Our values

A child is a person

A child is not a bucket to be filled or a lump of clay to be moulded. Every child is a person – equal in worth, dignity, wonder, complexity and basic needs to any other. Heritage exists to serve the whole child, inspiring and guiding him or her to become a mature, responsible, engaging adult.

A Christian ethos

We consider it important for a child’s healthy personal development that he or she be exposed to a system of values and beliefs, genuinely embraced by his or her teachers, capable of providing moral direction and inspiration for life. At Heritage, Christian teaching finds expression through assemblies and the emphasis we place in our curriculum upon direct knowledge of the Bible. In later years, more detailed analysis of other religions and philosophies will include a Christian perspective. Heritage warmly welcomes children from all backgrounds.

Small class sizes

Because we are committed to delivering an education highly responsive to individual needs, no class ever exceeds 16 students. Our classes currently average 13 students. No child is labelled or lost in the crowd.

A family-like atmosphere

At Heritage we place the highest priority upon happy, considerate, cheerful relationships, and we encourage parents to be involved as occasional volunteers, for example by coming on outings. We also value order, simplicity and the enjoyment of beauty. Such an atmosphere – like a family home – helps a child feel secure, comfortable and able to work to the best of his or her ability.

Feeding a child’s mind

Every child is innately curious and has a natural desire to learn. Yet far too many children emerge into early adulthood apathetic about genuinely interesting things. Our curriculum is designed to stimulate all children, regardless of their innate ability, by helping them form a ‘relationship’ with the best of our cultural and natural inheritance. Ensuring that a child does not develop a negative attitude to learning and that he or she emerges with an alert and engaging mind is our highest educational objective.

Habit formation

Growth in character is also central to our concern. We often talk about the formation of good habits. We prioritise study habits such as the habit of attention (or concentration) and that of ‘perfect execution’ as well as personal qualities such as kindness, perseverance, truthfulness and service of others.

Self-education

Real personal growth only takes place when a child engages for himself or herself: the passive person learns nothing. We place a high priority upon each child assuming increasing ownership for his or her own learning. Merit systems have little or no place – because learning is its own reward. The importance of self-education has implications for the teacher’s role. He or she is not a ‘fount of knowledge’ but a mentor or guide whose role is to help a child engage for himself or herself.

A gradual start

Our Preparatory Class (Reception/Year 1) does not attend school full-time because we believe the very young also need unstructured growing time at home. Too much too soon can have the opposite of the desired effect. Lower Preparatory students go home at lunch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Upper Preparatory students go home at lunch on Wednesday.