Christian Ethos
The Chaplaincy
The Chaplaincy is at the heart of Monkton Combe School. The aim of the chaplaincy is focussed around helping the pupils find 10:10 Vision - to look and live. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The fullness of life he speaks of has not only eternal value but also shows how Jesus and the Christian life can give a framework to live by in order to have a “full” life. This 10:10 Vision underpins all that we do here at Monkton Combe School to help every pupil grow, mature and flourish.
| Look | Live |
|---|---|
| To look into the claims of the Christian faith, consider the big questions of life and to enable everyone to construct their own world view in order that they leave Monkton grounded, rounded and prepared for all that lies ahead. | Fullness of life that Jesus speaks of is what we want to consider living by - it provides the founding principles on which to ground our lives, gives a moral compass, teaches about the importance of balance in life and what it means to put others before ourselves. Our school values (Humility, Confidence, Integrity and Service) all flow directly from this. |
Meet the Head of Chaplaincy
Andy Hutchinson is married to Lyndsay and they have 4 children Lucia, Hugh, Jago and Talitha. Before joining Monkton as the Head of Chaplaincy Andy had been working for St. Giles’ Church, Derby for 6 ½ years being mainly involved in youth work, music and outreach.
Before Derby and training for ordination at Oak Hill, London, Andy taught History and was assistant housemaster at Queen’s College, Taunton.
As Head of Chaplaincy, Andy is responsible for the spiritual oversight of the school over all three sites in leading and facilitating the staff in helping nurture strong Christian foundations and values in the lives of the pupils. If you have any questions or would like to get in touch do email him on [email protected]
A Year of Prayer for Monkton
New for 2023/24, our Chaplaincy team have launched an initiative to encourage our whole community to join together in prayer for the school. Every day a new prayer into a specific area is released on the link below.
The Chaplaincy Across the Schools
Prep (Lower School)
Monkton was founded on Christian values which still underpin the vision, mission and values of our School today. Each week we come together as a school in assembly to share a Bible story, or biblical theme, and sing hymns. These assemblies are led by the Head, Catherine Winchcombe, or Rev. Andy Hutchinson (aka Rev Hutch!). Once a week we also have a singing assembly with the Prep School Director of Music, Helen Harris.
Prep (Upper School)
Monkton’s founding Christian values continue to be at the heart of Monkton Prep. Every day in one form or another we consider a Biblical thought and theme whilst considering its relevance for us today, whether that be in assembly, chapels or as part of our tutor times on Wednesdays. These are intended to give our pupils an opportunity to reflect on their actions and behaviours throughout the day with the aim of instilling the values of the school. We share in hymns and songs, often supported by a Prep School band. Year 8 pupils can choose to be part of Ichthus who run an informal assembly with drama, games, singing and a short talk - this empowers our senior students to facilitate the learning of their fellow pupils.
Xcite is the Prep School Christian Union for Years 7 and 8, and our junior years Bible club, XtB, meets during a lunch or break time to discuss, explore, engage and think through the teachings of the Bible (usually with doughnuts!).
Senior
The Christian ethos at Monkton enables our students to explore and question the Christian faith and discover what it means to them. We have whole school chapels on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Chapels are led by Rev Hutch, the head of chaplaincy, other staff, pupils and visiting speakers. House Prayers take place on Fridays where each house comes together to discuss school events, consider a theme and Bible thought for the week as well as pray. On Thursdays, it is the Principal’s Assembly. We intentionally don’t have chapel on Sundays and instead encourage our boarders to go to a church in Bath - we run buses/taxis to a number of different churches in the area depending on where pupils would like to attend.
The Christian Union at Monkton Senior is led by a committee of Year 13 pupils and is very active and well supported. CU is on Wednesday evenings and is for all pupils. At each meeting there are usually some games, singing and a talk from the Bible by a visiting speaker. Crossfire meets 5 times throughout the year and is an opportunity to consider and debate questions and matters around the Christian faith. This is for Years 11-13 students and allows for some provocative questioning supported by external Speakers. The topics looked at have been varied, for example, God and suffering; can you be rich and a Christian?; and has science defeated God? There are weekly year group Bible studies on Monday evenings, big Chaplaincy events, the Michaelmas Addresses, weekends away, a joint inter schools CU gathering, voluntary communion services and much more!
We continue to seek to provide as many opportunities as possible to help our pupils to “look” and “live”!
Rev Hutch regularly visits the Houses (sometimes with his family too!), Lyndsay and the children are often around the school and they love to have pupils over for meals. Rev Hutch is available to offer support and guidance, spiritual, pastoral or otherwise, to our students.
