Rupert Brooke House, 16 Horton Crescent, Rugby, CV22 5DJ
Tel: +44 (0) 1788 556 150 | Email: rbrooke@rugbyschool.net
ABOUT THE HOUSE
Rupert Brooke was created as a boarding House from an original row of four town houses built in the 1860-70s. It opened as a girls’ Sixth Form House in 1988 under the leadership of Stephen Drew who had masterminded the Rupert Brooke Centenary celebrations the year before. The design of the House, with mixed years along the corridors, creates a friendly atmosphere, which has contributed to its reputation for warm hospitality. Girls share rooms for the first two years – with up to four sharing in the first year and just two in the second year. From Year 11, all girls have their own study bedrooms.
Girls in the House enjoy our communal spaces which includes two kitchenettes, three common rooms and a ‘chill-out zone’ with newly refurbished areas added in Summer 2016, along with other improvements to study bedrooms and re-decoration.
In 2016, a ‘House Family’ system was introduced at Rupert Brooke whereby each girl is organised into a ‘family’ of ten which contains two girls from each year. House family meetings take place each term and the ‘families’ also meet for more informal social occasions. The system encourages integration between years and, together with the adult team, ensure all our girls feel fully supported.
Centrally located on Horton Crescent, Rupert Brooke is opposite the new Modern Languages Department and close to both the Sports’ Centre and the Music Schools. This convenient location is great for our girls who are excellent at immersing themselves in School life. Regular House trips are popular, which in the past have included visits to the theatre, ice hockey and Laser Quest.
When at Cambridge, the House namesake, Rupert Brooke, wrote: ‘I had been happier at Rugby than I can find words to say. As I looked back at five years I seemed to see almost every hour golden and radiant, and always increasing in beauty…’ We are delighted to say our girls say the same.
Housemistress
Katie Hollings joined Rugby in 2006 as a History teacher, arriving directly from Durham where she studied as an undergraduate. Katie teaches across the year groups including a diverse array of sixth form topics from The Wars of the Roses to 20th Century Germany. A keen sportswoman, Katie has also fully contributed to the games programme at Rugby, running both the girls’ and boys’ hockey ‘A’ teams at U15 and U16 level. She ran the girls’ tennis program for 10 years and also coached the girls’ 1st VI during that time. Katie loves to watch the RB girls pursue all of their interests, from Art to Music and Performing Arts. She also loves a quiz and is her happiest on Wednesday night’s when the general knowledge quiz and popcorn machine comes out in the RB foyer. Katie spent three years as residential tutor in Tudor before becoming Assistant Housemistress in Rupert Brooke, a post she held for six years. Outside of School Katie enjoys reading, travelling and spending time with her family and friends.
Deputy Housemaster
Dan Shaw joined Rugby in 2015 as a Mathematics teacher after obtaining a degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Edinburgh (2013) as well as a PGCE from Durham University. As well as teaching, Dan is a member of the Chaplaincy Team, leading a group of students to LIV Village in South Africa in 2018, and he is also an Arnold Foundation tutor.
A keen sportsman, Dan coaches the boys’ 1st VI tennis and U16 rugby. The rugby coaching has enabled Dan to enjoy his passion for refereeing on the very ground the game began having represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and The World 7s Series in 2013 and 2014 as an official. When he is not in the classroom teaching or on duty, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife Elana and daughter Léta and also getting on his bike to explore the Warwickshire countryside.
Matron
We are incredibly well-served by our matron team in RB with Julie living in the House as our resident matron and Lisa working as our non-resident matron. Both matrons work tirelessly to look after the girls and particularly take a lead with medical matters. They are a fantastic listening ear for the girls and really help to make RB feel like a home. They are both excellent party planners and always go the extra mile to make House events go off in style and, perhaps most importantly of all, they are the reason why the RB tuck shop is always so well-stocked…!