In the Lower School, the Class Teacher is responsible for all aspects of each child’s educational and wellbeing; however, in the Upper School, it is the House Master or House Mistress who has the primary role in the pastoral care of pupils. Resident in each House is a House Master or House Mistress, and a Resident House Tutor, but all Upper School teachers are Tutors in one of the Houses and the House Pastoral teams play a major role in supporting the boarders and day pupils.
The quality of relationships and community life, and the personal formation of character are fundamental to life at Harrow Hong Kong. All pupils, whether day or boarders, are members of a House. The Houses provide rich opportunities for interacting with pupils from a wide range of backgrounds and for developing more profound relationships with teachers and their peers. This comes in part from the daily challenge of living with other people, through which pupils develop the intricacies of human interaction. The real strength of a House is the vertical integration of different year groups, which effectively creates a large family unit, allowing responsibilities to fall to older pupils to care for and support younger pupils. The result is the creation of a close-knit, family atmosphere in which boarders feel that it is their home during term time, and in which all pupils feel happy, secure and valued. In the numerous competitions between the Houses, their community pride finds expression in a healthy competitive spirit.
BOARDING PRACTICE
The School proactively promotes and safeguards the welfare of pupils and is concerned about the wellbeing of every member of the School community. In all aspects of pastoral care, the School follows the UK’s Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) standards. The partnership between parents and the School is crucial in enabling pupils at the School to flourish as learners, people and leaders, and the School seeks to actively engage parents in the pastoral issues relevant to boys and girls as they grow up.
ADMISSIONS INTO BOARDING
The School offers the option of boarding from Year 6 when pupils enter the Upper School. In fact, all pupils from this age, whether day or boarding, become members of a House and have a House Master or House Mistress who takes responsibility for their pastoral care. The boarding provision is available on a weekly basis, when pupils go home on Friday evening, returning by 8.00pm on Sunday evening.