‘The Church of England is the only society that exists for people who are not its members’
William Temple,
Archbishop of Canterbury 1942-44
Our Christian character is essential to us and we are on a mission to prepare our young people to take their place as global citizens in a world which is diverse, challenging, and occasionally frightening. It is also full of optimism, especially for the young, and we have a duty to help them to be ready to take their place in making the world better, fairer, and safer. In our assemblies we talk to them in these terms – as future custodians of the planet who will need a strong sense of who they are, what they believe in, and how they will act in the interests of people and places beyond themselves and their own.
We believe that Church of England schools like ours should be about both tradition – knowing the terminology of the Christian seasons, knowing how to behave in church, knowing why faith matters – and about innovation, finding new ways to engage young people, to provoke them beyond the superficialities of a consumer culture, to help them to reflect on who they are and what they believe, and to inculcate a strong values system.
In this way, through what we say and how we act, we believe we have a distinctive and evolving Christian ethos which provides an excellent framework for the intellectual, moral and spiritual development of our young people.
We are very pleased to have been judged a ‘Good’ school following our recent SIAMS inspection. You can read the full report here.
So this is us – a comprehensive school on a mission, with Christian values at our heart, and a determination to celebrate the achievements, the successes and the distinctiveness of every one of our young people.
