St Mary’s College exists to help parents and carers to educate young people spiritually, morally, physically and academically as well as possible. We aim to be a truly Christian community, where our relationships are built on encouragement, concern, respect, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Our religious life is rooted in the faith, practice and moral teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Each person in our community is specially valued and has an important part to play in making sure that we live out our mission.

The Values, Vision and Ethos of the St Cuthbert's RC Academy Trust:

At St Cuthbert’s our Mission is to:

• Give every member of the St Cuthbert’s family the experiences to encounter Christ and know that they are loved by Him
• Provide excellent academic opportunities for learning
• Grow in the Christian virtues including Faith, Hope, Love and in the service of others
• Enable all to meet their full potential and flourish

Encounter

Give every member of the St Cuthbert’s family the experiences to encounter Christ and know that they are loved by Him

In Evangelii gaudium, Francis urges the faithful to “a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them” (3). Christ is constantly reaching out to all persons, but an encounter happens when that invitation is acknowledged and responded to by a human being. Francis suggested that the word “encounter” is central to the way he thinks of Christian relationships. He encourages the faithful to be fearless in the ways in which they look beyond their own needs and wants to those of others.

At St Cuthbert’s we are fearless in the ways that we look beyond our own needs and wants to those of others. We must show respect and acceptance to each other, so that all feel welcomed, and are thus prepared to take their place in a just and caring society.

Learn

We encourage a culture of vocation.

We provide excellent academic opportunities for learning and access to a broad and deep curriculum which gives them success and enables them to make decisions about their future life. We get them ready for the next stage in their education or employment.

Grow

Grow in the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope, Love and in the service of others.

St Cuthbert’s serves beautiful and unique communities with diverse needs, strengths and characteristics.

We accompany each individual on their journey actively encouraging participation and growth, particularly alongside the vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Aristotle’s (384-322BC) term eudaimonia offers a vision of human flourishing indicating the purpose, the end, to which all human life aims through the pursuit of the virtues (Aristotle, 2009).

Aristotle’s ethics was developed in a Christian context by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74). For Thomas, human flourishing is a gift from God, revealed by Christ (John 10:10). Human flourishing is an invitation to share the joy of God’s own life, what Thomas calls ‘beatitude’.

We will continue to develop Catholic character education to promote a life based on Christ centred virtues that seeks the flourishing of pupils, young people and all members of the school community. Embodied in the ethos of each school we call our staff, children and young people to grow in positive personal strengths called virtues. These virtues are broad and balanced and include the theological, moral, civic, intellectual, and performance based virtues.

“Character education and the formation of all aspects of the human person through the pursuit of the virtues not only enhances the education of the individual and respects their dignity, it promotes the common good and the flourishing of human society in the world.”(Rt. Rev.d Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds, Foreword, Catholic Character Education, 2018)

Flourish

Through our strategic plan, we will enable all to meet their full potential and flourish.