House System
Our house system at KWS consists of six houses, each student is allocated into their house as part of their transition into year 7. In 2019, our students voted to name the houses after individuals who inspire them and will continue to motivate everyone at KWS to achieve their best, be kind, and support one another.
We’ve broadened the criteria for earning house points, so a wider range of pupil achievements and positive contributions are now recognised. This includes:
• Recognitions: The traditional way to earn points through participation and effort in house events.
• Behaviour & Conduct: Rewarding houses for consistently good behaviour and following the school rules.Over the last year, our house system has thrived thanks to some exciting changes designed to offer even more opportunities for pupils to contribute to their house’s success. Our goal is to foster a stronger sense of community and healthy competition, and these changes are already making a difference.
• Academic Programme: Celebrating students who complete a subject as part of our Academics programme.
• School Quizzes: Encouraging teamwork and knowledge sharing during our popular school quizzes.
• Events: Acknowledging participation in Sports Day and charity events.
This allows every student to have the opportunity to play a vital role in their house’s standing. Whether through excelling in Academics, demonstrating exemplary behaviour, or shining in a quiz, there are now more ways than ever to support your house! We are already seeing fantastic engagement and enthusiasm from pupils across all houses.
Some of our new events for this year include:
• Talent Show
• Art Competition
• Sci-fi Writing Challenge
• Classic Sports Day
Our House Leaders
Each of our six houses is led by a dedicated staff member who champions their house spirit and encourages every student to reach their full potential. Ali House: Mr Lawrence, Armstrong House: Mr Houghton, Franklin House: Mr Church, Tesla House: Miss Christou, Keller House: Mr Offeh, Nightingale House: Mr Hall.
We are proud of the leadership and guidance our heads of house provide to the entire KWS community! Here is a little about each house, their head of house, and what they stand for.
Each house, that only had a colour at the time, was allocated a category of which to choose an inspiring figure from.
- Blue – Sports
- Yellow – Explorers
- Orange – Arts
- Purple – Activists
- Green – Medicine
- Red – STEM
Each category had 5-6 possible names for students to research, present on and then vote on. This democratic process was undertaken so that the house names that have significance to the students not just names that have been chosen for them.
Each year the House Cup is awarded to the House that has collated the most house points over the academic year. House points towards the cup are made up of recognitions, points for attendance, points for representing the school externally, points in the weekly quiz, and for winning points in inter-house competitions. The winning house also gets to enjoy a ‘house party’ on the last day of term.
Head of Ali House – Mr. Lawrence
This is my 4th Year at KWS and I am delighted to be leading Ali house for this year.
About Muhammad Ali – Our Inspiration
– He originally got into boxing after having his bicycle stolen.
– He shocked the world by beating Sonny Liston to become the world champion aged just 22.
– He was the first three time world heavyweight champion.
– Ali was banned from boxing for three years from 1967 – 1970 due to him refusing to fight in the Vietnam war. He spent the time campaigning for peace and speaking at colleges.
– He went on to regain his title upon his eventual return to boxing and won many fights.
– Muhammad Ali was crowned ‘Sportsman of the Century’ by the BBC in 1999.
– He bravely fought Parkinson’s disease for 36 years from 1984 to his death in 2016.
Ali House Values
In Ali House, we are inspired by our iconic inspiration to live out these key core values:
- Being dedicated
- Being resilient
- Having respect for others
- Having courage
- Being principled
House Events & Legacy
Last year we were just pipped into second place in the House Cup so this year we want to go one better and be the ones lifting it in July. However, our staff team were the very proud winners of the inaugural ‘Staff Table Tennis Extravaganza’.
We love to take part in whole-school House competitions such as Sports Day, Charity Fortnight, and the Great Big KWS Quiz of the Year. We also want to raise lots of money for our school charities and donate to good causes such as the food bank.
The key thing is participation and there is something for everyone to get involved in to help our house. Every house point, competition entry or cap for a school team really can help us to embody Muhammad Ali’s legacy and be ‘the greatest.’
“You don’t lose if you get knocked down, you lose if you stay down.”
Head of Armstrong House- Mr. Houghton
I have been a part of Armstrong house since 2021, and was delighted to become Head of Armstrong House last year. As Head of House, I value every student’s unique contribution and the spirit they bring to our school. What matters most to me is:
- Effort – Always trying your best, even when things are tough.
- Respect – Treating others with kindness, fairness, and dignity.
- Participation – Getting involved, taking opportunities, and being an active part of House life.
- Support – Looking out for one another and celebrating each other’s successes.
- Growth – Learning from mistakes, challenging yourself, and aiming to improve every day.
I believe that when each of us lives by these principles, we can make Armstrong House not only a place of pride, but also a community where everyone can thrive and reach for their own “giant leap.”
About Neil Armstrong – Our Inspiration
Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon (in 1969), made history with the words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He was a skilled pilot, engineer, and astronaut whose achievements symbolised human curiosity, perseverance, and the courage to explore the unknown. Beyond his historic mission, Armstrong dedicated his life to education, inspiring generations to pursue science, innovation, and discovery.
