St. Mary's Church, Westerham
At The Churchill School, we especially value our close relationship with St. Mary’s Church in Westerham. It is a mutually supportive relationship that has developed well over the years and helps to strengthen our Christian distinctiveness as a school as well as promote the image of the Church in the eyes of the school community.
There are many ways in which we work closely with St. Mary’s Church in Westerham:-
Weekly Collective Worship
Each fortnight one of our Acts of Worship is led by either Reverend Dave Fox-Branch from St. Mary's or Phil Sutton from Westerham Evangelical Congregational Church. This is an important part of helping children to grow in their understanding Christianity and introducing them to our local church, St. Mary’s, as well as understanding that there are other Christian churches too. Children benefit from the variety within the menu of different Acts of Worship.
Special Christian Services
Throughout the Christian calendar there are a variety of special Christian services, some of which are held in school and some of which are held in the Church, for example our Christmas Carol Service and Easter Service. We aim to develop the children’s understanding of Christian services, celebrations and the Eucharist through regular visits to the Church.
Charity Work
The School often supports the church in raising money for worthwhile Christian charities, for example Tearfund Kigezi, Christian Aid and Porchlight.
SIAMS
As a Church of England School we are inspected under the SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) framework. At our last SIAMS in 2017 we achieved an ‘Good’ grading. As part of our Governing Body we have a dedicated Church School Governor who is focused on our continuous improvement as a Church School. Areas that are evaluated regularly are leadership and management, collective worship, Christian distinctiveness and the quality of our R.E. teaching.
Hosey Trust Educational Grants
Supporting Ex-Pupils
"Westerham Church of England Boys and Westerham Church of England Girls School Trust" (Hosey Trust) is a fund set up in 1987 for the benefit of children who have been through Westerham Church of England Schools, i.e. Hosey School and Westerham School. The proceeds of the sale of Hosey School were invested and the interest accumulated therefrom is made available for the benefit of the said pupils towards their further education. They can apply for grants towards books etc. or any other essential equipment for their course. This must be accompanied by relevant receipts. The Trustees are the Vicar, Churchwardens and two co-opted members and a secretary, who meet twice a year in April and October to consider applications. The grants vary depending on the number of students who apply each session. They are not means-tested and are available to all former Westerham Schools’ pupils up to the age of 25.
Applications to the Hosey Trust Clerk, c/o St Mary's Church Office.
Please see attached the 2017 annual report for more details.