What are the Guilds?

A ‘Guild’ is what other schools might call a ‘House’. The purpose in every school that has such a system is always the same: to foster a collegiate sense of belonging, purpose and competition within the school.

At Bennett, we took the decision that the Guilds would be strictly extra-curricular, meaning that this would act as a powerful motivator for participation and personal achievement beyond the academic curriculum in areas as diverse as sports, music, debating, charity work/volunteering, personal goals and challenges, competitive entries of many kinds and acts of significant generosity and kindness. However, the emphasis is upon each student to step forward and take up the opportunities that present themselves. Involving yourself is a decision and a proactive one. This should challenge students to reflect upon what more they can do, to better themselves and the world around them, when there is no one telling them that they must: each student should choose to play their part.

A guide for the awarding of guild points can be found here.

How does it work?

There are three areas of activity in which students can gain rewards, called ‘guild points.’ These points are usually awarded by the form tutor. This will often require the student to let the form tutor know what they have been doing.

For instance, unless you tell your tutor that you played for the school last night in rugby or netball or football, your tutor will not know, and you will lose your reward. Therefore, the onus is upon the student coming forward and taking ownership of their own rewards.

The three areas are as follows:

• Personal acts of achievement: such as completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award or representing the school in sports fixtures or concerts.
• Inter-guild competition: in which during the school day students are encouraged to compete on behalf of their guild, usually but not always in sport.
• Acts of service: as a school, we are rightly famed for the generosity of our individual students and our institution as a whole, including in fundraising, campaigns around awareness and in outreach within the community.

The guild points that students receive for these deeds accumulate over their school careers. That means that their actions in Y7 count towards their recognition a number of years later with half and full Guild Colours.

What are ‘Guild Colours’?

Put simply, the ‘colour’ is the name for the award that recognises the students’ achievements over the course of several years. To win one’s ‘colours’ means one is amongst the most proactive and enterprising members of the guild.

Half-colours are recognised with a certificate. Full colours are recognised with a badge unique to the Guild.

How are these determined?

The thresholds are based on the top proportions of students’ achievements higher up the school. This threshold is likely to move in coming years due to the disruption caused by the public health crisis, which has denied our students of most of the opportunities they would normally have had, especially in sport, but once the situation stabilises will return to a fixed norm.

When will my child receive their colours?

Half colours and full colours will be awarded in assembly. Students are eligible to be awarded half colours from Y9 upwards and full colours from Y10 upwards. This includes the VI Form.