“It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Our Lady of Sion School…”
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Our Lady of Sion School…”Sion UK is part of a network of 22 schools around the globe. When you come into Sion UK, you join an international family of like-minded young people and teachers.
We regularly connect with our network of schools which naturally enables us to enjoy a global perspective through those vibrant relationships forged between Sion students and teachers around the world.
All schools have values which underpin their ethos and culture. For me, those moral principles only hold value when they are authentically lived out by every member of the community – adult and child. I am ever so proud of the culture here. For me, the true test of a positive school culture is in the individual’s intrinsic desire to align with the ethos and values of a place. Choice is the key. I am proud of the choices that our young people make here.
Sion Education is about each child achieving significant outcomes – both academically and personally.
You and I know that when we feel loved, cared for, known, and nurtured, our energy spins. We feel encouraged and inspired. We feel better about ourselves, we feel more awake and alive.
Sion Education is about connecting with the very essence of each child – from the very youngest in Nursery through to our young adults in our Sixth Form VISION Centre.
No one gets lost here.
Everyone is seen and heard.
Sion Education is all about unlocking the glorious energy that every child brings to the community. It is the epitome of the acorn becoming the mighty oak mindset.
The potential is already there.
The joy of this journey is uncovering that potential and seeing it dance – seeing it light up the room as together we unlock that astonishing energy and those exciting talents.
As the adults here, we must be asking ourselves questions throughout the day. Questions such as:
What are the affinities of this soul?
How can I truly connect and unlock the potential of this person?
These questions matter and true connection is essential to unlocking every young person’s potential.
When a child is understood and feels valued and known, the academic attainment is breath-taking – as is the personal development.
The child blossoms before our eyes.
Energy increases, wings start to grow – the flight is extraordinary, and the celebrations between child, teacher, parents and grandparents should be abundant.
I say to the children here, “If you could actually see the extraordinary power of your true potential, you would literally be bowled over.”
There is a mighty-oak growing…
We expect our youngsters to go deeper, to enjoy the challenge of the classroom, to engage with our Challenge+ activities and programmes.
We want them to interrogate, research, and bring original thought to what is being studied.
You cannot coast here, and why would you even want to?
Our culture does not even entertain it.
Critical and divergent thinking are both crucial to the development of these extraordinary minds and how they are going to interact and react to an ever-changing world in the now, and in their futures as adults.
All these experiences make up for an exciting educational exploration.
It must never be mediocre or run of the mill.
It must be extraordinary, and it must engage. This is not a rehearsal.
To be bored at school is a serious failing.
A disengaged student has not been discovered.
A teacher must develop the art of adaption.
A teacher must always be reading the room – responding and reacting, encouraging, and inspiring.
When I visit classes every day, I observe those supreme qualities. It must be that way – this is the way of Sion.
Our Academic Results speak for themselves.
Our students are hugely successful here:
They achieve impressive outcomes because of their dedication and commitment to personal success and because they belong to a school which has developed a culture that is contributing to that triumph.
Children want to learn here.
Children want to achieve their best.
They want their friends to achieve their best too, and I love that.
We love being with these young people.
We love their spark and their energy.
We value their ideas, interests, unique personalities, creative thinking, sense of fun and their hunger for discovery.
We certainly love teaching them and watching them fly.
When they fail, we are right there with them.
This is part of the journey, and an important part. We must not protect our children from failure.
Looking after the whole child is our determined mission.
Pastoral care can simply tick boxes.
Our care is dependable and unpretentious and that is why our young people talk to us, share with us, and reach out for help.
When they ask for our support, we know that these are sacred moments, and we do all that we can to help that child in their time of need.
And so… Welcome to Sion.
A parent’s investment in their child’s education becomes our sacred responsibility.
A child’s education is our collective delight and honour.
Home and School should always work together to bring up a child.
Each child needs to develop the self now, so that they are ready for what is to come.
This is a crucial time in your child’s development.
Making the right choice really does matter.
There is something wonderful about Sion.
It is a little mysterious to be honest – its loveliness is both tangible and inexplicable.
All I know is that I absolutely love being here.
My hope is that you get a real sense of this place – its spirit and attainment – when you visit us in person.
I look forward to meeting with you soon.
Steven Jeffery
BA (Hons) PGCE
Headteacher
