Values & Ethos
Abstract
Northampton School for Boys is an independent academy, a training provider for future teachers and a leading member of a Teaching School Hub. Founded in 1541, it has a proud ‘Tradition of Excellence’, and has always been at the forefront of education in the town and county.
The ethos is a very distinct one, but one which seeks to enable all students to achieve their potential.
We believe in the importance of hard work and have the highest expectations of our students, who all should aim to ‘be the best I can be’.
We believe that to achieve their potential, our students need to be stimulated and challenged, both in lessons and beyond the curriculum. To achieve this, we place value on sports and the arts alongside more traditional academic avenues. We aim to nurture talent by providing the very best facilities, teaching, coaching and opportunities that foster engagement and success.
We believe that boys need to be ‘kept busy’ on purposeful activity and to engage with the whole school community – staff and other students.
We believe that progress in learning needs to take place in an ordered and disciplined environment, where all members of the school community have mutual respect for each other.
We promote traditional values of honesty, integrity, humility, perseverance, tolerance and kindness.
We insist that respect is shown by all members to all members of the school community.
We believe it is important to develop the whole person. A key feature of the school is therefore the commitment to providing a wide range of opportunities beyond the classroom, including extensive sports, music, drama and dance activities, and outward bound and residential opportunities.
We believe that students need to develop leadership skills, whether in curriculum areas or via the extensive House system and activities.
We believe that our distinctive approach is one that many girls wish to engage with in our sixth form, and that our sixth form girls make a significant contribution to life throughout the school.
We engender an understanding that all students should be “Respecting the Past… Securing the Future.”
We are an inclusive school which believes in ‘Excellence for All’.
Northampton School for Boys has a proud Tradition of Excellence since 1541. The school is at the forefront of education in the town and county, and has provided many leaders in the worlds of education, science, business, commerce, sport, music and politics. The school is an independent academy where girls are admitted to the sixth form. The ethos of the school has evolved over many years. This document sets out our aims and how we intend to achieve them. It encapsulates what makes NSB a very special place in which to work – as a student or an adult.
Our Aim:
... is to provide a broad educational experience that enables every child to achieve their maximum potential both academically and personally, and which prepares them for a successful adult life.
Our Ethos:
We believe:
- that there is a distinct approach to learning that benefits young boys
- that competition is a valuable lever to drive up standards
- that hard work never hurt anyone; boys need to be kept busy
- that leadership skills exist in everyone, but need nurturing
- that self-confidence is key to improving self-esteem
- that concern for self should be replaced with concern for others
- that everyone is deserving of respect, free from all forms of bullying
- that everyone is entitled to a safe and secure learning environment
- that every student is entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum which makes them an independent learner and maximizes their opportunities beyond school
- that engaging young people in our co-curriculum - a wide range of experiences beyond the classroom - develops ‘the whole person’, fosters good relations between staff and students, forges teamwork, and provides a sense of enjoyment and fulfilment
- that girls in the sixth form benefit from and greatly contribute to our overall ethos, enhancing the levels of awareness and respect across society
Our Values:
We will promote:
- high expectations of all stakeholders in our school community
- the highest standards of behaviour
- smart appearance, believing it to be an important component of selfrespect
- hard work and commitment in the classroom and beyond
- celebration of success at all levels
- high levels of engagement with the school community and with what we provide
- a spirit of adventure, but with respect for health, safety and wellbeing
- openness, transparency, honesty and integrity – trust in each other
- humility and dignity – in both victory and defeat
- perseverance in the face of adversity
- respect, tolerance, kindness and understanding towards all others
Our Objective:
... is to meet the needs of all learners in order to become rounded adults. We will nurture their:
- academic development through quality lessons and produce effective independent learners;
- physical development through quality PE, sport, and outdoor activity, and the study of health issues and healthy eating to promote healthy lifestyle choices;
- aesthetic development through music, art and design, dance, and drama to encourage appreciation of and expertise in a range of expressive arts;
- moral development by providing good role models, and through our PSHE programme promoting a culture of decency, tolerance and respect for the rule of law;
- spiritual development through many areas of the curriculum and wider experiences to enable students to appreciate a sense of awe and wonder;
- emotional development through sensitive tutoring and empathetic support, to enable youngsters to become emotionally resilient and comfortable in adult company;
- social development through a range of school and residential experiences, to develop a broad range of friendship groups across all years;
- cultural development – by exposure to a range of cultures, values and traditions of others;
- personal development through the whole experience that is NSB, to grow as a person into a happy, contented, but positive and dynamic contributor to society.
