The PGS House System – Then and Now

 by David Doyle

This is an updated article which I first wrote for the first presentation of the Lord Mayor’s Trophy in 2010 and using the quotations from John Sadden’s document about the Houses which he prepared for their centenary.

The PGS House system has been an integral part of pupils’ school experience for over one hundred years and, over the past fifteen months, has moved on again to focus on the original emphasis of developing peer relationships and pride in the school as well as giving pupils the opportunity to give back by representing their House in the various and varied co-curricular events during the year.

I hope that all pupils know the basics about their House – the name of the benefactor, after whom the House is named, the past Housemasters or Captains. However, it might surprise some to know the beginnings of the House system was due to a reluctance of many boys (only boys in those days) to take part in sport back at the beginning of the last century? The reason for this reluctance is unclear but, by 1909, it had reached the point where only a third of boys were taking part and it was clear that something had to be done to encourage participation.

A scandal at the school in 1888 resulted in several expulsions for “forming unsuitable associations” and “frequenting unsuitable places” like “billiard saloons and refreshment bars”. Cricket, (unlike, evidently, billiards) was synonymous with good sportsmanship and fair play, and “playing the game” the mark of a true gentleman. What could be done to promote sport and keep PGS pupils on the straight and narrow path to becoming a gentleman?

In 1909, Headmaster James Nicol allowed an enthusiastic assistant Master, W. Parnell-Smith, to try out something which public schools had had in place for years. The House system would, it was believed, stimulate interest in sports and “engender a spirit of keen competition among the boys” leading to “much more esprit de corps”.   

The practicalities of setting up the Houses were carefully thought through. All keen sports players (defined as those who belonged to the Games Club) were distributed evenly though the four Houses to ensure that they were even in terms of athletic strength and prowess, and the remaining boys allocated to the Houses in equal number.

There were intense debates as to what the Houses should be called, but it was eventually decided that colours would do the job: Blue, Buff, Red and White.

Each House was to have a Master for its “president”, later Head of House,  there would be House competitions at every opportunity and a special House Cup would be awarded to the team that gained the most points on Sports Day. This would be presented to the boy who won the most points for his House. Winning House points explained Parnell-Smith, “is a far greater honour than merely winning something for oneself”.

The first House Cup, competed for on Sports Day at Hilsea in April 1909, was won by the Reds, narrowly beating the Whites. An observer wrote that “the desire to help his particular House inspired each competitor”.

However, there were sceptics. The system appears to have taken time to settle in, with continuing complaints about “boys who only think of themselves and their own pleasures”. But, by 1925, the House system was apparently working well. “Every boy in the school is a member of the Games Club and greatly interested in the school games, and there exists a keen and healthy rivalry between the various Houses,” enthused a writer in The Portmuthian. “Each House has crowned its name with a halo of tradition, which it is eager to emulate, and, if possible, excel.” But there was one caveat; “Everything connected with the House system has proved a great success – except the names, which seem too common and colourless”.

The decision was made, therefore, to ditch the faded colours. There was some debate about whether using House Masters’ names would be appropriate, but it was eventually decided to go with something that was more permanent, namely those of benefactors of the School. Grant, Latter, Smith (of course) and Whitcombe, replaced the names of Blue, Buff, Red and White Houses respectively.

They celebrated the names of Rev E P Grant, who revived the fortunes of the School and is regarded as the re-founder, Thomas Latter, who funded university scholarships for PGS students intending to take Holy Orders, Dr William Smith, the founder and Alderman Whitcombe, a School Governor who paid many poor boys’ fees and whose bequest provided scholarships for fatherless boys.

Those who were nostalgic about the old colours were heartened to hear that they would be retained on the sports field. The approaching football season, however, brought with it a new design of shirt, which prompted a rethink about the colour of Whitcombe. The new shirts were white with hoops of the House colour, and it was soon realised that white hoops on a white background was not going to work and so green was adopted.

Canon Barton, who took over the Headship in 1926, was a firm believer in the House System, something he strongly felt was an important part of the public school spirit. On his first address to the School he appealed for a revitalised esprits de corps and explained that, after a game on the sports field, he wanted to hear boys say “we won” not “I scored”. Barton was a fearsome disciplinarian and nobody dared point out that, by the same token, “we lost” could be a convenient face-saver, preferable to “I played poorly and scored 7 own goals”.

But Barton’s mission was to extend the House spirit beyond the sports field to “work and conduct at school”, appropriate, then, that one of the Middle School Houses, established later during Lindsay’s headship (1943-53), should be named after Barton. The others perpetuated the memory of three long-serving former masters, Messrs Eastwood (1890-1931, Classics and Mathematics), Hawkey (1906-1937, Chemistry) and Summers (1894-1926, Mathematics).

