Houses

The Avon Valley School & Performing Arts College: Our House System

At The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College, we maintain a vibrant House system, with four distinct Houses, each proudly named after famous London theatres. While our core pastoral care is now led by dedicated Heads of Year and Pastoral Leaders, our House system continues to thrive as a dynamic framework for fostering collaboration, friendly competition, and leadership across our school community.

The Enduring Power of Our House System

Our House System enhances the student experience in many ways, promoting a sense of belonging and community through:

  • Building Strengths & Bonds: Fostering individual strengths within a group and strengthening bonds among students of all ages.
  • A Caring Community: Creating a nurturing space where each student feels a valued part of a smaller 'family unit' within the larger 'family' of Avon Valley.
  • Respect & Courtesy: Cultivating respect, consideration, and courtesy across all mixed age groups.
  • Positive Self-Esteem: Encouraging positive self-esteem among students and instilling the school's ethos.
  • Peer Support: Facilitating peer support to help students feel safe and secure within school.
  • Developing Future Leaders: Actively promoting the 'Student Voice', fostering student responsibility, teamwork, leadership skills, and cooperation through House activities.
  • Enriching Experiences: Offering exciting extra-curricular activities that broaden student experiences and introduce healthy elements of competition.
  • Holistic Development: Supporting the development of personal and social skills, alongside overall well-being, through House initiatives.

Each House is home to approximately 275 students, comprising two tutor groups from each of Years 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. To ensure a smooth transition and strong family connections, new students arriving from primary school are placed in the same House as their older siblings.

All staff members at The Avon Valley School are also allocated to a House, and both students and staff passionately compete to accumulate the most house points!

Our Heads of Year & Pastoral Leadership

Our Heads of Year and Pastoral Leads are key figures in our pastoral system, providing direct guidance, support, and a consistent point of contact for students and parents.

year 7

Mr D Phelan
Head of Year 7
dphelan@avonvalleyschool.uk
Mrs E Bishop
Pastoral Leader
ebishop@avonvalleyschool.uk

year 8

Mr A Duke
Head of Year 8
aduke@avonvalleyschool.uk
Mr N Cunningham
Pastoral Leader
ncunningham@avonvalleyschool.uk

year 9

Mrs L Owen
Head of Year 9
lowen@avonvalleyschool.uk
Miss D Partridge
Pastoral Leader
dpartridge@avonvalleyschool.uk

year 10

Miss C Labreize
Head of Year 10
clabreize@avonvalleyschool.uk
Miss L Hicks
Pastoral Leader
lhicks@avonvalleyschool.uk

year 11

Mr C Hartfield
Head of Year 11
chartfield@avonvalleyschool.uk
Ms S Masters
Pastoral Leader
smasters@avonvalleyschool.uk