The School’s Mission:
The school has a very clear mission founded upon it’s scripture “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)
This mission has been in place since the school was founded by Richard Balshaw in 1782 with the motto non sibi sed aliis – not for self but for others. Since becoming a faith school in the 1970s this mission has become explicitly Christian where our actions are directed by the Word of God who lights our path and directs our course.
Learning and education is a journey – a path to knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Through prayer and the Word of the Lord as presented to us in the Bible, we believe that students will develop into the best versions of themselves (whatever their faith or world view) both academically and socially. Quite simply, it is our hope that the distinctively Christian foundations of our school will enable the young people in our care to flourish.
Of all the gospel values that underpin this vision, one is more important than all of the others… Love.
What school would say that it doesn’t value respect, honesty, truthfulness and so on? However, when you are guided by the Word of God, then you also act in love: the love of Christ. It is this that makes a church school distinctive. Staff at Balshaw’s are regularly reminded of the words of St Teresa of Avila when thinking about their mission in the school:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
It is this strong Christian vision which allows students to feel a sense of belonging and which underpins the inclusive nature of the school community.
What is it like to learn at Balshaw’s?
Every day begins with your tutor who is like your school mum/dad who will begin with prayer and a thought for the day. Your tutor also delivers PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) to you over 1.5 hours per week. Both prayer, PSHE and the thought for the day are important elements of the spiritual development of our students (see below).
We have high aspirations for our students, the vast majority of whom leave with 9 GCSE qualifications as we believe that these academic foundations mean that as many opportunities are available to them as possible. All parents/carers of Balshavian’s engage with our Laptops for All scheme which means that all of our learners have their own laptops which allows them seamless access to their files, ability to collaborate, redraft, research and to accelerate their learning independently.
Home learning is an important part of academic success in any young person’s life and we expect our students to reinforce and revise their learning even when they do not have a specific home learning task. All our students are taught about how memory and learning work so that they can better develop the strategies for recalling and applying the knowledge that they have.
What is learning like beyond the classroom?
Whilst the intellectual learning that takes place during period 3 on a wet February morning is important, it is unlikely to be the memory that stands out when you think back to your days at school; learning experience is much wider than just knowledge of facts.
In Luke’s gospel he says that: “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52) Luke is discussing Christ’s development between the ages of 12 and 30. Wisdom (knowledge) is just one area of his growth. Luke talks about stature (physical development), favour with God (his spiritual development) and favour with man (his social development).
Whilst learning in the classroom develops all of these aspects of your child’s development, of no lesser importance are all the clubs and extra-curricular activities that your child can be involved in. From school productions and Duke of Edinburgh to Darts Club and Warhammer. And of course, there are the school trips that they can be involved in. We try to provide a range of trips at different costs levels from Theatre Productions and Castle visits to trips to Iceland or the CERN Particle Accelerator in Geneva! See our Trips and Visits page here and the Extra-curricular club page here.
These are the memories that stay with you well beyond your time in school and which help to shape you as a person.
What is Spiritual Development?
At Balshaw’s, our Christian vision is to help all students — those of faith and those of no faith — grow into people who reflect Christ’s love in the wider community. Spirituality supports this by helping students think about who they are, how they relate to others, and what gives life meaning. You can read a full explanation of our approach to spirituality here, however, here is a short summary
We describe spiritual development in three simple ways:
In: Understanding myself
Students reflect on their identity, self-worth, feelings, beliefs and values.
Out: Understanding myself in the world
Students learn about other people, communities, cultures, history and the wider world, helping them understand their place within it.
Up: Wonder, purpose and meaning
Students are encouraged to develop awe and wonder — whether through faith, nature, art, music, literature, or the beauty and complexity of life.
Spirituality at Balshaw’s is not just about religion. It is about giving every student time and space to reflect, ask questions, and grow as a person.
What is it like to be a parent/carer of a Balshavian?
It is really important to us that your voice is heard and that there is good communication between school and home. High school is never the same as primary where you see your child’s teacher every day, however, all parents/carers have their child’s tutor as a first port of call. The House system means that there is a Head of House who manages those tutors and looks after all the children in their house.
Parents/Carers can contact the school at any time and book an appointment to see staff. Parents/Carers receive a tracking report on their child’s progress three times a year and also get to attend a Parents’ Evening. In addition to this, when your child is joining Balshaw’s you have a new parent intake evening and shortly after they have started we hold a “Meet the Tutor” evening. In Year 9 there are additional opportunities to find out more about options and in Year 10 we have a session for parents/carers about supporting your child’s GCSE learning.
The school holds a Parents’ Forum three times per year for parents/carers to come and meet senior staff and to set the agenda for discussion. There is also a PTA where parents/carers meet every month with the Headteacher to discuss the planning and organisation of social events and fundraising.
Chaplaincy
At Balshaw’s we are hugely blessed to have our own Chaplain who is based in the school Chaplaincy office. Luke leads our acts of worship and provides someone for students to go to and ask ‘big questions’ about the world, their beliefs and our purpose on this earth.
Luke also works with students of other faiths to provide them with prayer space and a place for their own faith practices to be followed.
You can find out more about Luke on our Chaplaincy page here.
Worship and Prayer
Beyond the daily Thought for the Day and Prayer for the Day that are used in tutor time, our students also experience two full formal acts of worship each week. One is led by our school Chaplain in year groups and the other is led by the Head of House in house family groups. You can find out more about our worship on the Chaplaincy page here.
Prayer is an important part of our daily life in school. Staff, governors, parents/carers and the PTA pray together in meetings and all students have their own copy of the Lord’s prayer which is said at the end of every week before students leave for the weekend.