We want students to be committed to learning as a life-long commitment.
Our Expectation:
To achieve these aims, values and objectives, we recognise that each and every student:
- is special and is important to us
- has their own particular strengths and areas for development
- has their own skills, talents, qualities and aptitudes
- has their own individual background and needs
- is capable of making significant progress
We expect each and every student:
- to ‘be the best I can be’ at all times
- to respect the traditions of the school
- to abide by the policies, rules and expectations of the school
- to have high aspirations for himself and take responsibility for his own learning
- to be challenged, and to rise to that challenge
- to respect all members of both the school and the wider community
- to engage with the school community and all we offer as a school
We expect each and every parent:
- to support their child in their learning
- to support the school and its policies in relation to their child
- to encourage their child to engage with all the school offers
- to ensure the fullest attendance and punctuality possible
- to monitor the progress of their child using online information
- to contact the school if they are concerned as to progress
We expect each and every teacher:
- to be creative and provide stimulating, wellprepared lessons
- to monitor the progress of each individual student
and every member of staff:
- to treat every student with courtesy and respect
- to maintain good order, conducive to learning
- to have high expectations of every student
- to provide an excellent role model for the students
- to promote traditional values such as courtesy, honesty and respect
- to support and implement the policies of the school.
The school will endeavour to provide the best possible facilities to create a superb and safe learning environment to enable students and teachers to achieve their full potential.
Vision into reality:
Our actions will translate our vision into reality. Our ethos must be lived, not be hollow words.
Our curriculum:
- will provide a curriculum which meets the needs of our students
- will provide an entitlement to balance and breadth in order to maximise their choice and opportunities in subsequent years
- will be relevant to our students and will provide sufficient differentiation and challenge to enable progress and success for everyone
- will offer our students the opportunity to develop a full range of skills: literacy, numeracy, scientific skills, technological skills, linguistic skills, aesthetic appreciation and skills, physical skills, spiritual awareness
- will promote a spirit of curiosity and an appreciation of their place in the world.
We provide a core curriculum of:
English (Language and Literature), Mathematics, Science (including opportunities for separate Biology Chemistry and Physics), Design Technology, ICT, Expressive Arts (visual and/or performing arts), Physical Education, the Humanities (Geography and/or History), a Modern Foreign Language (French and/or Spanish) and Religious Education.
We provide a programme of Personal Social and Health Education delivered by our form tutors.
Our Learning Policy contains further details of how lessons meet our aims, objectives and ethos.
“Excellence in Everything!”
Our co-curriculum:
We believe that the co-curriculum has a vital part to play in development of ‘the whole person’. As such we provide a host of opportunities beyond the curriculum, such as:
- a huge range of interschool sports fixtures and national competitions
- regional and national music and dance competitions
- an extensive programme of House activities to promote healthy competition
- a prodigious level of peripatetic music tuition and massive range of groups and ensembles
- professional facilities for quality drama and dance
- frequent music concerts, drama productions, dance shows and ‘artistsin-residence’
- music and sporting international tours
- trips and visits extending the curriculum experience eg theatre visits, fieldwork
- national and international residential experiences
- gifted and talented opportunities, and support programmes
- Outward Bound activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme
- Enterprise week, including a range of opportunities for careers information & guidance
- clubs and societies catering for every sphere of endeavour and enjoyment.
We will embed appropriate practices, procedures and protocols in relation to Child Protection, Inclusion and Safeguarding issues to keep all our students as safe as possible.
‘Nil satis nisi optimum’
A Tradition of Excellence
