What you actually learn at Charterhouse

You leave the real world and enter a bubble


Going to Charterhouse, you come out with more than just a few Pre Us and GCSEs. You can an education into the inner most workings of old fashioned education. Your words will begin to change along with your priorities.

Everything is abbreviated. Literally everything.

Going to a school that dedicate’s specific buildings towards specific people means that majority of them have long winded names, and as a result to save time they’re all abbreviated. The theatre for example is named after ex student, Ben Travers, so is consequently named, The Ben Travers Theatre, shortened to BTT. And so, in one day you might jump from the BTT to the QSC and finish off in the CDR.

Hash and Crack become more than just hallucinogenic drugs.

To visitors the notion of having “Hash” as a compulsory part of school life would seem, not just outrageous, but also illegal. Not to mention the fact that some then even go from “Hash” straight to “Crack”, a statement many may find concerning. However as a student you quickly learn to realize that these are all parts of the variation of English they speak at Charterhouse. Over my time there I never learnt where these words derive from but was at least reassure that “Hash” was in fact a lesson, and “Crack” the tuck shop. So it’s far more harmless than it first seems.

You learn a whole new variation of English.

Words like “teacher,” “homework,” and (as previously mentioned) “class” have been thrown out the window. Instead you had to forget these real world words and adopt the language of Charterhouse. Most schools are set “prep” however at Charterhouse you have to complete “Banco” instead. A word which I never knew even existed. Teachers are rather embarrassingly named “Beaks”, a title which can be argued to be slightly derogatory in fact.

House competitions are more than just a way of “getting involved”.

Although your house master will tell you that they just want everyone in the house to feel “involved” with the competitions, to the students of each house these contests become a quest for superiority amongst peers. Be it football, singing, art or debating, everyone begins to take an interest in the competitive nature of these competitions, deeming them to be more than just ways to pass time but a fight for house supremacy.

Whether you’d admit so or not, you were proud of the Chapel.

“The biggest war memorial in Britain” is a phrase that is said throughout the school with a serious sense of pride. Whether you’re religious or not, the Chapel was a spectacle to be seen and was always a way to have one over visiting rival schools.


Setting foot on Big Ground was an honor achieved by few, but envied by all.

The money spent on the First XI football pitch is no secret it was laser flattened and constantly looked after by the ground staff. It’s more than a football pitch, instead it represents the hopes and dreams of many Old Carthusians who had hoped one day they’d be able to play upon it’s carpet like surface. However that honor was only bestowed on the gifted few in the First XI. Most therefore were left disappointed.

And in case you hadn’t heard, Arsenal played there too.

School Football becomes a priority.

Did you really go to Charterhouse if you weren’t warned at least once by the Headmaster for “unnecessary chanting” at football matches? It seemed to be a regular occurrence, especially at cup matches, that the unwavering support and patriotism showed by the students at such games were a bit “over the top” in the eyes of the hierarchy.

Everyone’s after the maroon sports tie. (Though most are satisfied with grey).

The First XI tie awarded for being in the First XI of a major sport was possibly, with the exception of the pink tie, the most prestigious of them all. Those who were luckily enough to be awarded it, wore it with extreme pride, and the acquisition of the tie seemed to be coupled with the acquisition of a (perhaps justifiable) ego boost. That being said, only few people were awarded such a tie, and although most didn’t have it, we all have one tie that we’re at least slightly proud of.

Football is better than rugby.

It just is. Plain and simple. As one of the founders of what we recognize as the modern sport, football is within the heritage of the school. Even in LQ, when football is the minor sport, it’s still ever popular. And unlike in Rugby, no one ever received an email saying the football team needed more players.

Pre U’s are better than A-Levels.

Pre-U is the adopted exam taken at Specialist level. They’re like A-Levels, but their just better. No reasoning behind it, they’re just superior in every way. Although you’ve never heard of them, take our word for it.

And heaven forbid you take IB. Not only does that end your social life, but also you won’t receive nearly have the number of PS’s as the rest of us.