House Teams

Every child and member of staff belongs to of one of our four house teams. Points are earned throughout the term and at the end of each term the winning house team receives a special treat.

Florence Linden Travers was Houghton-le-Spring’s very own star of stage and screen. Born in the town May 1913, she acted under the name Linden Travers. Her obituary in The Guardian newspaper, in October 2001, described her as a “gifted actress who moved comfortably from femme fatale roles to light comedies.” Her first professional stage appearances were at the Playhouse, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1933. The best and most famous of her films was Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1939). Her own favourite film was Orchids for Miss Blandish (1948) in which she played the title role. Her younger brother Bill Travers starred in the film Born Free.

Travers

The A690 runs through Houghton-le-Spring via a locally famous transport feature named Houghton Cut. The Cut swathes through the magnesium limestone common around Sunderland and provides passage down onto the vast plain that approaches Durham. Houghton is at the foot of the steep cut and Durham Cathedral is visible seven miles in the distance. Houghton Cut was created by French prisoners during the Napoleonic War, as a route was required to transport troops from Durham to Sunderland. Fencehouses, a small village within Houghton-le-Spring, is believed to have originally been called French Houses, where the prisoners lived.

Napoleon

Bobby Kerr was born 16th November 1947 in Alexandria, Scotland. Kerr joined Sunderland in 1964.

Nicknamed the Little General due to his tough style of play and lack of height, Kerr is known as one of the club’s greatest ever servants. After twice breaking his leg at the start of his Sunderland career, Kerr overcame the setbacks to captain the club to FA Cup glory – a feat which is seen as one of the greatest shocks in English football. The game itself was voted as one of the top ten greatest moments at Wembley Stadium. Aside from the FA Cup, Kerr also led Sunderland to promotion from Division Two in 1976. Kerr left Sunderland in March 1979 to link up with former manager Bob Stokoe at Blackpool, before ending his career at Hartlepool. After retiring from the sport he went on to become a successful local businessman.

Kerr

Sancroft

William Sancroft was the Rector of Houghton-le-Spring between 1661 and 1664. He left to become Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. After the devastating Great Fire of London he assisted Sir Christopher Wren in restoring the Cathedral. In 1677 King Charles II asked him to become Archbishop of Canterbury. He accepted he honour and held the position until he retired in 1691.