St Ignatius College Mission Statement

'Ready to set the world alight'

OUR VISION

The purpose of Jesuit schools is improvement in living and learning for the greater glory of God and the common good. The College is committed to the education of the whole person and the development of young adults of conscience, compassionate commitment and competence who will be of service in the community.

 

OUR PILLARS

We have three key pillars which underpin our Jesuit mission at St Ignatius College: 

Conscience 

In a world of so much choice, our pupils have the inner values and moral clarity to make the right choices. We give them opportunities to reflect on how to make the world a better place. 

Compassionate Commitment 

Rooted in shared values and faith, we empower pupils to have the courage to act compassionately- as ‘men and women for others’. 

Competence 

We spark curiosity to fuel academic excellence, intellectual independence and the motivation for pupils to succeed so they can become the best versions of themselves. 

 

OUR MISSION

Catholic education in the Jesuit tradition: the mission of Jesuit schools in Britain

Our schools are centred on the person of Jesus Christ and our students are helped and encouraged to take him as their companion and model; to grow in his likeness, becoming men and women of faith who are men and women for others. They are encouraged to develop their many individual gifts and talents to the full; and to build, in collaboration with all people of good will, the kingdom of God: a kingdom of justice, love and peace.

To help achieve this goal our schools “should be places where people are believed in, honoured and cared for; where individual contributions and accomplishments are appreciated; where everyone is treated fairly and justly; where each of us finds the challenge, encouragement and support we need to reach our fullest individual potential for excellence; where we help one another and work together with enthusiasm and generosity”. Ignatian Pedagogy (1993), 37.

In our schools we commit to ensuring that:

Each person is offered a spiritual and religious formation in the Catholic Christian tradition and encouraged to deepen a relationship with God.

In Jesuit schools, as in all Catholic schools, we share a commitment to helping parents bring up their children, encouraging reflection, prayer, religious commitment, and service to others. In this we are inspired by and faithful to the Gospel revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We welcome those who are Catholic, or from other Christian Churches, and those who belong to other faith or religious traditions or are of no religious tradition. Anyone who wishes to be part of our school community - as a pupil, parent or member of staff - is asked to respect our religious foundation and to come with an open mind ready to appreciate, reflect on and learn from the Christian message and that of other traditions.

Each person is nurtured, supported and challenged to realise their full academic and human potential.

We want every young person to achieve the best that they can in examinations and, at the same time, we believe that intellectual formation is more than simply getting good grades. We encourage our students to develop deep-rooted qualities of both heart and mind that will enable them to thrive in the complex and changing world in which we live. When we use the term excellence, we always mean human flourishing: human excellence which includes the intellectual, creative, artistic, physical, moral, religious and spiritual development of each young person.

Each person is encouraged to develop their moral conscience, to challenge injustice, to have the courage to do what is right and be men and women for others.

In a Jesuit school we should be judged not simply by academic results but also by how our school leavers grow to be women and men of conscience, compassionate commitment and competence. The ultimate success of our educational endeavour is best measured by how our young people engage with life in the decades after leaving school and the commitment, energy and ability that they show for the benefit of others and for our common home, the earth.

Each person is welcomed into our school community, belongs to it and knows that it is part of a global network of Jesuit schools which share a common mission.

In Jesuit schools, like all good schools, we build strong and caring communities, which will help our young people to have a sense of identity and security; a place where they can feel at home; where they are encouraged and have the confidence and resilience to develop their talents to the full. Our schools share a wonderfully rich educational tradition that is five centuries old and spans the globe. As a global organisation with a worldwide mission, whichever Jesuit school they study in, in whatever part of the world, our students will have shared goals and our schools will be supported in our common mission.

In seeking to achieve these goals we commit to never accepting mediocrity and strive, in the spirit of St Ignatius, for themagis, the ‘more’; a depth of understanding and discerned wisdom about what it means to be human beings called by God to a life of holiness.