Our Christian Foundation

The Piggott School is a Church of England Academy within the Diocese of Oxford.

Our Christian Vision is taken from the Bible passage Luke 10: v25-37, The Parable of the Good Samaritan.

‘Jesus told him, Go and do likewise’

As an all-through school, our Christian vision must be comprehensible to all members of our school community from the youngest to the eldest. The learning from The Parable of The Good Samaritan offers the opportunity for the development of wisdom, kindness, respect and reflection to our youngest learners in EYFS through to our Year 13 students preparing for life beyond school. Our vision allows us to learn from Jesus, our teacher, reflecting on the messages of the Good Samaritan parable. It helps us to take forward the compassion and charity that we can show to others, and also realise that each of us at some time needs the help of others through no fault of our own. We want our school community to reflect the learning and ‘Go and do likewise’.

Our School Values

Christian love agape, is at the heart of our school. Our vision reminds us of the importance of selflessness, charity and kindness. The bible tells us to ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ and our Christian values of Respect, Equality, Honesty, Dedication, Courage and Love offer a bedrock for our learning community to bring our vision to life. These values permeate throughout the life of the school and they are evident in the culture and ethos. Our Christian values stem from the Fruits of the Spirit, and are exemplified within the parable of the Good Samaritan. These values embody the fruits of the spirit to inspire our students to embrace our learning community and explore education for life in all of its fullness. We are dedicated to enlightening a generation to take these values and ‘Go and do likewise.’

Our vision empowers all members of our school community to become learners who will enjoy life in all of its fullness. Our learners will be excited to develop their wisdom and knowledge, preparing them to seek opportunities to be courageous advocates in their community and beyond. They will demonstrate high aspiration, resilience and humility in their learning and they will know how to celebrate success, learn from set backs and recognise achievement. Through teaching independent thinking and leadership, we will provide opportunities for our learners to develop a strong sense of identity, deep rooted self-belief and an ability to articulate and educate others. We aspire to empower our learners to be leaders in equity, diversity and opportunity for all.

All members of The Piggott School community commit to the vision of ‘Go and do likewise’. We all share in, and reflect upon, the love and respect we have for each other. Our vision and values remain central to all that we do. In carrying out our vision, our school community will be inclusive, ambitious and committed to leading charity within the school and beyond.

‘Go and do likewise’

Our Christian vision permeates all aspects of life at The Piggott School in the following ways and more:

• Our school actively promotes opportunities for individuals to reflect on their faith.
• Students and staff of all faiths and none are encouraged to engage in opportunities to develop spirituality, allowing them to flourish socially and emotionally.
• A broad and balanced curriculum provides bespoke opportunities for academic excellence, development of wisdom, knowledge and skills, alongside personal growth.
• The learning culture in the school ensures opportunities for high aspiration and courageous advocacy for all.
• Collective worship includes faith based assemblies, SMSC assemblies, tutor time activities and celebrations, silent personal reflection, and a time to ask ‘big questions’ (see annual worship plan)
• The school will continue to build strong links with the local churches and the wider community to maximise opportunities to collaborate through shared learning experiences
• The school is ‘outward facing’ and continue to find opportunities to support local and national charity work – service to others
• All learners follow a high quality, high impact RE curriculum delivered by specialist trained staff, providing opportunities to learn about, understand and reflect on inclusion and diversity through Christianity and other faiths.
• All learners follow a broad PSHCE curriculum providing explicit opportunities for spirituality, reflection and discussion.
• The school will continue to ensure that learners achieve the very best academic outcomes leading to appropriate destinations.

Luke 10:25-37  The Parable of the Good Samaritan

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’^[b]”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii^[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”