Christian Ethos & Values

Monkton Combe School was founded in 1868 by Reverend Francis Pocock to educate the sons of clergy and missionaries working overseas.

Nearly 150 years later much has changed at Monkton but it is the aim of the school to remain true to its foundation and roots. With that in mind our aims may be summarised as follows:-

• To continue to emphasise the importance of the Christian faith and to convey consistently the relevance of God’s message in a changing world, extending the School’s Christian principles beyond acts of worship so that they underpin the whole fabric of the community and its activities.
• To base the education of young people at Monkton on the belief that Christian faith and principles are fundamental to an understanding of ourselves, as well as to the fulfilment of human potential.  We warmly welcome pupils of all backgrounds and beliefs.  We provide a supportive and caring community in which all young people are able to develop their talents, build good relationships and grapple with the all-important questions of life.
• To seek to develop the whole person, in recognition of the value of the contribution the skills of different people can make, the equal importance of those skills, and the value of each child’s creational individuality, affirming that each God-made pupil has value.
• To commit ourselves to share best practice and to be an example to other Schools in the UK and internationally.
• To be Christ-like in all the School does: as employer, neighbour, school, tax-payer, and local stakeholder, the School shall aim to reflect the Christian faith in a contemporary and biblical manner.

The School Chaplain - Reverend Matthew Dietz

Matthew joined Monkton in April 2011 after ministering in Bournemouth for just over three years. He served his Curacy in Christ Church, Winchester and St Paul's Bournemouth.  Matthew has had a variety of experiences before joining Monkton. Following his Undergraduate days at Cambridge, he served as an Officer in the Army for 11 years, and then moved into the City as a Management Consultant with Accenture.

Matthew heard the call to Ordained Ministry, quite literally under a eucalyptus tree in the Iraqi desert in Basra, where he had been mobilised for the 2nd Gulf War.  Ordained in 2007 he gained a distinction in his Diploma in Ministry after studying at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

Matthew is married to Marion and they have four children, a dog, cat and four chickens!