His famous moon landing reminds us that bold dreams, teamwork, and determination can lead to extraordinary achievements. These values guide Armstrong House as we strive to aim high, support one another, and push boundaries within Katherine Warington School.
Franklin House: Mr Church
I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the Katherine Warington School journey right from the very beginning in 2019, and I’m proud to be one of the founding staff members who helped build our wonderful community from day one. Alongside being Head of Performing Arts, I’m also incredibly proud to lead Franklin House – named after the legendary Aretha Franklin.
My hope is that every student feels empowered to use their voice, show their creativity, and build their confidence – just like Aretha herself.
About Our Inspiration: Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul,” was the first woman ever inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1987). She was a self-taught music genius, a winner of 18 Grammy Awards, and sold over 75 million records worldwide. Beyond her music, Aretha was a powerful voice for civil rights, a role model for Black excellence and cultural pride, and a lifelong learner who supported young artists and promoted the importance of education.
Her famous demand for R-E-S-P-E-C-T remains a guiding principle for our house – treating others with dignity, celebrating diversity, and using our voices to make positive change.
Franklin House Values & Characteristics
In Franklin House, we live by the legacy of Aretha Franklin through our core values:
- Expression – Every voice matters.
- Confidence – Be bold and use your voice with power.
- Respect – We celebrate diversity and treat everyone with dignity.
- Creativity – Thinking differently is our strength.
- Resilience – We rise, even when it’s tough.
- Voice – Speak up for change, make a difference.
- Legacy – Honour the past by shaping the future.
House Events & Legacy
Franklin proudly leads the KWS Talent Show, where creativity and performance take centre stage.
Over the years, Franklin has shown resilience, spirit, and creativity – winning the House Cup three times out of six years. As we continue our journey, every student has the chance to leave their own mark and help shape the legacy of Franklin House.
“Let’s be loud, let’s be proud, and let’s be Franklin – where every voice matters and every talent shines.”
Keller House: Mr Offeh
As well as being the Student Support Officer for Year 9, I am proud to be Head of Keller House. I believe strongly in triumphing through adversity and always giving 100% effort, even when times are tough. Outside of school, I am passionate about sports and fashion – especially trainers!
Our Inspiration – Helen Keller
Keller House is named after Helen Keller, an extraordinary woman who overcame the challenges of being both blind and deaf to become a world-renowned author, lecturer, and advocate for people with disabilities. She stands as a symbol of resilience, perseverance, and optimism – qualities that we aim to embody every day.
Some of her most inspiring words include:
- “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.”
- “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
My Commitment to Keller House
I will always be here to cheer you on and to walk this journey together with you. My role is to support, encourage, and celebrate your efforts as we strive to achieve great things as a house.
Our Goals as Keller House
- To always do our very best, even when faced with adversity.
- To remain optimistic and positive in all we do.
- To get involved in every way possible, whether through sports, academics, or community activities.
- To work together as a team to achieve success.
- To show graciousness in victory and dignity in defeat.
- To support each other and help make Keller House the best it can be.
Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow!
Nightingale House Mr Hall
I am the head of Nightingale House and a PE teacher at KWS with a passion for inclusive sports for disabled young people. I love giving young people of all abilities the chance to access sport and physical activity. I also enjoy competition and am hugely proud of leading this house to its first cup win in the 2024/25 academic year, my first year as head of house.
Nightingale was chosen by students to represent our house because of her incredible values of compassion and determination.
Who was Florence Nightingale?
Florence Nightingale was a hero who completely changed healthcare. During the Crimean War, she left her comfortable life in England to help wounded soldiers. When she arrived at the hospital, it was in terrible condition. Soldiers were dying from diseases because it was so dirty.
Nightingale used her determination to make major changes. She fought to get the hospital cleaned, made sure the soldiers had fresh water and food, and provided them with clean clothes. Her simple changes saved countless lives. Her constant care for the soldiers, walking the wards at night with a lamp, earned her the nickname, “The Lady with the Lamp.”
Her Lasting Values – Nightingale’s work taught us three key lessons:
- Cleanliness Matters: She proved that a clean environment stops the spread of sickness and helps people get better. This is why hospitals today are so focused on hygiene.
- Education is Key: She believed nurses needed to be properly trained. She opened the very first nursing school to make sure nurses had the right skills to care for people.
- Use the Facts: She was one of the first people to use data to show her ideas worked. She used charts to prove that her cleaning methods saved more lives than anything else.
I hope every Nightingale student will take these values into their day-to-day lives at KWS. Show compassion by helping others, have the determination to face challenges, and always work hard to achieve your goals.
Tesla House: Miss Christou
This is my first year as Head of Tesla House. I am an Art and PSHE teacher who wants to lead every member of Tesla to push themselves to participate and be proud of their achievements.
Nikola Tesla was an inventor, engineer, and futurist who is best known for his invention of alternating-current (AC) electricity and the discovery of the rotating magnetic field. Tesla patented the Tesla coil, which laid the foundation for wireless technologies, and built a wireless-controlled boat, one of the first ever exhibited.
