Bishop Richard Challoner
(29th September 1691 to 12th January 1781)
We Are All Children Of God And Equals Before Him.
Jesus Is Our Teacher And We Seek To Follow His Example
Members of this school community will always try to:
- Celebrate, in prayer and worship, God’s forgiveness and His power to transform lives
- Listen to and treat each other with respect
- Be kind and forgiving and put the interests of others first
- Recognise and rejoice in the talents of others
- Serve our school, our parishes, our diocese and the wider world
- Develop to the full all our talents
- Cherish and respect the environment
- Be happy, healthy and safe in the fullness of life
- Do ordinary things extraordinarily well
ETHOS
Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School is a mixed 11-16 non-selective Catholic School in the Diocese of Portsmouth. The Governors and Headteacher lead the school under the authority of the Bishop. The school serves the Catholic Community of Basingstoke and the surrounding areas but also seeks to serve families who wish to educate their children in a faith school and to encourage positive relationships between all people of faith. The spiritual, moral, academic, social and creative needs of the young people in our case are always our priority.
We believe that we are all children of God, and that Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth and Life. (Jn. 14:6)
“Jesus is our teacher and we seek to follow his example”
This belief that we are all children of God leads us to offer all of our work and endeavour to Him. We believe that we are all made in the image of God and are surrounded by His unconditional love.
We will always try to create a Christian environment in which all people are encouraged to fulfil their potential and to demonstrate their love of God through prayer, service, conduct and work.
Bishop Challoner is a worshipping school firmly rooted in the traditions and practices of the Universal Church. With the Eucharist at its heart we affirm the power of the Holy Spirit to guide and inspire our lives.
We recognise that Catholic Schools do not exist in a vacuum and are subject to political, social, moral and other external pressures. Our students must be helped to be in a position to make the right decisions, to take their place in wider society and to experience an excellent academic and vocational education. While Religious Education, PSHE and Careers Education and Guidance will play a critical role in this all adults who work in Bishop Challoner Catholic School have a key contribution to make to both promote and defend our Ethos. We are also aware of the target driven culture that schools are now forced to operate in, while we will always set ourselves challenging targets we recognise that “success” in a Catholic School goes beyond that measured by Performance Tables. At Bishop Challoner School we seek to support all members of our community as they develop and deepen their relationship with God.
We recognise that we are called to work and learn in Bishop Challoner Catholic School and we aspire to meet the challenges placed before us as we progress on our faith journey and support others in theirs always aware of God’s unconditional love for us. We are committed to educate our students to be active citizens and make a positive contribution to the wider community.
This vision of our purpose in Catholic Schools lies at the very heart of Bishop Challoner School and therefore defines our professional practice and relationships. This Christ centred ethos is what makes Bishop Challoner Catholic School distinctive and guides us as we seek to serve.