Our School’s Distinctive Christian Vision and Overarching Curriculum Intent

We are a family, defined by our core Christian values; Wisdom, Hope, Dignity, Forgiveness and Community. Every member of our school is supported in love to flourish as unique human beings, made in God’s image.  Together, we navigate life’s journey in the safety of love and with compassion for others. This is underpinned by the story of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10, 25:37)

Love of Learning, Love of Life, Love of One Another

Our school was founded by the paper industrialist John Dickinson in 1847 for the provision of education for local families and recognising every child, family, member of staff and governor as part of our extended family has continued since. 

Our curriculum will encourage questioning, the exploration of ideas and navigation of challenges to help prepare our children for the future. This is structured into a model with a progression of skills starting with the children’s own experiences and developing to wider national and global aspects, with the creativity that encourages self-expression and the development of their talents.

Throughout our curriculum we run Golden Threads; values which underpin everything we do:

• Wisdom and Knowledge
• Hope and Aspiration
• Dignity, Forgiveness and Respect
• Community and Family

Woven throughout these are skills that we see as key for our learners to be confident in.  These form our Silver Threads:

• Spirituality
• Communication
• Cultural Capital

Our School is a member of the Diocese of Saint Albans and as a Church of England School, we align our ethos and aims with that of the Church of England's Vision for Education. This can be viewed by clicking here.