Christian distinctiveness

We are extremely proud to be a Church of England School and have a close partnership with the Parish of St. Mary’s and the Diocese of Derby. We believe that all children should have ‘life in all its fullness’ John 10:10.

We work closely with Reverend Arnold, who has shared the following message:

My name is Derek Arnold and I am the new Team Rector (priest-in-charge) of Coton in the Elms Church working in the school with the Revd Bruce Johnson who is the Team Vicar looking after the community side of the partnership. We also look after a number of other churches. I have 4 children, a number of Grandchildren and Foster Son who was with us for 10 years. I have joined the Governing body and would like to give you an idea about who I am.

After attending Art College in Portsmouth, I began my working life as a Technical Illustrator. We moved to Germany for 10 years where I worked in the latter part of my time as Marketing Director and when I returned to Banbury, I started my own company which is where I remained until I got the call to be a priest and the rest they say, is history.

Since joining the Priesthood, I have served on 6 Governing Bodies and have been the Chair on 3. It was not always at the best of times, but always a pleasure and privilege to serve. If any of my past and present experience can help the school, I will do what I can.

Working in schools, and behind the scene, at schools has been a real interest of mine. I believe this is a really important part of the church’s mission to our communities, and a place where we can enjoy real encounters, and build good relationships with students, parents and teachers.

I enjoy watching sport and Stand-up Comedy, getting out into the countryside and going fishing when I get the time. I love going to the cinema and a couple of my favourite films are Gran Torino and The Great Escape.

Our school values of P E A C E are rooted in the Bible Teaching.

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

We all want the very best life opportunities for our pupils. Through perseverance in times of challenge we can succeed. Although academic success is important, we value most that our pupils revel in the awe and wonder of God’s creation. We wish for all our pupils to have compassion for others and live out God’s plan that he has for each of us.

We are very proud of our SIAMS outstanding outcome. Our report can be viewed here: Coton-in-the-Elms-SIAMS-Report-2017

Further information can be found about the diocese here: Derby Diocesan Board of Education – Derby Diocesan Board of Education Website (derbydbe.org)

SIAMS Self Evaluation Form