Spirituality 

 

The vision for Archbishop Tenison’s School is rooted in 1 Corinthians 13:13, where Paul, writing to the church in Corinth about the foundations of Christian ethics and community life - “these three remain: faith, hope and love.” 

  

We believe the purpose of a Christian education is to reach our full stature as human beings, no longer children “tossed to and fro by the waves”, but rather “growing up in every way … into Christ” as members of his body, in which each part makes a vital contribution to the whole (Ephesians 4: 14-16).  

  

As a Christian learning community, we also believe that spirituality is a central part of human existence. We believe that all people are ‘Imago Dei’ - made in the image of God. As trinitarian God, relationship (Perichoresis – the relationship of the three persons of the Trintiy), and spirituality is at the heart of God’s character. As such, all people are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27), to be in relationship with Him and one another, and to connect spiritually with Him and the world He created. 

  

Despite spirituality being a human experience, it is not always easy to define, as it can often mean different things to different people. At Archbishop Tenison’s, our understanding of spirituality is centred around three words, and within these three words understanding about God, ourselves, and how we view each other and the world.  

  

Vision (faith) 

• We believe that God has a vision for His creation - the redemption of all things back to God.  

• We believe that God calls us to have vision. A vision for our lives, and a vision for the world around us.  

  

Tenacity (hope) 

• We believe that God is a tenacious God, who tenaciously pursues His people, calling them back to Himself.  

• Made in the image of God we believe that we are called to be tenacious. Tenacious in our faith, tenacious in our teaching, and tenacious in our learning.  

  

Vocation (love) 

• We believe that God has placed a call on each of our lives – called to follow Him. 

• We believe that teaching is a vocational calling, and through our teaching we give pupils the opportunity to explore the subject we teach, and the pastoral care we offer.  

• We believe that we are called to love because Christ loved us first (1 John 4:19), and to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40).  

  

This understanding allows pupils and staff to experience our school motto – Academic Excellence, for each person, in a Christian community. 

 

• Impact on curriculum 

• Impact on pastoral care 

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