Page 14 - Southwell School Chronicle December 2018
P. 14

THE CHRONICLE
FROM CHAPLAIN’S PEN IREVEREND CANON NEALE TROON
obvious pride radiating from their faces.
Each of the schools visited had their special way of weaving the Christian ethos into the life of the place. My perspectives of my role and the Christian life of Southwell School were enhanced as I experienced these schools, especially in the following ways:
• The place of each classroom teacher owning and teaching the subject to their students i.e. developing a class cross to last the year, that speaks of the faith journey of each student.
• How this all-in teacher involvement at the subject level allows for a spiritual language, common to all, to emerge and impact on the atmosphere of the school.
• The use of quiet worship spaces around the school, where students can go to re ect or  nd peace.
• Superb displays around the school, both traditional Christian inspirational pieces and student-led interpretation of faith issues.
• The way in which daily collective worship was student-led and often
Photo credit: Hamilton News
non-traditional in content, held in various spaces - one minute a hall, the next the Dining Room!
• The very sparse contact they had with the local church, even though they held its name in their titles.
It was also a pleasure to spend two nights in Southwell, where I attended Evensong in the Minster. I very much loved the town and its people. I would recommend a visit to this foundational place, even if it’s a brief one. Being there gives one a sense of how Cecil Ferris’s life had been shaped, which
in turn led him here, with his vision for an education system beyond the mundane.
As I said earlier, it is good to be back – back to a unique ministry, in the unique school that is Southwell.
Do enjoy the Festive Season and receive again the Babe of Bethlehem, lying in a manger, full of grace.
Emmanuel - God with Us.
t is good to be back! With my sabbatical leave in Term 3 completed and the joys of Term 4 ahead, I offer some re ections from my project, undertaken in England, as part of my leave.
This was a wonderful opportunity to visit a selection of Church of England (Anglican) schools, namely, St Paul’s and Benedict Biscop in Sunderland; St Aidan’s in Harrogate and Oakham School in Rutland County. My purpose was to look more closely at how the ethos impacts learning and spiritual development of students within these diverse environments.
These schools generally served lower socio-economic communities where education is prized, by parents and children alike. One of the schools, St Paul’s, adopted as its un-of cial motto a statement uttered by a student
one day when he said of the place, “Something Special Happens Here.” And indeed it does! The students were so engaged and engaging, with clear,
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