Trinity Grammar - About The School : Pastoral Support

Traditionally an effective system of pastoral care has been regarded as the sine qua non of a good Independent School education. Within Trinity, the House System is central in fostering an environment where boys feel safe, valued, engaged and purposeful. The School strives to make effective provision for the personal guidance of each boy. It is through the House System that smaller ‘schools within the School’ can further enhance individual care and guidance.

The fact that the House System is vertical in nature helps to bring to the students’ attention a greater awareness of their responsibilities not only to members of their immediate peer group, but also to those older and younger than themselves. Thus, in general, the aim is to present a secure and familiar environment for our students. From the day they begin their schooling, students become members of a smaller House group whose staff are dedicated to helping them in their progress both in and out of the classroom.

The specific objectives of the House system are:

to enable the aims of the School to be effectively communicated to the boys in order that their characters can be influenced for good so that the fundamental virtues of good citizenship such as courage, honour, loyalty, diligence and faith can be evidenced in their lives;
to foster House spirit and identity that contributes positively to the overall spirit and tone of the School which expresses itself in positive relationships between boys and staff both in and outside of the classroom;
to contribute to the efficient administration of the School and its routines;
to enable each student to be known as an individual and to help each boy to come to terms with his own strengths and weaknesses;
to encourage full participation in the academic programme and wide range of activities offered by the School thereby enabling students to achieve their potential;
to nurture leadership through active delegation of responsibility within the House and to hold those accountable who have such responsibility developed to them; and
to assist in the resolution of conflict and distress that naturally occurs when boys interact with fellow students, staff, parents and other members of the community during the process of maturing from young boys to young men.

There are sixteen Houses in the Senior School, each with one Housemaster and two or three Tutors. The Housemaster, with the help of the Middle School Housemasters and Tutors, guides and supports each boys’ all round development according to the School's aims. Boys remain in one House for the six years of their secondary education, initially under the guidance of the Middle School Housemaster, then the Housemaster.

A final points score for the 2007 'Inter-House Competition' can be viewed below. (Click on image for enlargement)

Life Skills Programme
The Life Skills Programme is part of a whole School approach to health and well-being at Trinity Grammar School. The Programme is structured around current educational and psychological theory on the effective development of emotional intelligence. It is the goal of the Life Skills Programme, in conjunction with the development of ethical, moral and religious values, to enhance boys’ capacity to be emotionally resilient and socially competent. Such outcomes are arguably the most important skills we can all learn in life, and perhaps the most inadequately learned in our society.

Through student-centred learning models, the Life Skills Programme aims to foster a supportive and connecting environment which encourages students to learn from their experiences and the experiences of others. The Programme exposes students to real life situations and issues, developing important inter-personal and intra-personal emotional, cognitive and behavioural skills.

Please click here to access the current Life Skills Framework.

Discipline System
The School, founded on Christian principles, recognises the prerequisite need for the existence of a secure and disciplined environment to enable boys to be effectively educated. The School accepts that 'stages of discipline' are a necessary step to the eventual aim of seeing students graduate from the School as self-disciplined young men. A copy of the School's Discipline System can be obtained by clicking here.

Peer Mediation
The Peer Mediation initiative was introduced into the Middle and Senior Schools in 2006. Peer Mediation has been undertaken in many other schools and Trinity now has the opportunity of giving more of our senior boys another role in which to show their responsibility and skills.
Please click here for more information.

Parties for Teenagers
Parents will all be faced with the issue of their son wanting to attend or organise a party. Click here for some guidelines for parents of senior boys.

"Loud Shirt Day" was run by Stephenson House to raise money for charity.