Houses & Charity

In the Senior School, each House has been named after a female pioneer who, by their actions, has changed the lives of others and made a difference to the world; Austen, Curie, Fonteyn, Nightingale, Pankhurst and Teresa. A small group of Year 12 students, known as the ‘House Leaders’ coordinate, collaborate, organise and spearhead their respective House and all its pupils from Year 7 to Year 13 for each event throughout the year. Pupils are supported by a Head of House staff member.

Each House supports a local charity that is chosen through a series of annual hustings and votes by the whole House. The charity gives a clear and dedicated focus for the House activities and fundraising events.

The Fashion Show in March is the annual House highlight and sees more than 800 pupils involved. The show has a different theme each year and each House is given carte blanche to design clothes from recycled materials, create audio-visual pieces as well as choreograph dance routines. Previous themes have been ‘Surbiton Goes to the Oscars’, ‘Surbiton does STEM’, ‘Love Fashion’, ‘The Olympics’, ‘Recycling the Decades’, ‘Surbiton Goes Global’, ‘Classics on the Catwalk’, ‘Surbiton Goes Symphonic’ and, most recently, ‘Climate Change’.

The Fashion Show provides an opportunity for all girls to contribute towards a House piece and brings together so many of the positive learning habits that we pride ourselves on at Surbiton High School. There are creative outlets in dress design, backstage organisation, make-up and accessory development, modelling, choreography, IT skills in video and music editing. The Fashion Show supports key charities each year and annually raises over £10,000.