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We Care

We Care


St Louis Grammar School is a community built on a foundation of Christian values of care and respect for the individual.

concerned with the personal, spiritual and intellectual development of the whole pupil. It is a positive learning community where pupils feel valued and encouraged to make a positive contribution to their own development and to the life of the school. Pastoral care is therefore the responsibility of every member of staff and integral to school life.

The pastoral system has a clearly identifiable structure within the school in which every staff member has a pastoral role. The responsibility for this dedicated focus is carried by the Tutors, Year Heads, and the Senior Management Team. This system ensures that there are clear lines of communication and easily identified roles and responsibilities which bring maximum benefit for all pupils. A counselling support service is also available for pupils.

The pastoral programme followed by the pupils addresses relevant personal, social and academic matters. Issues discussed in a safe and trusting environment include:
personal development, friendships and social interaction, attitudes to bullying, study skills and health issues. We recognise that pupils benefit from having a particular
teacher to whom they may turn, so pupils are divided into tutor groups of approximately twenty pupils. The daily registration and the weekly tutorial period are an ideal forum for individual and group concerns to be addressed. The Tutor plays a pivotal role in helping pupils to become an integral part of the St Louis community, where high standards of honesty, behaviour and application to work are encouraged and respected. Each pupil documents information on their academic progress, their positive personal qualities and their extra curricular involvement in a Progress File. Dialogue between Tutor and pupil is an important part of this process and helps the young person to take responsibility for his/her own learning. The summative Progress File is presented to pupils at the end of Year 12.

An Education for Love programme is delivered throughout the school. Outside agencies provide support for the programme in Years 11 and 13. Relevant topics are introduced in tutor period gradually over the seven years and the content is appropriate to the developmental stage of each year group. Emphasis is placed on treating topics with tact and sensitivity, encouraging each girl and boy to form sound Christian attitudes to life, love and positive relationships.

We Care

We acknowledge that parents are prime educators of their children and that it is only when an actively supportive partnership is developed between home and school that the child's true potential will be realised. Consequently we aim to maintain full, extensive and creative communication between the school and home.

An Open Day for prospective Year 8 children and their parents is arranged in early January. Any parent who is unable to attend the Open Day, and who would like more information about the school, should telephone the school to arrange an appointment. We understand the emotional and intellectual challenge that the transition from Primary to Grammar school poses for our Year 8 pupils, so a comprehensive induction programme is organised to address this. Those whose applications are successful will be invited to St Louis, with their parent(s)/guardian(s) on an afternoon during June when the new pupils will meet with their new friends, pupils currently in Year 8 and their Year Head. This meeting will begin the induction process before they start the school in September. The DELTA programme for parents of Year 8 students is an important part of the induction process and takes place early in the first term. Year 8 students also have a study skills day during which they have a variety of different workshops, talks and activities, all aimed at improving the pupils' understanding of how to learn and work successfully.

To complement these activities we have developed the use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so pupils and parents can access some of the on-line learning materials and resources that are being used in class. The school website has a parents' section that gives guidance on how to support students with the demands of new subjects, organise books and personal equipment and to adjust to different types of homework. It also contains subject specific resources, pastoral resources and guidelines necessary to help your child make a smooth transition from primary school and settle in quickly to their new and exciting environment.

Parent-Teacher consultation afternoons are organised for each year group. During this meeting parents will have the opportunity to discuss progress and application to work. In addition parents receive a twice-yearly progress report. We value a genuine dialogue with parents which is not restricted to formal meetings but is ongoing and informal and encourage parents to contact the school at any time to discuss their child's progress or welfare.