There are 3 houses set up in school. These are Ponfeigh, Collierhall and Tinto. All houses have great historic significance to Rigside village.
Ponfeigh is the historic name for Douglas Water – a neighbouring village, which is part of our catchment area. There was a school there before the school in Rigside was built so all children from Rigside used to travel there for their education. Now all children from Douglas Water (Ponfeigh) travel to Rigside Primary School. Ponfeigh was also the name of the train station in Douglas Water and is the name of a local burn.
Collierhall is the name of the local mine. Mining was a major form of employment for the people of Rigside many years ago and for some still is. Collierhall is also the name of a local farm.
Tinto Hill is a significant geographic feature of Rigside, which can be seen from most people’s windows. The boys and girls at Rigside Primary School were also decanted to Tinto Primary School in Symington for a short while in 2009 when their new school was being re-built. As a result Tinto has become a very important place for the boys and girls at Rigside Primary.
Each child is a member of one of these houses and has been given a badge to wear to show their support for their house: a house point will be awarded each day to each child who wears their house badge.
Each house also has its own mascot, which the children named themselves:
- Collierhall – Yo-yo Yellow
- Ponfeigh – Winnie the Blue
- Tinto – Tiny Tinto
Children in primaries 6 and 7 were given the opportunity to put themselves forward for the role of House Captain or House Vice-captain. Those interested completed an application form and spoke at assembly to persuade their fellow house members to vote for them. After this, all children in the school were given the chance to vote for who they wanted as their house’s Captain and Vice-captain. Below you can see the children elected as Captain and Vice-captain for each house this year. Captains and Vice Captains take ownership of house activities and monitor points awarded throughout the year.
