What a house captain does, and how to choose one
A house captain is a student leader who looks after their house day to day and helps it take part in inter-house events. Schools set up the role differently, so this guide shows what four schools do and what to decide for your own.
The examples below come from schools in England. Duties, ages and selection methods will differ in your school.
The role in short
A house captain helps run the house and represents it. At St Bees School, captains work with their Head of House and the other captains. At a primary school, the role is lighter: at The Royal School Wolverhampton, Year 6 pupils are House Captains and Vice-Captains, and their role is to help organise and lead house competitions.
What captains typically do
Look at the duties first, then decide how many you want your captains to carry.
Organising house activity. St Bees expects captains to run house meetings and assemblies, keep the house noticeboard up to date, and pass on news to house members. At the senior school of The Royal School, captains chair house meetings, deliver assemblies and keep the noticeboard current.
Preparing for inter-house events. St Bees captains organise the selection of students for events, explain the rules and procedures, and make sure every student takes part. The Royal School's senior captains organise teams for all events. At Bexley Grammar School, captains visit house forms to pick teams, share team sheets with the house leader before an event, and meet PE staff before house sport competitions.
Setting the tone. St Bees captains encourage good behaviour and effort among house members. The Royal School's senior captains motivate and mentor younger members. At Salisbury Primary, captains act as role models and welcome younger pupils and encourage them to take part.
Sharing results. Salisbury's captains share house results and celebrate achievements in assemblies. They also support house competitions and sports day, promote house charity and fundraising activities, and gather pupil feedback.
How schools choose captains
The four schools use different methods.
- Election by the house. St Bees elects captains in the summer term of the year before, and they serve for one academic year. At The Royal School, primary House Captains are voted for by their peers at the start of the year, and senior House Captains and Deputies are elected.
- Application, then an election. At Salisbury, Year 5 pupils write an application about teamwork, leadership and how they would support others. An election follows. Winners become Vice-Captains in Year 5 and Captains in Year 6, so the role runs over two years.
- Appointment. Bexley Grammar has senior house captains who are appointed, supported by a team of house captains and assistants.
None of these is the right method for every school. Choose one that fits your size and age range, and tell pupils how it works before it starts.
Support the role
Captains do better with clear support.
- A named staff contact. At St Bees, captains work with the Head of House. At Bexley, captains meet their Head of House regularly and cannot hold a rehearsal without the Head of House's permission.
- A hand-over. At Salisbury, newly elected Vice-Captains work alongside the Year 6 Captains before taking over.
- Time with the people who run events. Bexley captains meet PE staff about once per half term before house sport competitions.
None of these pages describes formal training for captains, so give your captains a short briefing of your own before the first event: what they are responsible for, who to ask, and what to hand over to staff.
Where house points fit
Captains are often the face of the house when results are announced. Make sure they know how points are awarded and how results are shared. The house points rules guide covers the rules, and the inter-house competition guide shows where captains fit in a year-long plan.