The Woodard Corporation

The Woodard Identity

Woodard Schools form the largest group of Church of England schools in England and Wales.

For 150 years the family of the Woodard Schools has grown steadily from the ten schools founded by Nathaniel Woodard between 1847 and 1891 to the forty that we have today. 

Nathaniel Woodard was himself well ahead of his time, pioneering a strategy for education that addressed the needs of the whole child - mental, physical and spiritual.  This holistic view, now universally accepted, is enshrined in the opening words of The Education Reform Act of 1988.  It remains paramount in determining the structure and content of education in Woodard Schools.

What makes Woodard distinctive? We have a firm conviction, going back to our Founder, that education is best delivered within a community whose life, thoughts and actions are shaped by Christian belief and practice.  The late Bishop Ian Ramsay of Durham wrote in a Bloxham lecture in 1972: The overall task of education is not primarily to inform and certainly not to indoctrinate, but to provide the atmosphere, climate, framework of ideas, patterns of argument, in which people grow to their fulfillment and find true humanity and a free glory.

In this general context, which all Church schools accept, the Woodard Schools take their place.  They are schools within the catholic tradition as it is found within the Church of England.  They are not exclusive and do not despise or reject those of other perceptions and traditions, but they unashamedly serve the Church and nation from the catholic tradition.

What does this mean in practice? We believe that God has created the world, and in Christ has redeemed it.  We hold created things to be visible and tangible expressions of God's mind and therefore think that this world is not ours to exploit, but is God-given and to be held in trust.  We therefore encourage an attitude of respect for created things, from people to property, because they are symbols or sacraments of a world given by God.  Neither the world nor our lives can be divided into 'sacred' and 'secular' - all come from Him.  Accordingly the heart of our worship is sacramental and Eucharistic, grounded in thanksgiving to God for all that He has given us and giving significance to every area of school life. 

Care of both individuals and community together is central to the Woodard understanding and the chaplaincy of a priest particularises this perception.  The priest shares in the leadership of the school and has a particular responsibility for the spiritual dimension of all the education provided, for the pastoral and spiritual care of each individual and for ensuring that the school community as a whole lives out its Christian convictions.

In addition, of course, we give continuity not only to our Founder's spiritual legacy, but to his educational vision as well.  We are committed, as he was, to providing high quality education that prepares young people to lead full and creative adult lives.  To this end we seek to provide flexible, stimulating, demanding and appropriate schemes of academic study together with a rich variety of sporting, artistic and recreational opportunities.  We encourage personal success, self-confidence and self-respect whilst also stressing the importance of responsible citizenship, high moral values and a commitment to use one's gifts in the service of others.

Such a diverse yet united family of schools, sharing such common aims and objectives, we believe is called upon to make a unique contribution to the educational life of our nation