New girls’ day house
With effect from September 2014, Eastbourne College will open a new girls’ day house. This development is in response to unprecedented demand for girls’ day places at the College and will bring the total number of houses to 11 – five girls’ houses and six boys’ houses.
The new house will be known as Arnold House after a former Headmaster, EC Arnold who served the College for over 50 years and is one of its greatest benefactors. Arnold House will be based in Grange Road next door to Watt House. The first Housemistress of Arnold House will be Maria de la Torre who teaches Modern Foreign Languages, has been resident tutor in School House since 2011 and is married with two young daughters.
The original, long term strategic plan had been to open a new day girls’ house on completion of Project 150 but day girl numbers, which have been growing steadily in recent years, have seen a surge in recent weeks. In order to provide the outstanding pastoral care the College is renowned for it has been deemed an appropriate time to expand the girls’ day house provision. One of the cornerstones of our pastoral system is proper houses with individual work spaces for every child and environments where every house member can be very well known and cared for by HsMs and their tutor teams.
Arnold House will receive an intake of ten new girls into Year 9 and four new girls into Year 12. They will be joined by three current Year 11 girls from each of both Watt and Blackwater to give a Lower Sixth of ten; and by a group of six current Year 12 girls who will be next year’s house leaders. This house of 26 will then grow organically in future years.
The College is thrilled that demand for day girl places at in Years 9, 10 and 12 is so strong and equally thrilled to be opening this new house in 2014 – well ahead of the anticipated date.
The photograph above shows Maria de la Torre in front of the College.
