House Competitions

Happiness - Success - Community

St. Olave’s is divided up into four different houses. On entry to the school in Year 7 or Year 12 all pupils will be allocated to a house. Throughout the school year a wide range of house competitions take place which test the sporting, cultural and intellectual brilliance of students of all year groups, fostering collaboration within - and healthy competition between - the different houses.

House events are run through out the year in the form of Quizzes, Sports comps, Departmental competitions. The school also holds special events three times a year, where point values are doubled (e.g. Festival, O Factor & Sports Day).

House Points may also be won by personal endeavour in a wide range of other areas,as well as collecting Merits for KS3, House Points for KS4 and Commendations for KS4 & 5. 

Each event see's the 1st place house awarded 100 pts, then 75, 50 & 25 respectively.

Points represent the ongoing and regularly updated aggregate of the house points for this academic year.

House Captains for 2025-26

Earning points for your house throughout the year is an important way of showing dedication and commitment to the strong culture and values underpinning the school. The house system is also an enjoyable means of fostering collaborative and competitive endeavour across all year groups in a range of cultural, sporting and academic disciplines throughout the course of the school year.

How points are awarded throughout school

How our House system works

The term concluded with Harvard securing first place in the Overall House Leaderboard with 7,880 points, reflecting consistent performance across a wide range of activities. Bingham finished a strong second on 7,255 points, followed by Leeke in third place with
6,780 points, and Cure in fourth with 6,115 points.

Individual year groups and Houses contributed significantly to the competition. 7B and 8H led their respective years for Merits, while Bingham accumulated the most House Points across Years 9 -11. Commendations were shared across all Houses, with Harvard recognised in Year 9, Bingham in Years 10 and 12, Cure in Year 11, and a joint award for Cure and Leeke in Year 13.

The term also featured a wide range of competitive and enrichment activities. Highlights included Bingham’s victory in the Sixth Form Netball University Challenge, Cure winning the Weekend Step Count challenge, Harvard claiming all four House Quizzes this half term, and Leeke’s success in the Sixth Form Integration Bee.

In the O-Factor, Harvard took first place with High Hopes, followed by Leeke in second with Shotgun, while Cure and Bingham shared third place. The term concluded with strong showings in the Rubik’s Cube Challenge, won by Bingham in Year 7 and Cure in Year 8.

Sincere thanks go to Mr Twose for his continued hard work and leadership in developing and sustaining the House system. His commitment has played a key role in ensuring the success, engagement, and positive spirit.

.

Bingham (Yellow)

John Bingham was a governor of the school in 1607. His elaborate memorial in Southwark cathedral includes an ornate dragon; it is this golden dragon, included in the logo, that serves as a reminder of John Bingham and connotes feelings of power and determination for members of Bingham house.

Cure (Red)

Thomas Cure, MP for Southwark, lived in a house adjoining Saint Saviour’s church in the late Sixteenth century and his rent helped to fund our fledgling grammar school. He used as a personal symbol the East Grinstead coat of arms which includes a prominent sword; this element is included in the house logo to represent the honourable nature and deep history of Cure house.

Harvard (Green)

The Harvard logo serves as a reminder to students of the strong connection with Harvard University and of our shared interest in advanced scholarly endeavour. John Harvard, after whom the prestigious American university was named, attended St. Saviour’s Grammar School at Southwark in the early Seventeenth Century, and his father Robert Harvard was one of our School's earliest governors.

Leeke (Blue)

Henry Leeke, a Southwark brewer, left a will in 1561 which gave £8 a year towards the founding and maintenance of a new free school. His original benefaction enabled the establishment of St. Olave's. His brewery and inn was called "The Dolphin" and this symbol of Leeke house connotes the care and intelligence of the house's members.