The promise of ‘life in all its fullness’ sits at the heart of our school vision to:
“Develop people of good character, who achieve excellence and make a positive contribution to their communities”.
Threaded throughout our vision are three key strands of:
These underpin all that we do at Magnus and which, we believe, are essential to having a full, happy, healthy and successful life.
We believe our distinctively Christian vision can be achieved through world class learning, high expectations and through encouraging personal, moral and spiritual development. The framework we use for this come from our core biblical values of Determination, Integrity, Ambition, Humility and Compassion which can be seen throughout our core curriculum and Magnus curriculum for life.
Our school is a place where loving God and loving our neighbours is lived out in the daily life of the school. A place where all are welcomed, those of all faiths and none, a safe space to explore spirituality and discover what it is you believe and why you believe it. This is evident across our school through moments of daily prayer offered to all to the Bible verses on our walls. All of these elements are in line with the SIAMS framework and the Church of England’s vision for education.
As the principal, I’m dedicated to ensuring that our school is committed to establishing and maintaining the Christian character of the school, supported by staff and governors.
Every week, students attend a whole school Act of Worship led by our Principal as well as a year group Act of Worship which includes announcements from pastoral leaders followed by a different point of view on the week’s topic from a local church leader, staff member or form group.
To develop student’s own thinking, they are then given the chance during form reflection to discuss and explore the week’s topic. Regardless of the tutor focus for that day, every form time finishes with a Bible verse and time of prayer. The weekly rhythm from collective worship to individual reflection best equips our students to develop their own and other’s beliefs with a Christian perspective.
None of these sessions are forced and there is never the expectation that our students must be Christian. We do, however, want them to know what they believe and to understand why faith is important to our country.
We have good connections with our local churches who come in to help run weekly events such as HOPE (our Friday after school Christian Union) and worship band. We have volunteers from four of our local churches and are continuing to expand these relationships. Local churches such as the Salvation Army, Christ Church, Newark Evangelical and Assemble are part of our year group Act of Worship provision as well.
At festive times of year, such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, we also work in partnership with the churches to expand opportunities for our students. For example, our 2023 Year 7 Carol Concert was held at St Mary Magdalene’s Church in the town centre. The team from St Mary Magdalene’s also came into run our Easter service where we offered communion to all students and staff.
