Christian Distinctiveness and Spirituality
Our Church School
We are a school that prides itself on our Christian values of Respect, Compassion and Courage underpinned by the scripture 'Love your neighbour as yourself' (taken from Mark 12: v30 - 31).
Our school is a member of the Diocese of Exeter and we are wholly committed to the education and welfare of the children in our care. Our vision for Upton St James reflects the Church of England vision of education for 'Life in all its Fullness'. As a school family, we share a passionate commitment to learning and recognise the uniqueness of individual learners. Our vision is driven by our desire to offer the best possible education for our pupils in partnership with parents and the local community.
Upton St James serves its community by working in partnership to provide an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice, and understanding of shared values. As a school we celebrate the diversity of the wider community and are committed to the principles of inclusion and equality of opportunity. Through our aims and values we promote and endorse the Government’s aim for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances.
We are committed to supporting the spiritual development of our whole school community, for those with belief and those with none. Our definition of spirituality is below:
Christian Distictivness Policy
Spiritual, Moral, Social & Culture Policy
Our-understanding-of-Spirituality.pdf
Our Church Family - St Mary Magdalene CofE Church (St Mags)
We have a long standing and positive relationship with St Mary Magdalene (St Mags) Church and worship there at least three times a year. St Mags is a CofE Church, directly linked to the Diocese of Exeter. The Reverend Sam Leach is heavily involved in life at Upton St James and regularly leads worship at Upton St James, as well as attending Ethos committee meetings. Joy Payne is one of our Foundation Governors who is an active member at St Mags.
Regular worship and school events in partnership with St Mags include:
- Easter service
- Carol service
- St Mags hosting a Christingle workshop at school
- The school hosting an outdoor Community Christingle service with help from St Mags
- The school supporting St Mags Christmas Fayre
- Year 6 Leavers event
More information about our linked CofE Church can be found on their website:
Our Church Family - Together Church
We also worship with Together Church, who we are fortunate to have as our literal neighbour on St James Road. Together Church is part of the New Frontiers Churches, with compassion as one of our shared values.
Pastor Pete and his team lead regular worship at the school and attend the Ethos Committee meetings. Greg Bell, who works at Together Church is also the Chair of Governors at Upton St James. Some of the Upton St James staff team regularly attend Together Church services.
Some of the many shared worship and events we have held with and at Together Church include:
- An inter-church/school Easter Pilgrimage.
- Together Church hosting our KS1 Mother’s Day celebration.
- Our whole-school Christmas performance
- Celebratory music events
For more information about Together Church, please visit their website:
