As a Church of England Academy, our Christian ethos is fundamental to our identity. Within the academy, we seek to offer many opportunities which allow students and staff alike to engage with spirituality on a personal level and collectively, and to consider how faith is part of our lives and the way we live them.
Collective Worship is one of the key ways in which our distinctive Christian vision is expressed. We view daily worship as an entitlement that empowers our young people to grow in confidence to explore and express faith. It is also important to us that this is invitational worship, as our school community serves those of all faiths and none.
Our mission to ‘educate, nurture and empower in partnership ’underpins our Christian ethos and this is supported by our exploration of the fifteen Christian Values for schools: Reverence, Wisdom, Thankfulness, Humility, Endurance, Service, Compassion, Trust, Peace, Forgiveness, Friendship, Justice, Hope, Creation, and Koinonia. Each of these is taken as the theme for Collective Worship on a half termly basis, and these are linked to the six strands of our BISHOP character curriculum and to our affirmations.
Collective worship takes place in a number of ways. There is a daily reflection and morning prayer at the start of every day in form time and at the end of every school day, when staff and students come together in their classrooms to share in our school prayer. Once a week, there is an extended worship focus during form time.
At the heart of our provision for students and staff at the academy is our Chaplain, who works alongside a team of staff and members of our local church community to ensure that the spiritual needs of students and staff are met. We have a growing number of student Chaplaincy groups, including worship leaders, social and community action volunteers, a worship music group and a welcoming party for students who join the school part way through the year. At break and lunchtimes, students can come to the Chapel to pray and reflect and we also have a prayer space for our Muslim students. We have a weekly group called ‘The Big Q’, where students can explore big questions about life and religion.
Read a welcome letter from our Academy Chaplain, Miss Tomlinson
