Scott House is named after former headmaster Charles Russell Scott (1898-1979), whose full length portrait can be seen in the foyer of the house. Appointed headmaster very young in 1929, Scott built up the school and its reputation with great success in the 1930s. His most remarkable years, however, were during the Second World War, when his bugle was the school's warning system for Doodlebug raids. Scott was the headmaster until 1959; he was an administrator of exceptional energy and ability who also showed great kindness in helping individual boys.

Scott House opened its doors in 1962 and was originally for the younger boys in the school, then aged 11 to 13. With the welcome arrival of girls at Cranbrook, it became the first girl's boarding house 1973.

Scott House accommodates 45 girls and is set in its own grounds, a short walk from the school. The house provides a friendly, homely environment where all girls are made to feel welcome and encouraged to achieve in everything that they do. To improve social skills we organise lots of events, including house BBQ's in the summer, theatre trips, meals cooked by the girl's in the house, and trips to restaurants. Annual events are organised to help foster good relationships between staff, parents and girls.

The accommodation at Scott is all on one level which helps to integrate the girls. Year 9 sleep in two large dorms, year 10 and 11 have double studies and in the sixth form the vast majority of girl's are housed in single rooms. The house has a number of communal areas comprising of a large common room, which is primarily for the juniors but is usually filled with girls across the years enjoying a chat and watching TV . There is a junior kitchen with full cooking facilities and the sixth formers have their own common room, which also has its own kitchen. There is a large study area which houses our three computers, all with internet access, a laser printer and a scanner. The house is also set up to provide wireless internet access in many of the studies and communal areas. A new purchase for the house is a state of the art running machine which will be much used as we train for the interhouse sports this year.

Staffing and Academic Tutors

Head of House: Mrs Kirsty Burnett, Year 9 tutor

Year 13 - Mrs Saunders, Year 12 - Mrs Payne, Year 11 - Mrs Ledsham, Year 10 - Miss Dudley, Year 9 - Mrs Burnett
Live-in Tutor: Mrs Jacqui Smith
House MAC: Mrs Parson
Deputy MAC: Mrs Field


There are 44 students in Scott this year and the following girls have responsibilities in the House:

House Captain: Ellen Clifford,  Deputy House Captain: Matilda Martin

Sports Captain:  Katharine Burnett

Scott House Pastoral Review November 2010

Conclusion and Summary
This has proved to be a very positive review and Kirstie is to be congratulated on her first year and a term in Scott; she is liked and respected in the House by the girls, the staff and the parents.  She listens to the girls and “gets things done” as well as ensuring the girls in her care achieve success both academically and socially, and she herself is rewarded by their success.

The team of academic tutors in the House are seen as good and supportive. They are liked and well respected by the girls, though there are hints that academic support could be more focussed in tutorial time.  The prep system has been improved and House Assemblies are liked by the girls now they present many of them themselves. 

There had been a feeling that parental communication could be a weakness, but this has not been supported in this review where 84% of parents indicated the Head of House is approachable and helpful in their questionnaire responses.  Though Kirstie should look to be freely available when parents are likely to be visiting the House to collect and drop off their girls as this could have been a weakness in the past.  This will now be easier as Kirstie’s own children are a bit older. 

An issue to be addressed is the team work within the team of evening Duty Staff.  There seems to be a lack of respect from some of the girls, and some disparity in the treatment of the girls by the tutors.  Kirstie must use the findings of this review as a basis of discussions with this team to re-establish a more harmonious atmosphere here.
 
Areas for improvement or review

• Kirstie should try to be more available to speak to parents, especially at the beginning and end of term.  A termly newsletter on the website could help here too.  Possibly written by the House captain?

• Ensure sufficient proportion of tutor time is spent on academic support

• The team of evening duty staff are to be encouraged to show more parity in their treatment of the girls, and the girls need to see the advantages of treating all staff with respect.

• The fabric of the House is in need of refurbishment and hopefully this review will help to highlight this issue.

Overall Kirstie and her team are to be congratulated on a very positive review.  The girls feel safe and well cared for and hold Kirstie in very high regard.  There are one of two issues to be addressed but Scott House seems to be in fine fettle.

 Jo Taylor
November 2010