Our Foundation & Ethos |

Our Foundation

St Mary’s is a Church of England school that was founded in 1870 by the Reverend William Stapylton, who served as Vicar of St John’s Malden with Chessington from 1850 to 1894. Our Trust Deed (the document that stipulates the principles and legal conditions under which the school was established and should be run) states that the school was founded:

‘for the education of children and adults of the labouring agricultural manufacturing and other poorer classes in the Parish or Chapelry of Chessington’, shall

‘always be in union with and of the Incorporated National Society for the promotion of education of the Poor in the Principles of Established Church throughout England and Wales’

and that the Vicar of Chessington shall have a significant role in the direction of pupils’ ‘moral and religious instruction’.

Our Ethos

Building on the founding vision of our school, the Ethos statement in our Instrument of Government (2015) further strengthens our identity as a Church School and underpins our vision:

‘Recognising its historical foundation, the school will preserve and develop its religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with the Church at parish and diocesan level. The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils.’

School leaders and governors are committed to ensuring that this ethos permeates our provision in all areas and is demonstrated in the way the school teaches our pupils and how we interact with each other in the school community.