Our Vision for St Aubyns

At the focal point of our vision is a child. That child needs to feel happy, secure and valued. The child we see possesses a vast range of talents. We want to see the School provide an environment which will encourage those talents to develop. We see five areas of the child’s education which need to be focussed on by the School.

The child’s intellectual development.

The School will try to instil in the child the joy and excitement of finding out about the world in which we live. The basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics must be developed early on during the child’s time in the school. To these skills must be added the discipline of setting out written work clearly and accurately, the ability to debate and discuss, the skills required for independent learning, the analysis of problems and the development of logical solutions. As a twenty-first century global child the study of modern languages and Technology is very important.

The child’s creative and cultural development.

The child at the focal point of our vision has unique creative potential and the School will aim to uncover this creativity by exposure to a wide variety of cultural activities. By stimulating the child’s awareness of and involvement in the visual and performing arts these cultural talents can be awoken. Knowledge and understanding of prose, poetry, music, dance and drama will be used to build confidence and the ability to communicate in every sphere of activity, so important in today’s multimedia society.

The child’s spiritual development.

The child we see lives in an increasingly secular society often preoccupied with materialism. We believe it has never been more important to attach great value to the development of children’s awareness of their spirituality. In this School we hope that the child will find knowledge of what God means and develop the Christian values of compassion, forgiveness and humility. It is vital that the child values and respects other faiths and cultures.

The child’s social development.

St Aubyns places great emphasis on good pastoral care. The standards of behaviour set by the adults within the School must be as high as possible. The child will be taught to consider others, to develop good manners, to understand and cherish the natural environment and to contribute positively to worthwhile group activities. We hope that the child will have a strong, generous character and will be able to resist inappropriate peer pressure.

The child’s physical development.

We seek to promote health of body and mind. In the School, skills, knowledge and understanding of a balanced range of appropriate physical activities will be developed. The child will learn to work effectively as a team member, develop aesthetic appreciation and the ability to win or lose with good grace. We hope the child will leave St Aubyns with a love of at least one sport either minor or major as well as having experienced many different outdoor activities such as rock climbing, canoeing etc.

Transfer to Senior School.

The child should have fulfilled his or her true potential when the time for transfer to Senior School arrives. It will have been our goal throughout his or her time at St Aubyns to recognise and develop that potential as far as possible whether it is success at Common Entrance or a Major Award to a Senior School.

Children learn what they live.

The environment we would wish for in St Aubyns is summarised beautifully in the following poem:

When children live with criticism
They learn to condemn
When children live with hostility
They learn to fight.
When children live with ridicule
They learn to be shy.
When children live with shame
They learn to feel guilty.
When children live with tolerance
They learn to be patient.
When children live with encouragement
They learn confidence.
When children live with praise
They learn to appreciate.
When children live with fairness
They learn justice.
When children live with security
They learn to have faith.
When children live with approval
They learn to like themselves.
When children live with acceptance and friendship
They learn to find love in the World.

Adults may have to learn to give what they never received themselves.

This document was produced jointly by the St Aubyns staff in January 2001. It was revised, again by the staff sitting in committee, in November 2006.