Catholic Life and Ethos

Sacred Heart School was established in 1938 by the Sisters of the Order of Notre Dame to provide an education to the children of local Catholic families. The original school was a brick building and initially accommodated 11 children: the entire school!  

The tradition of a small school where everyone is known and valued continues today, although the original building gave way to the new school hall in 2008 and the school has grown steadily to its current status of one form entry from Nursery (2 years old) through to Year 6, with pupil numbers around 150.

The purpose of the school remains steadfast: to provide an excellent education within the mission of the Catholic Church. This does not mean that we are seeking to convert! Rather we encourage each child to think for themselves, to discern what is right and what is wrong, to acknowledge their mistakes, seek forgiveness and in turn to forgive. Every day we strive to be the best that we can be - at school, at home, at work and at play. 

Our Catholic life and ethos is not an add-on, taught discretely in RE lessons; rather it is something which is evident in our relationships, and is woven intrinsically through everything that we do.

The whole school comes together on Monday mornings to listen to the Gospel and reflect on God's message for each one of us today.  Children are encouraged to develop a personal relationship with Jesus through listening to the gospel, through prayer, through acts of charity. All the children participate in whole school masses and liturgies.  We are inclusive and welcoming of children of all faiths and none but we do expect families to be supportive and respectful of our ethos.  We would not be the school we are, were we not a Catholic school.

We are a diocesan school, fully supported by the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and have close relationships with the Sacred Heart parish, situated as we are, adjacent to each other.

Diocesan Inspection Report

We are rated as 'Oustanding' in our most recent Diocesan Inspection report. Click on the link for the full report and please see below for some extracts from this report...

"Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. They are extremely courteous in their dealings with each other, teachers and visitors and reflect the calm and peaceful ambience prevalent in the school."

"It explicitly espouses the richness of a Catholic way of living."

"It is a multifaith community that is totally inclusive and in which the staff and pupils demonstrate mutual respect and care."

For further information on Catholic School Education, please click here to read an article from the Catholic Independent Schools' Conference website - What is distinctive about a Catholic School?