Aims and Values

We are a truly academic school but our vision of education is about much more than academic results. It’s about character development, about the life of our school outside the classroom as well as in it. We believe the bright children we recruit can ‘have it all’: outstanding academic qualifications which will enable them to pursue their enthusiasms; rich and formative experiences from our co-curricular programme which will help to develop them as people; and an active, reflective approach to learning which will set them up for life.

‘Everyone has the right to be happy’. We take happiness so seriously we made it the first of our school rules! For us it’s crucial and we believe good things flow from it.

Joe Layburn, Prep Head

Aims

  • We want to provide our children with the best possible academic education, and to help them make the most of their abilities, whilst also ensuring that they are happy and well-rounded individuals.
  • We want to offer our children a rich and wide range of experiences; to help them find areas where they can excel or simply have fun; to encourage their natural curiosity; to make sure they enjoy their school life.
  • We want to build strong relationships between children, staff and parents; to ensure that our school is a happy, supportive and safe community where children are encouraged to use their initiative but are not afraid to ask for help.
  • We want to celebrate the vibrant and diverse environment which is our school community; to encourage our children to appreciate what they have in common with each other as well as to respect differences.
  • We want to help our children recognise their privileges and advantages; to engender in them a sense of compassion for others who are less fortunate; to help them think of practical ways in which they can make the wider world a better place.

Values

There are six core character values which we expressly want to develop.

  • Balance:  We want our children to learn how to live balanced, healthy, productive lives.
  • Excellence:  We want our children to aspire to be the best they can be.
  • Integrity:  We want our children to develop a clear moral grounding for their lives.
  • Kindness:  We want our children to be kind, to act with compassion and empathy.
  • Curiosity:  We want our pupils to develop an abiding curiosity about the world.
  • Courage:  We want our pupils to have a spirit of adventure, to confront challenges and try to overcome them.

At Bancroft’s Prep we do not believe in encumbering children with too many rules and sanctions but focus instead on positive behaviour and rewards.

Our headline ‘3 ½ School Rules’ reinforce our ethos:

  • Everyone has the right to be happy.
  • Respect other people and their property.
  • Use your common sense.
  • If in doubt, ask.

Ultimately, we believe it is our role to bring out the very best in our children. We want to help prepare them for the world beyond school where the ability to lead a happy life is as important as the ability to read or reckon. We want our children to have fun while they learn and to derive a lifelong love of learning.

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