Our Mission, Ethos & Values

School Mission Statement

'In Christ We Grow' As a learning community, we live out our Mission Statement striving for excellence through caring, sharing and achieving.

Our Faith invites us into a personal conversation with God. Our daily prayers, during assembly and form time help us to build a friendship with God that will stay with us throughout our life and help us when life brings challenges. Our prayers are a way of expressing our relationship with God and with one another. It helps us focus our thoughts and actions for the good of all and helps in our understanding of our place in the world. Striving for excellence enables us to use the gifts and talents that God has given us to the best of our ability with a belief and confidence that we can fulfil the potential that is in each one of us and to help others to do the same.

Caring

The Bible tells us ‘Whatever you do for the least of others you do for me.’ It reminds us to be always aware of the needs of others.

By following the Gospel values of caring, sharing, achieving, it helps us to give to charity, and to encourage one another in our friendship, which in turn allows us to make a difference, both in school, in our community and in the wider world. By organising events and fundraisers dedicated to raising money for charities, we are putting our Faith into action so it becomes not just words but actions.

Sharing

We share our gifts and talents with those around us to build up God’s kingdom here on earth.

By sharing, we discover new skills which help build our confidence and resilience. We collect for the local food banks sharing what we have with others.

Achieving

Scripture reminds us that anything is possible with God’s guidance where he says ‘I know what plans I have for you… to give you a hope and a future’ (Jeremiah 29)

Saint Augustine once wrote that we are to “pray as though everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you’

Jesus said, ‘I have come so that you may have life and have it in all its fullness’.

Gospel Values

Our Lady Queen of Peace is a special place. It is a proud Catholic school guided by Gospel values. We recognise each individual as being made ‘in God’s image and likeness’ and as such each person, regardless of their own faith perspective, is welcomed and valued for who they are. We believe in nurturing the whole person and seek to develop responsible, caring and committed young people, who will make a positive contribution to society and fulfil their potential.

The Beatitudes

We base our core values on the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-10). Jesus teaches us that if we live according to the Beatitudes, we will live a happy Christian life. The Beatitudes fulfil God’s promises made to Abraham and his descendants and describe the rewards that will be ours as loyal followers of Christ.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The key values defined in the Beatitudes are:

Faithfulness & Integrity
Dignity & Compassion
Humility & Gentleness
Truth & Justice
Forgiveness & Mercy
Purity & Holiness
Tolerance & Peace
Service & Sacrifice

Pastoral Care

Our Lady Queen of Peace is a naturally caring community and provides pastoral support to students and families who are facing difficult and challenging situations such as bereavement, family tensions, mental health and poverty to name but a few. ‘Pastoral care is a defining strength of the school. Teachers show a collective desire to support the young people for whom they have responsibility, Section 48, Oct 2023.

As a Catholic community, we take our commitment to the teaching of the Church on Social Justice and Peace as an essential part of all we do. We encourage our students to live out the Gospel values of “Love your neighbour“ through the support of CAFOD, Faith in Action as well as community work such as our annual Christmas Dinner for the Senior Citizens in our community.