Since 2017 we have focussed on combining academic excellence with the explicit development of good character in our students. This is driven by the school ethos, stemming from our motto of Excellence with Integrity. The purpose of Character Education is to help students develop so that they can thrive in their adult endeavours, both personal and professional, and make a positive contribution to their society and community. As a school we set store by three core values, Aspiration, Kindness and Resilience. We aim to help students understand what these mean to them through experience and learning.
Fostering aspiration from an early age is important to help students identify and pursue appropriate ambitions, academically and personally. Life invariably provides a range of challenges for us all, and resilience is necessary in dealing with them. We want our students to feel confident rising to those challenges with equanimity, accepting that things go wrong sometimes. We also want them to learn the benefits of being kind to themselves, to others and to their environment.
Our school culture means that students are constantly exposed to these attitudes through the actions of our staff and student leaders. The range of opportunities students have outside the classroom through our co-curricular programme gives them the chance to seek out experiences that will develop their character in different ways. In class they are taught, implicitly and explicitly, how to develop the traits of good character. This includes forming and sustaining positive relationships, working collaboratively and persevering. If we work to develop values and character we are enabling students to thrive in as wide a range of circumstances as possible. This includes high stakes situations such as public exams, but also includes the day to day experiences that so much of life is made up of. Overall we want Challoner’s alumni to leave us knowing how to flourish healthily as individuals, and to recognise the good they can do by making a positive impact with their education.
