About the House
School House is situated in the oldest part of the School and was the original House when Rugby School moved to its present site from the centre of the town around 1750. The current buildings were designed and built by the architect Henry Hakewill between 1809 and 1815. These include Old Hall, the vaulted study block that looks onto the Close and the dormitories. The Old Quad, OBS and other classrooms around the quad were also built at this time.
School House was extended throughout the 19th century, when further studies and another large dormitory (now the Assistant Housemaster’s accommodation) were added. It was during this time that Thomas Hughes (author of Tom Brown’s Schooldays) was a boy in the House under the great Dr Arnold; many of the places mentioned in that book still exist today.
The House underwent a major refurbishment in the late 1960s, when the current dining room was created out of an internal quadrangle and a wooden spiral staircase that went up through the House was replaced by a series of concrete flights.
There is a House Library, three large common rooms, a snooker room and a number of kitchenettes around the House. The Close provides plenty of space for recreation and in the summer months the boys can enjoy the peace and quiet of the School House garden.
Louis Callan, Housemaster
Louis Callan holds a degree in Law with French and a Master's in Education from the University of Sheffield. As part of his studies he spent a year studying French law in Aix-en-Provence, followed by a year studying German in Vienna. He began his teaching career in the state sector in Kent, teaching French and German, before moving to Shanghai in 2015, where he taught French and served as a Housemaster for six years at YK Pao School.
Louis joined Rugby School in 2022 as a Teacher of French and was appointed Head of Modern Languages in 2023. He coaches rugby and cricket, and has been a tutor in School House for the past three years. He lives in School House with his wife, their children and their two pets, Algy the cat and Manon the dog.
In his spare time Louis enjoys playing cricket and football, running, golf and cycling, and he has a keen interest in modern history, French literature and current affairs.