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Our Catholic Ethos
Bonus Pastor Catholic College is a Catholic community that is inspired by Christ’s example as the good shepherd. We aim to provide opportunities throughout the school day which nurtures our students to become Catholic citizens of the world who are dedicated to upholding social justice.
Catholic Schools Inspection report 2024
Student Spirituality
The students are at the heart of our Catholic ethos. We have a vibrant Student Spirituality Team who drive the Catholic life of the school. There is a team of Spirituality Prefects who lead our spirituality team. The prefects and their team are at the heart of leading charity events, liturgies, assemblies and the weekly reflection in the pastorale.
Daily Acts of Worship
The College day begins with an act of worship, either in Tutor Groups or at Year Group and House assemblies. Daily acts of worship are planned to allow our students to reflect on our weekly form time theme, issues in society and the liturgical calendar.
Liturgies
The key Feasts and Seasons of the Church’s year are celebrated at liturgies which the students help to prepare, including our Christmas Carol Service, Ash Wednesday Service and Easter celebrations.
Each academic year begins with a Mass for our Year 7 and 11 students, and concludes with our Leavers Mass.
Each liturgy is an opportunity to join together to reflect on our liturgical theme for the year and praise God through readings, prayer and music.
Retreats & Pilgrimages
Students are provided with a variety of opportunities to retreat from the busyness of school life and reflect on their relationship with God. In 2022/23, students had the opportunity to attend Flame at Wembley Arena where they experienced worship through music and dance.
In Year 7, students attended a retreat in partnership with Christ the King, St. Mary’s where they reflected on the Catholic Social Teaching Principle of ‘Dignity’. Students in Year 9 participated in a retreat with St. Franci Xavier where they reflected on ‘Rights and Responsibilities’ as they prepared for their transition into leadership within our school community. Year 11 students benefited from an afternoon where they participated in many well-being activities including prayerful meditation.
In 2023/24, students will have further opportunity to engage with their faith while on pilgrimage to Rome.
Catholic Social Teaching
Our community is committed to living out Catholic Social Teaching. The themes of CST are threaded into the curriculum across subjects. Students are able to experience how its principles weave into every aspect of life.
In addition to this, we have a vibrant extra-curricular provision which enables students to reflect on and engage with the principles of CST. For example, students have attended trips and events exploring the links between CST and Holocaust Memorial, World Cup and Refugee Week.
This commitment to Catholic Social Teaching has been recognised through our achievement of the Romero Developer Award.
Pastoral Support
The Pastoral system is the central nervous system of the school. It provides opportunities for students to see Catholic teaching lived out through caring relationships between both staff and students.
Each student is placed into a house which is named after an inspirational Catholic figure; Clitherow, Barton, Gwyn, Campion, Fisher and More. Each house promotes the important qualities that these Catholic figures exemplified through its flag, prayer, assemblies and inter-house competitions. Every house has a Feast Day where students prepare and deliver a liturgy in celebration.
Embracing the Gospel through technology
We live in a technological era and our school community has certainly utilised its capacity to share important messages about our Catholic ethos and the Liturgical life of the school through the Spirituality Calendar. The Gospel is now ever more accessible for both Pupils and Staff.
