St. Mary Redcliffe Unveils New House Badges [Press Release]
The new house badges were proudly displayed from September 2025 at St. Mary Redcliffe School in Bristol.
Bristol secondary school refreshes House identity with badges celebrating faith and character
St. Mary Redcliffe and Temple School (SMRT) in Bristol has partnered with a past student to reimagine its House identity, bringing history, creativity and values together in a new way.
They engaged Matt Doherty, former student and founder of Bara Studio in Bristol, to help design the new house badges. A competition was held across the school, inviting students of all ages to participate and then work with Matt to bring their creative ideas to life.
Matt Doherty of Bara Studio hosted a workshop with some of the school’s students, bringing their creative ideas to life.
Matt is a co-director at local creative agency Bara Studio, and said: “It was a huge privilege to go back to my old school and work with current students on such an important project. As a creative, a past student and a person of faith, this project combined a lot of things I care about. I like to think these house names and badges will be around for a long time.”
In 2019, the school chose to rebrand its Houses, moving away from individuals with a legacy that linked to Bristol's less favourable past and re-birthing its House identity through more contemporary figures who better reflected the 'Alive!' values of the school.
The school will now celebrate stories of perseverance, faith, and character in line with the school's ‘Alive!’ values. The inspiring figures also help each student see that they can also make their own unique contribution to the world, too. The Houses are named after George Müller, who cared for 10,000 orphans in Bristol, Olympian Eric Liddell, abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, mathematician Katherine Johnson and scientist Rosalind Franklin.
Some of the original concepts from students - many of their ideas shaped the final designs.
The final badge designs, featuring bold silhouettes, iconography and brand textures.
Rob Morgan, Deputy Head Teacher said: “Our House system has always been central to the school’s identity, but until now we did not have the visual identity of a badge or symbol to focus it on. With the new designs, we hope to inspire our students to embody determination, faith, and good character in their daily lives.”
In September, the new badges were proudly displayed, symbolising each house’s identity and the inspiring figures behind them.
“In our first assembly of the year we re-shared the stories of the five individuals who are our House heroes. Their example of faith and character inspires us all to live healthy, happy lives rooted in the Hope that is found in Jesus, whose promise is that he "has come that you may have life in all its fullness”.”
The new badges will now proudly feature across school materials online and in print. For more information, visit www.smrt.bristol.sch.uk.
