Bradley House, 5 Barby Road, Rugby, CV22 5DT
Tel: +44 (0) 1788 556 100 | Email: bradley@rugbyschool.net
ABOUT THE HOUSE
Bradley House was purpose-built as a boys’ boarding House in 1830, has been called by its present name since 1945 and was converted into a girls’ house in 1992. Bradley is conveniently situated in the heart of the School, overlooking the Science Schools and Design Centre. The accommodation caters for 11 girls in each of the five year groups and was refurbished in 2013. The younger girls have two small dormitories, with separate single and double studies on the ground floor; there are double study-bedrooms for the second year girls and in the remaining three years, the girls each have a single study-bedroom.
Bradley House is built around a quad which is used by all years as an area for relaxation, hosting visitors and, during the summer term, for al fresco dining. Accessed from the quad is our beautiful library which is used for society meetings, small social gatherings and quiet study. The back garden is extensive and is also available to all the girls. Each year-group has a common room, equipped with TVs and DVD players; there is a well-resourced fitness room, containing three treadmills and two cross-trainers. In addition, there is a second dining room at the back of the House which has a piano and is used for social events, meetings and concerts. Most recently, this room has been fitted with a projector and screen for House movie-nights, using Bradley’s extensive DVD collection!
The girls of Bradley are well integrated and there is a strong system of support between and amongst the year groups. We have a Family Group system, where one girl from each year group makes up a ‘family’ of five. Families eat together each week and also go out for supper together on occasion. A happy and purposeful atmosphere is thus promoted, as each girl feels well supported from her very first day at the School.
Housemistress
Caroline Dow gained a BA (Hons) in Geography from Sheffield University, followed by a PGCE from Oxford University (Keble College) and then began her teaching career in 2000 at the Dragon School in Oxford. Whilst at the Dragon, Caroline taught Geography and was Head of Girls’ Summer Sports. Whilst there, she was firstly Assistant Housemistress in a girl’s boarding house for three years, and then became Housemother in one of the boys’ boarding houses for ten years. As a family the Dows then moved to Northamptonshire where Caroline was Head of Geography at Spratton Hall School. Caroline joined Rugby School in 2022 as Housemistress of Bradley House. At Rugby she also teaches Geography and coaches sport. Caroline and her husband Rob, who is Deputy Head at Spratton Hall, have three children – Daisy, Lochie and Juno. She loves running, reading and singing, and as a family they enjoy holidaying in Norfolk, going for long walks and playing sport, especially hockey and cricket.
Deputy Housemistress
Helen Casson joined Rugby School in 2021 as a teacher of mathematics, having been a pupil at the school in the 1990s. She has a degree in Maths from Pembroke College, Oxford and after a successful career as an Actuary in London, she retrained as a teacher at UCL, taught in Highgate School for several years and hasn’t looked back, loving all aspects of school life, but particularly teaching maths A level. In the holidays Helen can sometimes be seen volunteering as a Wandsman at St Paul’s Cathedral or singing in various choirs as she loves choral music. She has two sons and a dog.
Matrons
Tina Hawkes joined Rugby school in 2017 as the resident matron at Bradley, with a professional history that includes roles at Charterhouse, Marlborough College Malaysia, and a rewarding 16-year chapter at Bilton Grange.
Away from work, Tina delights in the simple joys of spending time with my two lively grandsons, my son, daughter & her two naughty dachshunds!
Her interests lay in the quiet corners of my garden, the pages of a good book, the satisfaction of completing a challenging jigsaw puzzle and spending time catching up with friends.
A self-professed fair-weather golfer, Tina occasionally takes a swing at the game, despite her less than stellar performance on the green!