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House system

An integral part of the ethos of Aston is the house system.  In Year 7 boys are placed in one of five forms: 7B, 7F, 7H, 7M or 7T. These forms are part of a vertical house system placing each boy in one of the five houses. These houses then compete against each other throughout the year, in both sporting and cultural and academic activities. Each of the five houses take their name from the first five headmasters of the school:

Temperley

Floyd

Manton

Brandon

Hawley

They also have a house colour and a little-known emblem: 

  • Brandon’s colour is green and its emblem is a fleur-de-lys. 
  • Floyd’s colour is navy blue and its emblem is a lion rampant
  • Hawley’s colour is silver and its emblem is a shield.
  • Manton’s colour is yellow and its emblem is a portcullis. 
  • Temperley’s colour is maroon and its emblem is a Tudor rose. 

Each house is overseen by a house leader and all have a House Captain and two Vice-Captains. The current staff in charge of the houses (the House Leaders) are Mr M Downing (Brandon), Mr K Jackson (Floyd), Mr Smith (Hawley), Mr S Hill (Manton), and Mr Said (Temperley).

The houses compete in a number of sporting events over the school year. They compete to win the Hawkesford Trophy which was first awarded in 1954 and is based on each house's performance in a variety of sports. These range from cross-country and rugby, and hockey to cricket, to volleyball and athletics; the athletics competition being held at Alexander Stadium and watched by the whole school. Temperley House are the current holders of the Hawkesford Trophy.

A similar competition is held for cultural and academic competitions with the winning house being presented with the P Tuck Trophy. Once again houses compete in a variety of activities ranging from events such as mathematical challenges, to competitions such as chess, public-speaking, photography, music and drama. The current holders are Brandon House.

The house system plays a fundamental role in providing students at Aston with a well-rounded education. All boys take an active part in the house competitions and the events are an integral part of their enrichment programme both inside and outside of the classroom. Through taking part in the wide variety of events the students learn numerous life skills including commitment, leadership, and teamwork; and how to be magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat. You only have to be at the final assembly of the academic year and witness the anticipation of the overall house competitions results and the announcement of the final standings for the P Tuck Trophy and the Hawkesford Trophy to appreciate how important the house system is to our students.