Aims & Ethos

At Our Lady of Sion School, our mission is to maintain a culture which recognises, embraces, and welcomes the qualities of every individual – both adult and child. Within our nurturing ethos, our young people will excel academically, display kindness in all that they do, and develop skills and wisdom which will enable them to navigate through life with confidence and assurance, both as young people now and as adults in the future.

Forever mindful of our Catholic foundation and of the Charism of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, we encourage every member of our community to respect our motto, “Consideration Always” and live this out through an obvious appreciation of diversity and a commitment to equality and justice.

A Sion student will always be encouraged to develop a life-long passion for learning, responding compassionately to the needs of others and to those of our planet.

• Remain mindful of the academic and spiritual visions of our Founders, expressed through the Charism of Sion, with the understanding that we are a non-denominational school which authentically welcomes children from all faiths as well as those who do not follow a religious faith.
• Awaken a genuine passion for education that fosters curiosity about the world and how we can positively connect with its many challenges and opportunities.
• Equip every child with the tools to thrive in a rapidly changing world, becoming thoughtful, informed, and engaged individuals who recognise that their talents and skills can positively impact their communities and the wider world.
• Develop inspiring and influential young people by encouraging and demonstrating commitment, integrity, compassion, and self-belief.
• Promote a culture which encourages and supports personal development, high-performance, self-reflection, strength of mind, inquisitiveness, open dialogue, authenticity, compassion, and planet-kindness.
• Cultivate a culture which unashamedly encourages all to display the very best version of themselves, understanding that personal and academic development is ongoing and vitalising.
• Provide opportunities to learn about keeping ourselves safe, strengthening our social and emotional wellbeing whilst fostering an awareness of what good citizenship, thoughtful stewardship of the natural world and ethical living looks like.
• Help every young person to understand that challenge is a normal part of life. Tenacity and self-belief will guide us through every challenge, and strength of mind and character emerge out of solution-focused responses to difficult situations.

• constructively work together to provide an excellent educational experience for the students in our care, and support them to become the best that they can be.
• contribute to, and benefit from, opportunities arising from our membership of the international family of Sion Schools.
• foster a culture based on consideration and respect for others, where cultural diversity is recognised and valued within the universality of humankind.
• support each other with an understanding that we are a diverse community where everyone is welcomed.
• ensure a safe environment by keeping safeguarding central to our practice through training and regular updates across the school.
• be reflective and self-critical, maintaining a clear awareness of our own strengths and weaknesses.
• create a dynamic learning environment with robust reporting, assessment and tracking procedures to ensure students are fully supported across all activities.
• encourage young people to take pride in everything that they aspire to do, in pursuit of academic excellence and contribution to school life including sport, music, drama, spiritual and charitable activities.
• think before speaking and understand that our actions affect others.
• support students to understand that risk taking and making mistakes is part of learning.
• provide opportunities for our students to develop their leadership skills, self-discipline, responsibility and emotional resilience.

Through achieving our aims, our students will possess the integrity, intellectual curiosity, ability to question, reason, think critically, and the resourcefulness to pursue their goals throughout their lives, making a positive contribution to our society.