By type of school · For heads of school, archivists and alumni relations staff
A boarding school history display for the houses, halls and traditions
At a boarding school, history lives in the dorms and dining hall as much as the classroom. Show the houses, traditions and generations of boarders, and share it with alumni across time zones.
No account needed to start. Free to use. No payment details required.
What is a boarding school history display?
A boarding school history display tells the story of a boarding school through its houses, dorm life, traditions, heads of school and generations of boarders, drawing on archive photos and documents. HistoryShowcase gives each house its own collection, places the school’s milestones on a timeline and shares the published site at a web address alumni abroad can open.
Updated
- Made for
- Heads of school, archivists and alumni relations staff
- Where schools put it
- Dining hall entrance, Admissions and visitor center, Alumni gatherings abroad
- Layouts
- Timeline, Profiles, Photo gallery
- Visitors can filter by
- House, Year
- Cost
- Free to use. No payment details required.
Where students lived is part of the history
Boarding school alumni remember their house before almost anything else: the dorm parent who knew when something was wrong, the room assignments, the late-night traditions, the house cup, the chapel bell. Those memories rarely make it into a formal history display, which tends to focus on founding dates and buildings. Meanwhile the archive holds house photos, old handbooks and letters home that nobody outside the archivist’s office sees.
A boarding school history display can show campus life as students lived it. Give each house or dorm its own collection, with group photos by year and the house parents who ran it. Trace traditions to where they began, list heads of school in order and add pages from handbooks and student publications. Because the published site has its own web address, alumni in other countries can browse it as easily as students in the common room.
How does a boarding school history display compare with framed hallway photographs?
| What matters | Framed hallway photographs | HistoryShowcase |
|---|---|---|
| House history | A group photo here and there | A collection per house with house parents |
| Handbooks and letters | Too many pages to frame | Scanned pages in photo galleries |
| Alumni overseas | Seen only on campus | Opened from anywhere at its web address |
| Atmosphere | Part of the building’s character | The archive gathered on one screen |
What a boarding school history should cover
Houses and dorms
Each residence with its history, house parents through the years and group photos by year.
Traditions and how they started
Ceremonies, competitions and rituals traced back to their first year, with photos and the story behind them.
Heads of school
Every head of school in order, with their years and what changed on campus under their leadership.
From the archive
Old handbooks, letters home, student publications and campus maps, scanned into photo galleries.
Generations of boarders
Families who sent children across generations, and class photos from every era.
Structuring a boarding school history
Organize by place and by time: houses for the people who lived there, a timeline for the school as a whole.
Your siteOur Heritage
- School timelineTimeline
Founding, buildings and turning points in order.
- Houses and dormsProfiles
One profile per house, with house parents by year.
- TraditionsProfiles
Each tradition with the year it began.
- From the archivePhoto gallery
Handbooks, letters and student publications.
Visitors can narrow it by
- House
- Year
How do you create a boarding school history display?
Start with the archivist
Pick the house photos, handbooks and publications that tell campus life best, and scan them into photo galleries.
Ask alumni to fill gaps
Add alumni volunteers as viewers so they can look over the draft, then add the names and memories they send.
Publish for reunion and share abroad
Publish before reunion weekend and send the web address to alumni groups wherever they live.
Where should a boarding school history display go?
- Dining hall entranceEvery boarder passes it several times a day.
- Admissions and visitor centerFamilies considering boarding see what campus life has looked like over time.
- Alumni gatherings abroadShare the web address with alumni events around the world.
Boarding school history questions
Can each house have its own section?
Yes. Give each house its own collection or sub-collection with its own layout, photos and house parents through the years.
How do we use letters and handbooks?
Scan pages into a photo gallery collection, and use Smart Add to read typed documents and suggest stories you review before they are added.
Can alumni overseas see it?
Yes. Anyone with the link can open the published site in a web browser, wherever they are in the world.
Related ideas
Bring every house’s story into the open
Free to use. No payment details required.
