St Bede’s College

At St Bede’s, we believe that Pastoral Care is an essential aspect of educational provision. We are rightly proud of the reputation we have developed for helping our students to become young adults who are confident and caring, aware of their uniqueness, yet willing to sublimate their wishes in pursuit of the common good. We want our young people to be polite and happy, to show initiative and, above all, to be mature, honest, kind and faithful in their relationships.

The pastoral support we offer our young people would be less effective if we did not acknowledge the shared nature of our role with parents. Because of this, we strive to involve parents in every aspect of their offspring’s development, encouraging dialogue about pupils’ progress and achievement, being happy to listen and support when personal circumstances encroach upon school life and offering an orderly and firm disciplinary structure in which pupils can exercise initiative, develop and ultimately succeed.

The pupils’ academic, spiritual, social and moral development from being children at 11, through the pitfalls of adolescence and into young adulthood is presided over by a group of dedicated Heads and Deputy Heads of Year who work closely with a team of Form Tutors and with the Deputy Head with responsibility for Pastoral Care.

It is through the pastoral system that guidance is offered when subject choices are being made and when the students eventually reach the Sixth Form, they are supported on an individual level through the intricacies of university application by a large group of Tutors, who work under the leadership of the Head of Sixth Form and his three Deputies.

The College Matron, the Head of Religion and the resident clergy are a vital part of the whole system. They offer an approachable and non-disciplinary alternative to the pupil whose needs cannot be catered for within the formal pastoral structure.

It is our belief that a young person who enters the wider world beyond family and school with an understanding of the importance of respect, love and humility, as exemplified in the life of Jesus Christ who is our model, will be well equipped to deal with the rigours of life. It is respect - for self, for each other and for all groups of society - which is at the heart of pastoral care at St Bede’s.