At Dr Challoner’s High School, students and teachers alike are members of one of our six houses, each named after inspirational women. Your house serves as your second family and they compete regularly for all important House Points which contribute to winning the House Cup each year. Whether students are in Brontë, Curie, Nightingale, Pankhurst, Rosa and Teresa, they have two student prefects leading the house, inspiring courage and House spirit as well as an overall Deputy Head Girl in charge of Houses. The challenge is on!
Bronte is our blue house, but they certainly don’t bring sadness! Brontës shine and bring joy in whatever task they are assigned and always try their hardest. Their House is named after the Brontë sisters, ground-breaking authors who amongst them wrote novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
Current Heads of Brontë: Zara Holligan and Leila Stack
Named after Marie Curie, a scientist who produced incredible research into radioactivity, the members of our green house have endless energy and a zest for fun! The Curie ‘Cuties’ (as they like to be known) never give up and have passion and boundless creativity. Like Radium, they glow and make other houses a little green with envy!
Current Heads of Curie: Akshayaa Maran and Alessandra Rahaman
With the recognisable Heffalump giving our purple house luck, Nightingale is home of the kind, brave and outstanding. With royal purple blood flowing through their veins, members of Nightingale know their worth and bring excellence to everything they do. Their namesake is Florence Nightingale (more commonly known as The Lady of the Lamp), a nurse during the Crimean War who pioneered modern nursing practices.
Current Heads of Nightingale: Imogen Gogaty and Sophia Di Pol
Pankhurst our yellow house brings vivid yellow brilliance to every event. Just like Emmeline Pankhurst, famous suffragette and inspiration of the house, they are motivated, competitive and willing to win at all costs. That’s not to say they just work; a true member of Pankhurst works hard but plays harder. They have overflowing house spirit that brings bright, yellow sunshine to all they do.
Current Heads of Pankhurst: Siena Gallege and Isabel Barnard
Rosa our orange house is bold and bright in colour and in nature. Getting their name from civil rights activist Rosa Parks, members of Rosa are committed, passionate and creative, bringing joy in all they do. House spirit is ever present in this house! Members of Rosa are kind and real team players, always there to support one another.
Current Heads of Rosa: Thea Hancocks and Anya Vallabh
Finally, we have Teresa our red house: kind, generous and unafraid of a challenge. Gaining their name from 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Mother Teresa, they have a drive and determination to win. Team spirit runs high for Teresa and any member knows that their house will have their back whenever they needs it.
Current Heads of Teresa: Bella De Sousa and Emma Malin
Annually, there are three main house events that the houses compete in, with one happening every term. These involve students from all year groups coming together with their wonderful teachers to show house spirit and score points that will aid their quest to win the House Cup. These three main events are:
Sports Day
House Dance
House Drama
House Music
As well as these, there are other opportunities to let your colours show! We encourage every student to compete for their house in a discipline that she will excel in. We’re not all singers, dancers or sportspersons so often the Deputy Head Girl in charge of Houses will team up with departments or other prefects to create events that provide opportunities for students to show their house pride. These events include (but are not limited to):
House Codebreaker
The Humanities Challenge
House Scrabble
Pupils are encouraged to mix with other students from their house to form bonds with people in other year groups. These various events allow the students to have fun and make friends with those in her house right from Induction Day.
In each event, we get to raise money for our house charities, chosen by the House Captains and their students at the beginning of the year, giving us an awesome opportunity to make a difference with the Challoner's High house spirit.
The Deputy Head Girl in Charge of Houses is a role that is highly regarded within the school. The Head of Houses organises, runs and introduces House events, tallying the House Points and instilling house spirit throughout the school. They are the central point of all things houses as well as being a friendly face to all students. They are an optimistic, organised and enthusiastic individual. The defining feature of the Head of Houses is the multi-coloured shirt which is passed to the incoming Head of Houses at the Easter Handover.
Connie Lewis – 2014-2015
Catrina Coakley Burns – 2015-2016
Christie Stott – 2016-2017
Pooja Mehta – 2017-2018
Emma Large – 2018-2019
Rachel Warren – 2019-2020
Grace Kendell – 2020-2021
Zoë Large – 2021-2022
Hana Halawa - 2022 - 2023
Charlotte Langrish - 2023 - 2024
Daisy Austin-Howell - 2024 - Present
The Houses Instagram account is a central communication system for all things related to houses. It offers information about upcoming events, points and more importantly, the house spirit in school! Make sure to follow them on @dchs_houses
The houses of Dr Challoners High School show a true depiction of the fun, talent and spirit of the 'Challygirl' students and their teachers
The fun and excitement leading up to House Events was a buzz that I always looked forward to, as well as the chance to bond with other members of my house in different years”
