Houses
Upon entering Boston Grammar School each student is allocated to a house. These houses are used in sport and in other forms of competition. Traditionally if a student's father or older brother had attended the school, he would join the same house as his older relative, although this tradition was discontinued in the 1990s. The four houses are named after historical figures and have associated colours, as follows:
- Gannock - William Gannock - Red
- Laughton - John Laughton - Yellow
- Muston - Robert of Muston - Blue
- Parry - Thomas Parry - Green
History of the house system
In 1920, three houses were established, each with its own housemaster and constitution. The first issue of the Bostonian magazine, published in July 1920, reported that the house system had been re-introduced "with some modifications of its earlier form". It can therefore be concluded that house systems were used prior to 1920, but the precise details are unknown.
The houses were named, in a possessive sense, after their respective housemasters: "Hill's", "Cox's" and "Briggs'". These names remained in place from 1920 to 1926. In late 1926, probably at the start of the 1926-27 academic year, the houses were renamed to those we know today:
- Hill's became Parry's.
- Cox's became Gannock's.
- Briggs' became Muston's.
A fourth house, Laughton's, was instituted in 1936 to meet a growth in student numbers. The use of the possessive apostrophe continued in written form until the late 1960s.
In 1968, to mark the 400th anniversary of the Big School being built, four stained glass panels were installed in the windows running along its west side, each depicting one of the men after whom the school houses are named.
Muston
Gannock
Laughton
Parry
Since the early 2010s, pupils' ties have included a thin coloured stripe (in addition to the regular black and amber bars) to reflect which house they are in. A system of house points is used to reward high quality work / contributions.