housemistress and tutor work together with parents to provide coherent guidance and support for the pupil.

Houses are homes

The houses are very well equipped and are welcoming social environments. They are also places for the nurture of independent study. Every house has study spaces for each pupil, internet access and, above all, a fun, homely and purposeful air.

Pupils usually remain in the same house throughout their time at the College, learning from each other and taking on different roles as they move through the year groups. House year groups generally vary between ten and 15 and each house numbers around 60 pupils.

House loyalties are strong and house friendships develop across the year groups and each pupil is known for who they are, valued for what they bring and encouraged to reach their own potential. 

Boarding houses

The College has a boarding reputation that is highly regarded and a boarding ethos that provides endless opportunities far beyond the classroom. Most pupils take advantage of the optional Saturday morning programme, making Saturdays a little different and a more relaxing way to end the working week.  A programme of enrichment, study support and co-curricular opportunities replaced curriculum lessons giving pupils rich, structured time to pursue their interests and get extra help with their academic work.  The full programme of Saturday sports fixtures is retained.  

At weekends, a series of activities take place from dinners to drama, house revues, musical and sporting events, and trips. Day pupils enjoy these opportunities too.

We recognise that boarding needs to fit with contemporary lifestyles, so we are uniquely flexible regarding weekends.

There are occasional weekends in each house where pupils are encouraged to stay to help everyone settle or when the house has a whole house event. All other weekends are flexible. Typically, we have over half of our boarders in school on Saturday nights because so much is happening. There are also exeats when everyone goes home. On these weekends, boarders return home on a Friday evening, take the whole weekend, and are not expected to return to the College until Sunday.

For those who do go home at the weekend, minibus transport is available.

Day houses

Facilities in day houses are superb; they have a common room, games room, kitchen, tv and everything the boarding houses have but the beds. 

Most pupils take advantage of the optional Saturday morning programme, making Saturdays a little different and a more relaxing way to end the working week.  A programme of enrichment, study support and co-curricular opportunities replaced curriculum lessons giving pupils rich, structured time to pursue their interests and get extra help with their academic work.  The full programme of Saturday sports fixtures is retained.  

At weekends, a series of activities take place from dinners to drama, house revues, musical and sporting events, and trips.

There are occasional weekends in each house where pupils are encouraged to stay to help everyone settle or when the house has a whole house event.

Our minibus service is very popular and much appreciated by parents and pupils. Pupils using the minibus service arrive in plenty of time for session one (8.15am target arrival at school) and they can decide beforehand or on the day which bus home they wish to take (6.00pm or 8.00pm). This gives them the flexibility to eat and work with their friends or at home with their families.

overnight accommodation for day pupils

Should your child wish to stay the occasional night at Eastbourne College, they will stay in one of our boarding houses but will remain fully attached to their current day house and housemaster/housemistress. They will be welcomed into the boarding house at 8.00pm after supper, having left their day house. In the morning, they will attend breakfast and return to the boarding house to collect their belongings, before returning to their day house for registration. Bookings can be made 7 days a week during term time, except for exeats and Friday’s at the end of term. To ensure all our pupils feel a sense of belonging and a strong house identity, we suggest a maximum of 2 nights per-week for each booking. Places are limited and therefore all bookings are dependent on availability. Please email overnight@eastbourne-college.co.uk for more detail.