Nikola Tesla was brave, traveling across the sea from the Austrian Empire to the United States of America to start his career. He was confident when he presented his ideas and wowed his audiences. He was creative and focused, developing over 300 patents for his inventions during his lifetime. He was resilient, trying again and again until he had a breakthrough. Our Tesla students embody these traits during their time in and out of the classroom by getting involved in lessons, house events, and extracurricular activities.
I hope to win the House Cup and for every student to feel confident enough to push their comfort zone, whether that be putting a hand up in class or leading a school sports team. Go Tesla House!
House Cup Winners
2024/25 – Nightingale
2023/24 – Franklin
2022/23 – Franklin
2021/22 – Keller
2020/21 – Keller
2019/20 – Franklin
Ali: (1942 – 2016)
Ryan M 8 Ali: ‘We chose to name our house after Muhammad Ali because he was a very brave man who persevered and wasn’t afraid to show his beliefs,’
Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest boxers in history with an impressive 56-win record. He was also the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions.
Not only was Ali a boxing champion, winning “Sportsman of the Century” in 1999, but also a champion of people speaking out against injustice and racial inequality. Ali was also known for his social message in refusing induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War; playing a large part in jumpstarting the 1960’s Anti-war Movement. Although the majority of Americans still supported the war at this time, Ali invoked his rights to decline service as a conscientious objector. Despite paying a heavy price for his decision, including being banned from boxing for three and a half years, he stood by what he believed in.
Armstrong: (1930 – 2012)
Harry H 8: ‘Neil Armstrong, as the first man on the moon, he demonstrated bravery in a totally unknown and new environment. He has many values and qualities that Armstrong house would also like to possess, which is why we named our house after him.
Neil Armstrong was an American Astronaut, military pilot and educator. As a Purdue University graduate in aeronautical engineering, he became a naval aviator in the U.S Navy and even saw action in the Korean War.
Armstrong then joined NASA Astronaut Corps and made his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966, becoming NASA’s first civilian astronaut to fly in space. On the 20th July 1969, Armstrong made history as the first man to walk on the moon and was awarded the presidential medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon.
As an engineer and outstanding pilot Armstrong executed the extremely dangerous job of landing on the moon. Despite all of the bumps in the road he executed the landing professionally and to an extremely high standard. As the first man to walk on the moon, Armstrong propelled the possibility of space travel for mankind forward massively.
Franklin: (1942 – 2018)
Jacob Townley 8: ‘We choose Aretha Franklin because not only was she an amazing artist, she was someone who persevered to overcome adversities with hard work, good character and by doing everything to the best of their ability. Who better to represent our house, encourage us to persevere and be the best we can be.,’
Aretha Franklin is the most charted female artist in history. She was an American singer, songwriter, pianist and civil rights activist. With a plethora of hit songs such as ‘Respect’ and ‘Freeway of Love’ Franklin became known as the Queen of Soul as well as receiving numerous honours and awards throughout her career.
Alongside her successful music career, Franklin became an integral part of the civil rights movement, using both her voice and her platform to advocate for racial equality. She has used the stage to stand up for challenged people, share her points of view as well as to encourage people to register to vote and stand up for decency.
Keller: (1880 – 1968)
Michael S 8: ‘We Chose Helen Keller as our inspirational person because she pushed through hard times even when the odds were stacked against her, showing resilience, which is what we wanted to represent.’
Hellen Keller was an American educator that overcame the adversity of being blind and deaf to become one of the 20th century’s leading humanitarians, as well as co-founder of the ACLU. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Keller went on to become a world-famous speaker and author. She is remembered as an advocate for people with disabilities as well as tackling other social and political issues including women’s suffrage, pacifism, birth control and socialism. Within her life, she travelled the world to show that blind and deaf people can read and write just like everyone else they just learn a different way and so encourage improvements for job training, resources and better education.
Nightingale: (1820 – 1910)
Freddie C 8: ‘ We chose Florence Nightingale because, like her, in our house, we believe in kindness and equality in how everybody is treated. We care for others and stay true to our values,’
Florence Nightingale was a nurse and writer who came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses in the Crimean war. She and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, greatly reducing the death count. From this, she laid the foundation for professional nursing and became an icon of Victorian culture as “The Lady with the Lamp” because of making rounds of the wounded soldiers at night.
As a writer, much of her published work was concerned with spreading medical knowledge, written in simple English so they could be easily understood by people with poor reading skills. Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform, and in 1860 she established St. Thomas’ Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses.
Nightingale played a pivotal part in taking nursing from what was seen as a vocation to lower classes and turning it into a profession. She also revolutionised hospital conditions making them more organised and sanitary allowing patients worldwide to receive better care.
Tesla: (1856 – 1943)
Jaydene G 8: ‘We chose Tesla as our house name last year because he played an important role in inventing electricity that we all use today making him an inspiration to many,’
Nikola Tesla was an inventor, engineer and futurist who is best known for his invention of alternating-current (AC) electricity and the discovery of the rotating magnetic field. Tesla patented the Tesla coil, which laid the foundation for wireless technologies and built a wireless-controlled boat, one of the first-ever exhibited.
Tesla built the foundation of the power system that provides electricity to our homes and buildings even today. He also pioneered the field of radio communication and was granted more than 100 patents for his inventions.