How to set up a house system in a school: a step-by-step plan
A house system gives pupils a team to belong to across year groups. It takes more than naming four houses and handing out ties. A school that decides how it will run the system before launch has fewer arguments after it. This plan follows a two-page handout from two school staff, with extra choices from other sources, and puts the decisions in order.
1. Start with why, and plan before you launch
The handout, published on the sais.org website and written by a Head of Middle School and the faculty advisor to house captains, starts with a planning committee. It suggests:
- recommending one planning year before launch
- involving administration, faculty and staff, students and parents
- writing a mission statement for the house system, asking "what's your why?"
- setting goals, and meeting regularly to check progress
One planning year is a lot, and a smaller school may do it in a term. The useful part is the order: agree the purpose and who is involved before choosing a single name.
2. Decide how many houses
The handout says to decide on the number of houses based on the student population. Learning Mole, a commercial teaching-resource site whose advice carries no sources, says most schools choose four and that mixing all year groups in each house is the most popular structure. Treat both as starting points: you want enough houses for variety, and few enough that each one has plenty of pupils from every year.
3. Choose names, mascots and colours with the school
The handout recommends choosing house names, mascots and colours with input from the school community. Pick colours that people can tell apart on a kit, a banner and a certificate. The house names and colours guide shows how five schools chose theirs.
4. Decide how pupils and staff are sorted
The handout lists two options: random or assigned. Learning Mole describes random assignment by number draw, or letting pupils choose after learning about each house, and notes that random assignment creates balance while choosing increases early excitement.
Also decide about siblings. Learning Mole says to keep them together to strengthen family connections, or to separate them to encourage individual identity. Either choice is reasonable, but make it before sorting and tell families the rule. Staff go into houses too: the handout says to assign faculty as well as pupils.
5. Set up house leaders
The handout asks you to settle several things before the year starts:
- who the house leaders are, such as house captains
- whether the role is by application or appointment
- what the roles and responsibilities are
- how you will train and support the leaders, and how often they meet
- what faculty leadership looks like
The house captain guide covers the role in more detail.
6. Plan activities and a points system
The handout says to plan a variety of activities for different interests: academic, athletic, artistic, social events and community service. It also asks you to create a point system for competitions and achievements, and to run regular house meetings to keep the momentum going.
Write the points rules down before the first point is awarded. The house points rules guide covers how, and the inter-house competition guide shows how to spread events through the year.
7. Launch to the whole school
The handout recommends a school-wide campaign to introduce the system, using assemblies, posters and social media, and celebrating house successes and milestones in public. It also asks how the marketing and communications team can help, which is a good question if your school has one.
Learning Mole's advice is that every teacher should know how to award house points, so brief all staff before launch day.
8. Check your school systems before you enter pupils
If your school uses a management information system, look at how it handles houses before you plan the data entry. Two vendor help pages show how much products differ:
- Arbor's page (dated October 2024) says houses are created under its enrolment menu and that Heads of House are added there. It says pupils cannot be added in bulk by uploading a spreadsheet, but you can copy last year's house membership or add pupils one at a time.
- Orah's page (dated September 2026) covers houses as a place to put boarding houses or dormitories, with staff in charge of each. It warns that the house name must match exactly the name in the student database.
These are product details that may change, so use them as a prompt to check your own system, not as a rule.
9. Review after the first term
The handout ends with monitoring. It suggests:
- setting clear goals and metrics for the new programme
- collecting feedback from students, staff and parents, and making adjustments based on it
- allocating time, budget and materials for house activities
- offering professional development for the faculty involved
- creating a support network for house leaders and participants
Learning Mole adds a question worth asking after each activity: can every pupil take part? If not, change it.
A one-page checklist
- Planning group formed, with a stated purpose
- Number of houses decided
- Names, mascots and colours chosen with pupil input
- Sorting method and sibling rule decided
- House leader roles defined, with training planned
- First term's activities and points rules written down
- Launch assembly and staff briefing planned
- School system checked for how it records houses
- Review date and feedback method set
Where this fits
The inter-house competition guide takes over once the houses exist, and the house points ideas article has ways to reward pupils through the year.