The House System at Queen Mary’s High School was introduced and launched in 1994 and the system uses vertical grouping – i.e. each House has students from Year 7 to Year 13.

The Houses have been named after famous female authors. There were three Houses from the start:

Austen House (after Jane Austen) – House Colour – Yellow
Brontë House (after Emily Brontë) – House Colour – Red
Eliot House (after George Eliot) – House Colour – Blue

The school has expanded over the years, necessitating the addition of another House and in 2012 the newest House was introduced:

Shelley (after Mary Shelley) – House Colour – Purple

Each House is led by a teacher who is the Personal Development Manager (PDM) and ably assisted by:
signs houses image

• House Captain (Year 13 student)
• House Vice Captain (Year 12 student)

Each member of staff in the school is attached to a House.

Students are encouraged to become active members of the house and school.

The ‘Making a Positive Contribution Award’ is available at 4 levels (bronze, silver, gold and platinum) and acknowledges participation and leadership within the life of the school.

The Houses follow a published calendar of events – although there are some additions as the year progresses. There are both competitive and collaborative events throughout the year.

Students are issued with button badges in the colour of their house to wear on their blazers. In recent years, on joining the school in year 7, girls have been welcomed with the gift of a book written by the author of their house.

Each year the students at QMHS raise money for charities that they choose. These have included Birmingham and Sandwell Women’s Aid, Rosedene Dog Rescue, Smile Train, Postural Tachycardia Syndrome, Air Ambulance, Huntington’s disease, Leukaemia Cure, British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society and Scope. Recently we made the decision to choose local charities who we hope will benefit greatly from the money we raise.

For more information on the individual houses, please click on the images below:

House presentation to new staff