All new students to the Upper School are assigned to one of 10 “Houses” composed of students from all five grade levels. Each House is led by a student-elected head of House, a senior House adviser and a team of five to seven faculty and staff House Advisers. The advising groups in each House meet twice a week, sometimes to tackle assigned topics, sometimes to chat about academics as well as other issues.
Year 1 students not only meet with a Form Advisor regularly, they meet with student mentors (an IB1 student from their House) and a Senior House Advisor once a week. This has proven to help Year 1 students with the transition to Upper.
In addition to small advising meetings, each House gathers once a week to review school and House matters, where individual accomplishments are celebrated.
The House spirit underscores much of the character development that occurs in Upper boys. Not only does the House system establish a sense of community in an otherwise large school, younger boys gain exposure to older boys, accelerating their development, while older boys naturally explore their leadership and mentoring potential.