Our vision

We seek to equip children with the vision, passion and skills needed to transform society.

We want children to be ‘fired up’ about building God’s Kingdom here on Earth, enacting positive change across all spheres of society.

God’s Kingdom is one of peace, love, joy, unity, equality, respect, forgiveness and compassion. It is a Kingdom where all can flourish, finding belonging, purpose and fulfilment. It is a Kingdom where we receive God’s love and the promise of ‘life in all its fullness’ through Jesus (John 10:10).

Our motto – let your light shine (Matthew 5:16) – is all about transforming society. When we let our light shine, we let the light of Jesus radiate from within us to transform lives and communities around us. When we let our light shine, we shape society with the peace, joy and compassion of Jesus. When we let our light shine, we pursue love and unity.   

Our vision of a world transformed by a generation of ‘Kingdom builders’ fuels our passion for primary education.

Our culture of service

As we pursue our vision, we rely on our culture of togetherness where we actively seek to serve one another. We learn together through a broad, challenging curriculum. We grow together in faith, wisdom and character. We struggle and face challenge together. We celebrate and succeed together. We shine together, enacting positive change at a local, national and global level.

We strive to build a culture of service. The leadership of Jesus was characterised by service – the washing of the disciples’ feet at the last supper provides a powerful image of the sort of servant-leadership that defined Jesus. At Parbold Douglas, we seek an ecology of service where every member of our community is both servant to others and served by others.

Service is powerful. By serving others, we empower them, enable them and energise them.
Service builds trust. It brings people together. It equips people to achieve, excel and grow!

Service is good for us. When we serve others, we flourish, we have a purpose and we grow in wisdom.

“We are in the world to serve humanity.” 
Edith Stein

“Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love.”
Mother Teresa

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mahatma Gandhi

Ultimately, we serve children by seeking the best for them (and of them) every day: providing a safe environment; providing an opportunity to meet with Jesus; providing a world-class curriculum with excellent teachers; taking a deep interest in their lives; and by giving them the opportunity to serve others and to serve society.

Inspired by scripture

During the Sermon on the Mount, found in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses a crowd and reveals eight blessings (known as The Beatitudes). He then goes on to explain:

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16

As a Christian school family, we take great encouragement from the words "you are the light of the world"; this reveals to us that Jesus, who himself tells us "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12), is within all of us. We are all God's children and are called to "give glory" to our Father in heaven through our "good works". This reminds us of the importance of our actions. Our actions allow us to let our light shine. Our actions allow us to share the light of Jesus with those around us, transforming society and enacting positive change.

The words "a city built on a hill cannot be hid" have particular relevance for us as our school, and our parish church (Christ Church Parbold), are both, literally, on the side of a hill. We want our school and church to be beacons that shine far and wide, transforming our region with the light of Jesus.