Willow House

 

Willow is one of four houses at The Duston School that provide a community for every student, from Reception right through to the Sixth Form. Throughout the academic year, these four houses compete for the coveted house trophy by earning house points for a wide variety of achievements.

 

Willow Motto

 

Our motto is, “Winners never quit; quitters never win”. For us, winning is not just about coming first, it is about succeeding in something that seemed out of reach at first and we have worked hard to achieve. about succeeding in something that seemed out of reach at first and that is exactly what the students in Willow managed to do last year.

How do we create a sense of community?

Every term, Willow students and staff from years 7 to 13 get together in a house assembly to celebrate each other’s successes and reflect on the term that has passed. These provide a fantastic opportunity to hear about other students across tutor groups and year groups.

 

How do we Celebrate Success?

House points are awarded for respect, resilience and aspiration, alongside being ‘star of the lesson’ and ‘tutee of the week’. In addition to this, many students earn a significant number of house points for their contribution to the wider school community by taking part in extra-curricular activities.

 

House points build up to Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Awards, for which students receive a personalised certificate and an Amazon voucher to spend as they please. In addition to this, at the end of the year, subjects also award prizes for those who stand out for their hard work and determination: winners have the privilege of being invited to the celebration evening.

 

We look forward to welcoming new students to Willow House!

How else do we create a sense of community?

We are looking forward to working with our House Voice Team to choose a house charity for next year – across all four houses, to raise some money and really change the lives of people in our community. Our house charity is Service Six, which was voted for by Willow pupils last year. Throughout the year, fundraising events will take place for our chosen charity; last year, we raised over £70 for Service Six during a charity bake sale.

To add to the community spirit, inter-house competitions run every second Thursday afterschool Friday during the lunch break. The four houses compete through quizzes, debates, sporting challenges and creative activities, so there is something for everyone throughout the term. We are always looking to add different events on so if there’s something you’d like to see please let a member of the House Voice team know.

At the end of the academic year, we celebrate individual successes through a ‘Student Showcase’. This event allows all students to display their best work for all staff and students to enjoy during the day; overall winners are chosen by votes and prizes are awarded during house assemblies.

Willow House Voice

Our House Voice Team is currently made up of students in years 8 and 10 currently, but we would like to increase in size to represent all year groups. Meetings are chaired by our Sixth Form House Captain and Vice House Captain, and take place every fortnight. This is the forum for students in Willow house to discuss issues or ideas about their school and life within it. Each term our Sixth Form House Captain and Vice House Captain will have a meeting with Mr Strickland to ensure that Willow Voices are heard.