The original houses, in use at least up to 1979, were named after Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, Charlotte Brontë/Emily Brontë/Anne Brontë, Edith Cavell, Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale and Queen Margaret . These were all named after strong women. Each form had some members of each house. There were inter-house sports competitions and a music competition. House points were awarded for consistently good work in a particular subject - three A's in a row as well as mentions on a termly sheet. These could be negative (unsatisfactory) as well as several grades of positive. The points were totalled and a shield awarded.