School House - Boys House

Cosmo has a degree in Architecture and a PGCE in Design and Technology. He is passionate about design, photography, as well as being a sports enthusiast. Beth met Cosmo at church in Newcastle whilst studying Art History and Theology and has spent the last seven years teaching primary aged children. Cosmo started teaching with YFC in prisons and has since taught at secondary and prep level and an International school in India. They bring with them their Springer Spaniel, Omnom, whose name aptly reflects their passion for food!

School House focuses on supporting boys to become confident, kind, ambitious young adults, within a caring Christian environment. We seek to ensure that new boys feel welcomed and quickly part of the family with weekly in-house nights enabling them to build strong friendships across year groups. We celebrate each other’s skills and interests, whether they be on the stage, in a classroom or on the sporting field. However, our overall aim is to have fun and make lasting memories!

Farm House - Boys House

Will & Amy are just coming to the end of their 2nd year running Farm House. Will teaches D&T and previously worked at a boarding school in Suffolk, Wiltshire Police, Bath Abbey and a private bomb disposal company! Amy is a Learning Support tutor at the Prep School and chairs the pupil Charity Committee. They have three children, the eldest joining Monkton Senior in September 2020.

We want Farm to be a place where every boy feels they matter, regardless of academic or extracurricular success. We encourage the boys to express themselves and have confidence in who they are, and try to have a lot of fun together. Favourite evening entertainments include ‘Farm Ball’ (a hybrid of football, basketball, dodgeball and rugby), film and pizza nights, and cooking with us in Slade Cottage for their peers. During their time in Farm we aim for the boys to develop integrity and resilience.

Grange House - Girls House

Abi and Jonathan have been running Grange since it (re-)opened in 2017. In “the old days” Grange was a boys’ house but we are so pleased that it has been resurrected as a girls house, right in the heart of the school.

We have three young boys - Billy (6), Gregory (4), and Alexander (1) - who love having 50 older sisters. Jonathan is also Head of Maths, which he enjoys nearly as much as running Grange! This is Abi’s absolute dream job which she has aspired to since she was at Monkton aged 15. We love being outside, spending time with friends, any sport (Jon), and reading (Abi).

We define our vision for Grange house as 'fostering bold and passionate young women, equipped to thrive in an ever-changing global community, proud of who they are and driving themselves to use the gifts they have been given to their full potential'. We want Grange to be a comfortable and fun environment where the girls can learn more about the world they live in, can learn from each other, and can learn about themselves. We want to live as a healthy and happy community, where we all serve, and we all benefit from being a family, away from home.

Clarendon House - Girls House

Mairion & James have been houseparents of Clarendon for the last 5 years and we love it! James teaches Maths, coaches hockey and is Vice Principal. Mairion’s background is pastoral church work, and alongside houseparenting is involved in Bronze DofE, staff training and coaching staff. We have three children, two at the Senior School and one at the Prep.

We want Clarendon to be a home away from home, both for boarders and day girls, and time and again, it seems that is how the girls feel. Over their time at Clarendon we want the girls to discover passions and abilities they didn’t know they had, to develop an inner strength and courage in dealing with life’s challenges and difficulties, to learn to laugh at themselves, but learn from the things that go wrong, and most of all we want to have fun together, to learn to love each other as a community, and eat a lot of food!

Eddystone House - Boys House

Andy and Sarah are approaching the end of their first year as houseparents of Eddy. Andy teaches Chemistry and arrived at Monkton in 2018 having spent the years previous either teaching Chemistry or working pastorally with young people. He is originally from Suffolk, is a lifelong supporter of Ipswich Town Football Club and enjoys playing most sports. Sarah is from Edinburgh and enjoys all things creative. She is a Theology graduate who has worked pastorally with young people and as a freelance graphic designer before taking time more recently to care for their three young children, Phoebe Toal and Beata.

We are passionate about making Eddy feel like home for the boys; a place where we can be open, have fun and push one another on as we live, learn and play together as a community. We want the boys to have a long term view of how they can impact and inspire one another for good. In Eddy we don’t take ourselves too seriously and spend a lot of time laughing along the way.

Nutfield House - Girls House

Carolyn and George have been houseparents of Nutfield for 7 years now and have loved every minute. We have 4 sons (the youngest has just left Monkton), a very cuddly labrador called Artie, 2 cats and 2 chickens, so plenty to keep everyone busy. George is Director of Music here and we both love singing, while Carolyn spends most of her spare time growing things or crocheting.

The girls in our house are known as the ‘Nutters’ and it pretty much sums us all up! From the Nutfield game, to Super Sports, to Ready, Steady, Cook, we try to create a fun-loving and relaxed atmosphere where each girl feels loved, supported and able to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, knowing that it’s ok to fail occasionally. We want the girls to leave Monkton understanding themselves, and secure in the knowledge that they are unique and with a unique set of talents and skills which they can use to change the world.