During the Second World War, when the school was evacuated to Bournemouth and housed in several large boarding Houses, The Portmuthian published “Boarding House Notes”, a reminder of the origins of the House System in the older public schools. Writers of the House Notes, featured in The Portmuthian over the years, have sometimes struggled to maintain the enthusiasm necessary to bolster House esprit de corps when the reality was dismal defeat and failure. Routs on the sports field, if mentioned, were often attributed to the dreadful weather. Some writers used understatement (“Last year we did not exactly cover ourselves with glory”, Hawkey, 1958) while others chose to dispense with details (“The House did not do so well, and the results may be read elsewhere, there is no need to mention them here”, Latter, 1951). Some reports required reading between the lines (“The behaviour of the House, in general, has improved considerably”, Grant, 1951).

The oft-used phrase in House Reports, “It has been a good year for the House”, was traditionally followed by undignified barrel-scraping and straw-clutching in an attempt to justify the statement. In 1989, what constitutes “a good year” was questioned. “If it is simply winning competitive events then Smith has not had a good year,” the writer admitted, with admirable honesty and dignity, “yet there is no doubt that this is not true and the yardstick offered is a very limited one. We have competed enthusiastically and with obvious enjoyment and pleasure for those who took part.”

More recent times have seen the competitive nature of the Houses be revitalised and the various House mottos have been added: Smith, known now as “the Founder’s House” and Whitcombe being “More of a home than a House” have become part of this. The original House cup was mainly awarded for sporting ventures on sports’ day: “in all races except the 150 yard handicap and such races as the Jockey race, Three-legged race, etc.” yet sport itself has diversified and what began as the House cup is now simply one cup presented on Sports’ Day. House sport, however, has become a staple of Monday lunchtime with dodgeball; squash and badminton; basketball; handball and volleyball all competed far more fiercely and the four HoH come out in force on the Saturday mornings or after school fixtures at Hilsea when the annual House rugby; netball; cricket and hockey competitions take place.

Importantly, other areas of school life also now come under a House focus: music and drama have seen a significant increase in input as has chess; the House Challenge competition – based on the BBC’s University Challenge – and even the House song competition. All are important in their own right and retain their independence with an array of cups and trophies to accompany them.

We continue to forge the path forward and, for the Houses’ centenary in 2010, a visit by Cllr Paula Riches, the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth that year, gave rise to a trophy for the new century which would incorporate the totality of the House competitions. She was keen to mark the strong link between the school and the city of Portsmouth and proposed the Lord Mayor’s Trophy which was carved in glass and carried the Crest of the Lord Mayor. This was to be the definitive trophy for the Houses and the Senior School Houses would also be joined their Middle School counterparts so that, in keeping with our roots from 1909, it would be awarded to a colour: Blues; Yellows; Reds or Greens. Since then, the Heads of House can truly claim that everything pupils do in school counts towards the trophy: grades; recognitions; House sport on Mondays, co-curricular activities as well as all the above mentioned items. 

The importance of the Houses has also been enhanced with the re-structuring of the Leavers’ Day celebrations. The day is now a very moving highlight in the calendar with High Street being closed as the Heads of House, flanked by their Captains carrying the House flags, ‘march through the arch’ and down to the cathedral for the last time as their parents line the road and cheer them on their way. This coincided with the arrival of the House flags, whose  designs are based on elements from relevant coats of arms on a background of the House colour: the flag for Grant House features a crossed key and sword which appears in the crest of Portsmouth Anglican Diocese, and reflects Canon Grant’s role as Vicar of Portsmouth; Latter House features choughs, adopted from the arms of Christ Church College, Oxford, but which also appear in the PGS arms because of the college’s role as trustee and continuing part in the governance of the school; Smith House has the familiar lion – embodying courage, strength and nobility – from the founder’s coat of arms dating from 1711 and Whitcombe House has the city’s star and crescent, reflecting the Alderman’s dedication to civic and public service.

So, what of the present and future? The re-structuring of the Year groupings taking the lead for the academic and pastoral management of pupils has again allowed the Houses to focus on the esprit de corps aspect of school life and the new year sees the exciting launch of the House section of PGSOnline. This will allow the Houses to be accessible remotely and use this site for communication of all the upcoming events and competitions. It will be advantageous to be accessible to all, as well as allowing the Houses to celebrate successes with photos and videos of events. There will be a front page which will highlight aspects common to all the Houses such as recognitions totals and standings in the Lord Mayor’s Trophy and it is hoped that pupils will take ownership of their own House section.

One hundred and ten years on from their formation, it is clear that the spirits of House and School continue to ensure that loins are girded and heads lifted. Ad Multos Annos!