Ethos

• Values —Our teachers will embody the Army’s core values of Courage, Discipline, Respect for Others, Integrity, Loyalty and Selfless Commitment.  We want our pupils to understand the classic notion of virtue—that satisfaction in life comes from what you put into your family, your community and your country.

 

• Learning —it is our job to make sure that your child is always  working at the right level. Pupils who are behind in English and Maths will get intensive help from their first day of school.  Gifted pupils will not be bored with work that is too easy.  Our pupils will love Phoenix, because they will always be learning and achieving.

 

• Safety —when teachers are in charge, bullying is seldom a problem.  Our zero-tolerance discipline policy will ensure that all children are safe.  Zero-tolerance is extremely popular with children—they enjoy being able to learn without interruptions, and they feel safe when teachers know how to turn bullies into good students.

We believe that a free society cannot survive when schools fail to transmit the highest moral and intellectual standards to all children, especially the least advantaged.  Phoenix will offer pupils in an ethnically-divided community a grammar school standard of education designed to forge a common British identity based upon respect for other cultures. We will offer a structured curriculum in which higher-order thinking skills are built on a firm foundation of basic skills, knowledge and understanding. Our pupils will learn that ideas matter—they will understand how great thinkers have created our civilisation and culture. When they understand the way the world works, they can become an active part of it.

All of our teachers and instructors will be veterans of the armed forces with experience in moulding young men and women from diverse and often difficult backgrounds into effective teams capable of performing demanding tasks in dangerous environments. They will instil self-discipline and a strong work ethic in our pupils by setting high expectations, encouraging competition, and a sense of responsibility for themselves and others within our House system.

When pupils leave Phoenix, we want them to understand and value the ideals that underpin a free society.  We want them to understand the classic notion of virtue—that satisfaction in life comes from what you put into your family, your community and your country.  We want them to internalise the Army’s core values of courage, discipline, respect for others, integrity, loyalty and selfless commitment.  We want them to know the difference between right and wrong, and not to hide behind the doctrine of moral relativity—which can be used to excuse almost any destructive or anti-social behaviour.

We want them to understand what it means to be British, and to forge a common identity with people from other cultures.  We want them to excel individually and as members of teams.  We want them to feel safe and secure in their Houses and in the school as a whole, and to understand that this security depends crucially upon mutual respect, tolerance and goodwill.

We also want to give all of our pupils—including those who are unwilling or unable to progress to university—a good grounding in core academic subjects and the intellectual curiosity characteristic of a life-long learner.  We want to give them the experiences, the confidence and the attitudes that will enable them to function successfully in whatever they choose to do.  We want them to understand that all work is honourable, and that everyone—even the brightest and best—will benefit from experience in menial jobs, which are an invaluable preparation for those aspiring to any career, even the most elite.

We want them to understand that a healthy society is integrated from top to bottom.  Ironically, former service personnel understand this better than many civilians—all officers have to undergo   the same training as any other recruit, and even the most senior officers never lose touch with other ranks.  Likewise, at Phoenix we want every pupil to value everyone who is younger or less fortunate than themselves and to function as a part of a team.  Although life is inevitably competitive, we want our pupils to understand that all goals in life must be achieved by working with others.

Above all we want our pupils to leave Phoenix with overwhelmingly positive feelings towards the school and life-long friendships with peers and staff.  We want them to have the same feelings of loyalty that public school pupils have to their schools, and indeed that  ex-servicemen and women have to their regiment or unit.  We want them to take away knowledge, skills, attitudes and memories that will enrich their lives and the lives of those around them, and enable them to make wise choices in life.