James Allen's Girls' School - Jags Houses

Jags Houses

JAGS currently has four houses:

• Bettany, named after Caroline Bettany, one of the early headmistresses of JAGS
• Clarke, named after famous botanist Lilian Clarke who taught at the school and planted their botanical gardens in 1896
• Desenfans, named after Margaret Desenfans, the wife of Noël Desenfans, who founded the nearby Dulwich Picture Gallery
• Holst, named after the composer Gustav Holst, who was music master at the school for sixteen years, and after whom the school's main hall is also named.

Prior to 1990 the four houses were J, A, G, and S, and prior to that there were six houses, named after prominent eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Dulwich figures: Bourgeois, Cartwright, Carver, Desenfans, Linley and Whitfield. Francis Bourgeois was the business partner of Noël Desenfans and co-founder of the Dulwich Picture Gallery, and William Linley, a musician, bequeathed paintings to the gallery.

The houses compete annually for the Quarmby Shield, donated by chair of governors David Quarmby in 1989.

Most of the charity events in the school are organised on a House basis, and there are various competitions during the year from which points towards the house shield can be earned. Houses compete termly in Inter House sports such as swimming, hockey, tennis, rounders and netball. All girls from years 7–13 participate in these games. There is also an annual House Music competition in which forms in years 7–9 perform a dance and the music to a song of their choice. Recently, the school have introduced House Drama, House Art and House Dance with the initial idea of giving everyone a chance to perform in different ways.