House System
What is the Highlands House System?
The Highlands House System is a traditional feature of British schools and is similar to the University college system. The famous Bishop Cotton School, founded on 28 July 1859, was one of the first schools in the world to initiate and implement the idea of the house system, as a means of organising games and sports in schools as part of their daily co-curricular activities.
Objective
The aim of the project is to create a sense of belonging and pride in Highlands School Barcelona, developing togetherness and strength among the pupils, and providing a dynamic motivation during their school life at Highlands Barcelona.
In this way, each pupil will have a sense of belonging to their home as they will consider it as family, as they will remain there throughout their schooling.
Benefits
The benefits are many; the development of personal and social skills, student responsibility, care for the environment, willingness to learn and behave, cooperation between students of different ages?
The House System is divided into 4 houses representing the 4 saints of the UK.
The students are the ones who have created the coat of arms, flag, mottos, values and song of each house, making the project their own from the beginning. In addition, each house is assigned a “Head teacher”:
- “Head teachers”(who will be teachers).
- “House Captains” (who will be pupils)
- “Family chairman” (parents of pupils)
- A room in the school for different activities that they will have to decorate and decorate to their liking.
Methodology
During the school year our Highlands House System is a competition between houses, where points are awarded or deducted for the activities carried out by each house, so that at the end of the school year a winning house is designated. All kinds of activities are valued, ranging from attitude, punctuality, respect, obedience, academic results of the students, to the activities carried out during Highlands Week, among others.
St. Andrew’s House
Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland, was the first disciple of Jesus. He was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee and was a fisherman. St Andrew was originally a disciple of St John the Baptist and left everything to follow Jesus. He preached the gospel in Asia Minor and was martyred and crucified in Greece. He asked to be tied to a cross in the shape of an X, as he considered himself worthy of being crucified like Jesus. Saint Andrew is depicted attached to or holding an X-shaped cross, symbolic of the gospel of his preaching.
The coat of arms of St Andrew’s contains the flag of St Andrew, the white cross on a blue field, the emblem of Highlands School on a field of Scottish tartan, the horse and the thistle. The gold crown evokes the heavenly reward. The main colours of the house are blue, white and violet. November 30th is Saint Andrew’s Day.
The main values of the house of Saint Andrew are: hope, humility, generosity and responsibility.
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St. David’s House
Saint David, patron saint of Wales, was born around the year 500. He became a priest, dedicated himself to missionary work and founded many monasteries. He led a life of austerity and prayer, hard work and study. Saint David was declared archbishop by popular acclaim and became a spiritual leader throughout Britain. He died at almost 90 years of age. Saint David is depicted standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulders, a symbol of his impressive eloquence.
The coat of arms of the House of Saint David contains the flag of Saint David, the yellow cross on a black field, the emblem of Highlands School on a field of Scottish tartan, the dragon and the daffodil, symbols of the House. The golden crown evokes the heavenly reward. The main colours of the house are yellow, white and black. March 1st is Saint David’s day.
The main values of the house of Saint David are: charity, purity, loyalty and effort. Its members try to behave with kindness and truthfulness.
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St. George’s House
Saint George, patron saint of England, was born around 280. He was originally from Cappadocia (now Turkey) and served in the Roman army. When Diocletian, the Roman emperor, began his persecution of Christians, Saint George declared himself a Christian and therefore denied the false idols. He suffered many tortures because of his faith and died a martyr’s death at the age of 23. Saint George is depicted as a knight slaying a dragon, symbol of the conquest of evil.
The coat of arms of the house of Saint George contains the flag of Saint George, the red cross of a martyr on a white field; the emblem of Highlands School on a field of Scottish tartan; the lion and the rose. The golden crown evoking the heavenly reward. The main colours of the house are red, white and gold.
The main values of the house of St George are: justice, strength, courage and honour.
Members of St. George’s try to behave with honesty and courage.
St. Patrick’s House
Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was born around 385. When he was about fourteen years old, Irish horsemen captured him as a slave for six years to tend flocks of sheep. He converted to Christianity and returned to Ireland to spend the rest of his life working as a Christian missionary. He died at the age of 76. Saint Patrick is depicted leading serpents, a symbol of cleansing from paganism, or showing the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
The coat of arms of Saint Patrick’s House contains the flag of Saint Patrick, the red saltire on a white field, the emblem of Highlands School on a field of Scottish tartan, the stag and the shamrock, symbols of the House. The crown evokes the heavenly reward. The main house colours are green, white and orange. 17th March is Saint Patrick’s Day.
The main values of Saint Patrick’s House are: faith, honesty, commitment and perseverance. Its members try to act with truthfulness and dedication.
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