| Irrespective of when
they join us, at 11+, 13+ or 16+, at Downe House we pride
ourselves on the quality of the pastoral care available
to our students. Each of the three stages of our boarding,
Lower School, Upper School and Sixth Form, are tailored
to meet our girls' needs. In our boarding houses our girls
will benefit from the happy, caring and purposeful atmosphere
created by our team of highly committed pastoral staff.
Our aim is to encourage and support the girls as they
make their way from childhood into young adulthood. In
partnership with our parents, our pastoral staff will
help our girls to develop the personal qualities and strengths
needed to meet the challenges of today's society.
The School Code
The ethos of the School is based on the School Code:
'Treat everyone, whether younger or older, with the
same kindness and respect with which you yourself would
wish to be treated.' During their time at Downe House,
girls will have the opportunity to build strong friendships,
not only with those in their own year groups, but also
with adults and girls alike, across the school community.
Our Pastoral Ambition
At Downe House we believe the girls will flourish in
an environment which is civilised, well-organised and
homely. Through a pastoral system which is protective
and nurturing rather than repressive, girls will be
encouraged to live happily and develop fully in every
aspect of their lives, including socially, intellectually,
spiritually, morally, emotionally and physically.
With the guidance and support of our pastoral
staff, the girls will learn to cope with challenges,
not only those of a busy boarding school, but, more
crucially, those of a social and developmental nature.
As we all know, encouraging teenagers to take more responsibility
for their lives is easier said than done! However, every
step of the way, our pastoral staff will be there to
provide support, guidance, advice, sympathy and even
the occasional cup of hot chocolate to help your daughters
to acquire self-motivation, self-discipline and emotional
resilience, as well as kindness, understanding and consideration
for the needs of others, qualities that are much needed
in today's highly complex and ever-changing world.
Our Aim Fulfilled
For the last hundred years Downe House has helped to
prepare girls for the wider world and mould them into
the kind of women who can make a difference in all walks
of life. When they finally leave Downe House, girls
will be well on the way to becoming autonomous and self-determining
young women. As one of our leavers put it recently,
'I left Downe House with the feeling that there was
nothing I could not achieve.'
|
|
