In the Autumn Term we produce the House play jointly with Horsley Girls.  We also hold at least one House football tournament each term.  At Christmas we have a Christmas assembly which includes reminding people of the Christmas story and carol singing.

In the Spring Term we have a pancake assembly in the week nearest to Shrove Tuesday, when we make pancakes an remind ourselves about the traditions associated with them.  On the last Friday of the Spring Term we run the Horsley Arcade jointly with Horsley Girls as the Houses' contribution to the school Lenten Appeal.  All students in the House are involved in running stalls and activities.  On the last day of term we hold an Easter assembly which includes an Easter Egg raffle.

The House spirit and sense of community in Horsley Boys is a tribute to the way in which all members of the House, students and tutors, work together to achieve a sense of belonging.  This is shown by the fact that all the boys in Years 9, 10 and 11 wear their House ties.

We make a real effort to involve the boys in the way the House is run.  The Housemaster has a fortnightly meeting with the House Captain to discuss the running of the House.  The House Council which has a representative from each year group and is chaired by a Year 13 member of the House also meets fortnightly to discuss House matters.

Registration each morning at 8.15 and each afternoon at 2.00 is run by the Housemaster with a student in each year group in charge of the group’s register.  A rota of members of the House play musical instruments at the beginning of House assembly each week.

We are fortunate that we meet in the four adjoining rooms in the Horsley Block where we also have a locker room.  All the House lockers are either in this room or in the lobby of the Horsley Block.  The locker room is fitted with a security lock so that boys can leave their bags and games kit there.

Housemaster – The Revd J H Sykes

Tutors

Year 13 – The Revd J H Sykes

Year 12 – Mr C S Leach

Year 11 – Mr D A Swinburne

Year 10 – Mr J Furminger

Year  9 -  Miss L Hurton

House Captain – Seb Dooley

Chair of the House Council – Bas Paul

Student Council Rep – Gabe Harrison

Junior Student Council Rep - Merlin Platt-Higgins

Supervisors – Seb Dooley, Josh Powell, Mike Barfoot, Bas Paul, Ben Steel

Charity Committee Reps – Toby Carr, Josh Powell, Ben Steel

Members of the House Council – Seb Dooley, Bas Paul, Mike Merritt, Alec Gard, Sam Barrett

HORSLEY BOYS - SUMMARY OF HOUSE REVIEW 2007

This is a very individual, happy and popular house and there is strong leadership from the Housemaster, Mr J Sykes,  who is supported by a stable team of tutors.  There is a strong sense of 'owership' in the house; the house council meets regularly and is an effective discussion group, clearly showing that student views are taken into account.  The administraton in the house is excellent.

There are a few ways in which the practices of Horsley Boys differ from other houses and Mr Sykes deploys his resources and runs the systems of the house so as to maximise the talents and ensure that the boys have a firm and fair guiding hand overall whilst enjoying the strong boys' community spirit of Horsley.  It is a balancing act that is achieved well although it would be good for  Mr Sykes and his team to review all that is mentioned in the report to gain a clear perspective of how others view the house from the outside.

Horsley Boys is a house which 'works' extremely well under a very dedicated Housemaster.  Mr Sykes is integral to the style that that house has and his tutors and boys support him very strongly.

It is clear that the parents, boys and staff appreciate Horsley Boys and its significant place in our house system.  John and his team are to be much congratulated on a thriving house.

P. Sorensen