Charterhouse/ Any recommended boarding house?

[Beyondthesea123]

We are living abroad and our DS is currently applying to many senior schools. He just got an offer from Charterhouse and we need a current view on the school and boarding houses please.

We have heard that Charterhouse had a rough few years but with a new headmaster it is likely to flourish again. However we are worrying about bullying there (we read this on mumsnet). Our DS loves football and pretty good at it but he is quite and kind.

Could anybody please tell us which houses had (or still have) a a bullying problem? Is it a new houses or an old houses? Which house is the best to be registered? Which houses have a good housemaster? What Verites and Gownboys are like?

Daviesites, housemaster is sadly leaving end of this year so a new one coming in. The boys there currently are all nice, sensible and get on as a group. There is a house know for its athleticism that can be a bit rough I've heard but I don't recall the house name.

Sorry, it should have said, "I recommend Daviesites, ….."

Thank you for your kind information!

What are Verites and Gownboys are known for?

Gownboys was quite a musical house 10 years ago. But that may be because the then housemaster was musical. It was more cultural than sporty. Having said that, there were definitely still sporty types there but it wasn't one of the full-on jock type houses. No idea if things have changed.

Thank you Sollyfromsurrey, this information is really helpful. We like our DS to be in a place that is more gentle, although he is good at football he is not a jock at all and love hanging out with cultural friends.

I think you should look at the housemasters gut each house as they do set the tone a bit. I have experience of Gownboys, Duckites and Verites. Of these, the least successful was Duckites but the housemaster has changed. It had a higher proportion of overseas pupils so much fuller at weekends so may suit you. Gownboys was my favourite but I think that housemaster has also moved on. They all have a mix of sport and music as all pupils are encouraged to do both to some degree. But I think the school will change a lot with the move to full coed so you do need to visit and meet the housemasters.

Thank you MrsWobble3, your information is very helpful to us.

The musical housemaster of Gownboys did indeed move on but the current one - Reston is fairly pastoral too. He had to be. They had some terrible issues with mental health a few years ago when he first started and he had to learn really fast. It wasn't his fault but he was the one who had to deal with the consequences.

Thank you sollyfromsurrey