Pembroke House occupies an extended family home from which it continues to encourage its members to aspire to those traditional values and embrace its heritage. Staff and pupils have a common aim in making Pembroke a home from home; a firm objective is to provide a friendly, warm and compassionate Pembroke family where all individuals are valued and all skills and talents are appreciated whether they be academic, sporting, musical, dramatic, artistic or something else entirely. The girls in Pembroke represent the multi-cultural world and when their time comes to leave, they take with them the standards which they have learned over the years by their association with the House.
The aim at Pembroke House is to create a nurturing environment where girls learn life skills in a secure and comfortable environment which enables them fully to realise potential.
Meet the Housemistress: Katy Williams
I lead the House and it is my responsibility to make sure you are happy and safe as well as oversee the progress you make in school. I’m very keen to make sure that you make the most of the opportunities open to you during your time at the Senior School and therefore you can expect a gentle push from me whenever I feel you might be able to give, or do, a little more! I expect you to always give your all and in support of those around you too.
I live next door to the boarding house and will therefore be available most of the time should you need me. You will also get to know the extended Pembroke family which includes my husband, Simon Williams, and our three children, Harvey, Oliver and Freddie. Harvey is in Year 11 at the College. Oliver and Freddie attend the Prep school. You’ll meet ‘Pembroke Pop’ and ‘Pembroke Mama’ who are our adopted Grandparents and who visit us regularly. We have a trio of very young and excitable cats called Rhubarb, Custard and Crumble. They are all very friendly and very tolerant. Probably the most bouncy member of my family is Hattie, our liver-coloured cocker spaniel; she is great fun and a ball of energy. If you ever wonder where your tennis balls or socks go, make sure you check in with Hattie first!
History of Pembroke
Pembroke House, as we know it today first established its position at Framlingham College as a Girls’ day house in the summer of 1980, under the leadership of Senior Mistress, Mrs Valerie Bidwell. It later became a third Girls’ boarding house in 1998, fittingly located at Pembroke Lodge on Pembroke Road. Its name is a reminder of its roots.
In 1636 Sir Robert Hitcham bequeathed his substantial Framlingham castle estate to Pembroke College, Cambridge, a significant part of which was much later granted as a site for the founding of the Albert Memorial College in a Royal Charter of 1864. The living of Framlingham remains in the gift of Pembroke College and the Alms Houses and Primary School are testament to the town’s links with the Hitcham bequest, as is the fact that the Master of Pembroke is an ex officio Framlingham College Governor and generous Pembroke scholarships are still available to deserving local children. As a result of this long-standing association with Pembroke College, permission was recently granted by the Master to incorporate their College red martlet into the House crest.
