British Values
Preparing our students for life in modern Britain
One of our core values as a school is to be at the heart of our community. This means serving our community and ensuring our students are active members of the community. We recognise the multi-cultural and multi-faith nature of the wider community in the United Kingdom and the challenges our young people face in modern Britain. Our goal is to ensure our students are prepared for adult life in todays ever-changing world.
At BCHS we actively promote the defined British Values of:
- Democracy
- Rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
These values are woven throughout school life.
Democracy
Democracy is central to the way we work at BCHS. We value the views of our students and empower them to be part of making our school the best it can be. Our Student Parliament means we have representatives from every form group participating in discussions and decision making. The parliament is run by members of our Sixth Form who feedback to the schools senior leadership and governing body. Our Head Boy and Girl and their deputies are democratically elected each year and are associate members of our governing body. We believe that through listening to the voice of our students in a structured way we are demonstrating how citizens can influence decision-making through a democratic process.
Rule of Law
The enforcement of rules is part of every day school life. Students are taught the importance of acting responsibly and respecting each other and the rights of everyone in school to be safe and to learn. Our Success Policy focuses on the benefits of acting responsibly whilst highlighting the basic rules we follow to ensure everyone has an opportunity to succeed in our school. Students are also taught about the UK legal system, and judiciary through Citizenship classes in the lower school and Politics in Sixth Form.
Individual Liberty
At BCHS students are taught to make sensible choices and to learn right from wrong in an environment that is safe and supportive. We encourage individual liberty whilst providing boundaries to ensure our students are safe. E-Safety, Citizenship and PHSE provide time on the curriculum to discuss democracy, liberty and tolerance and how to balance liberty and safety. Form time is used daily to discuss world affairs and spiritual, moral, cultural and social aspects of life in the modern world. We provide opportunities and experiences through the curriculum and extra curricula activities for our students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence.
Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
Our students are taught to care for each other and ‘speak kindly of others’ in everything we do at BCHS. We operate a policy of zero tolerance on discrimination of any kind through rigorously enforcing our Anti-Bullying and Race and Equality Policies. A broad and balanced range of religions, cultures and beliefs are studied across the curriculum.
