Type, Size and Purpose of School

Our Lady of Sion School, Worthing, is an Independent Co-Educational Day School. We take pupils from Nursery (rising three years) to Sixth Form (age eighteen) and are the only school in our area to offer education across the whole age range. We are currently celebrating the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Founding of the School.

The School has a town centre location on the South Coast, approximately three hundred metres from the English Channel. The Junior School occupies a large Edwardian house with the Early Years Department having purpose built accommodation in the grounds.

 In the Senior School, a short block away, we were fortunate to expand into the original Convent building when the Sisters moved in 1996. However, the main teaching and admin departments were specially constructed for the one hundredth anniversary in 1962.

There are currently approximately five hundred students on roll across Junior and Senior Schools. Having been an all-girls school until the early 1980’s, there is now a good balance of girls and boys.
The purpose of the School is best summarised in our Mission Statement:

Our Lady of Sion School aims to help young people of all faiths to reach their highest potential in a caring atmosphere.
Each boy and girl is encouraged to develop through all aspects of the school curriculum.
We encourage staff and students to engage in the wider community and to address issues vital to the future well-being of our society and the whole world, fostered in a climate that is permeated by the teachings of the Bible.

We maintain a close family atmosphere where there is respect for every individual and deliver a broad education where each child’s talents are developed. Our ethos of “Consideration Always” is known by all and permeates all we do. It is often mentioned by alumni, who also appreciate the open-mindedness fostered in them by their Sionian education.

Educational focus of the School
Our School accepts pupils of average ability and above and takes pride in achieving excellent Value Added scores, encouraging every pupil to be the best that they can be.  In the Early Years and Junior Schools, admission is by parent and child interview together with a requirement for the child to have one or two “Taster Days” when they are tested in English and Mathematics. For our Senior School, from Year 7 upwards, applicants sit an Entrance Test based on Cognitive Abilities (Reasoning) Tests and also carry out a short piece of Creative Writing.  We are currently exploring the possibility of developing a Learning Support Department to help a small number of students with difficulties such as dyslexia or dyscalculia. Our public examination results are outstanding with Sixth Form students almost always succeeding in gaining a place at their first choice University. These have recently included Cambridge, Warwick, Bristol, York and Exeter Universities.

Whole school Social Justice programmes that cultivate the Sionian Charism
Our Personal, Social, Citizenship and Health Education programme runs across the whole School. Schemes of Work focus on personal development and self knowledge, instilling a sense of social responsibility and justice. As well as health and relationship topics, we study local and national government, global issues including third world topics, conservation, pollution, health and economic matters. The students consider the negative effects of prejudice and investigate the relationship between education and poverty. We have hosted a Local Democracy Day when local councillors and dignitaries spent the day in school talking to students and we are represented on Worthing’s Youth Council. Last year, as part of our Enrichment Programme, we welcomed representatives from the Police, Youth Offending teams, Probation officers, Victim Support, Magistrates and Restorative Justice to the school for an interactive day entitled Your Life, You Choose. We always ensure that any presentations from outside agencies take the Sionian ethos into account.These programmes and events make a significant contribution to our aim of getting the students to think about their place in the world.

Religious background of students
While remaining fully conscious of our Catholic foundation we have an inclusive approach and welcome students and families of all faiths and none. This contributes to our rich and diverse community. The School aims to build on the Mission of the Founders of the Congregation of Sion by building bridges between people of varying faiths and cultures. We currently have students from Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist and Islamic backgrounds although the majority of families are nominal Christians.

Religious Education
Religious Education at our School is at the core of our curriculum; it is vibrant and all-inclusive. Visiting speakers frequently attend and present assemblies at both sites. Exciting display work is evident in both Junior and Senior Schools and the Schemes of Work encourage thoughtfulness, reflection and application of a moral and spiritual approach to life. While the main emphasis is on Christian teaching, students also learn about other faiths and traditions, including Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam and Judaism.  All pupils in the Senior School sit a full GCSE in Religious Studies in Year 10.

International Exchanges with Notre Dame de Sion schools
In 2010 and 2011 our Year Nine students had two very successful exchanges with Notre Dame de Sion in St. Omer. We hope that the International Sion Conferences, together with our sesquicentennial celebrations, will help us greatly to expand our international links with our sister schools and pave the way to more international understanding and perhaps exchanges.
Meanwhile, our Modern Foreign Languages Department also organises annual exchanges with Ave Maria, San Isidro College in Spain, and Realschule Waldkirch/Kolnau in Germany.

Cultivating the Sion Charism in the School

All our students understand that respect for each other and consideration for all is fundamental to the existence of the school. Their good behaviour and kindness both in and outside lessons are frequently remarked upon by visitors and parents. Furthermore, in both Senior and Junior Schools we pride ourselves on extensive Charity work and have strong links with local, national and international Charities. The Junior School has sponsored a child in Africa. We have also fundraised for We Play Too. National charities include Jeans for Genes, Comic Relief, Children in Need and The Royal British Legion amongst many others.

As part of our one hundred and fiftieth anniversary celebrations, the whole school has just completed a major fundraising drive. Our chosen international charity was Stop the Traffik and in recognition of this we welcomed Rt. Hon. Tim Loughton MP, the Minister for Children and Young Families, to speak at a Senior School Assembly in April 2012. As a result of Mr Scullion’s attendance at the previous International Conference, we also selected Kids4Peace. Locally we chose the Chanctonbury Community Playscheme for children with a disability, an organisation with whom we have had a long association. Students from our Senior School have provided the greatest number of helpers to the Scheme for many years, many of whom go on to become play leaders and committee members. Our fourth and final choice was Cancer Research, whose invaluable work is recognised worldwide.

 We have also supported the work of the Sisters of Sion in the Philippines by making collections at whole school events. We have forged links with schools in the Gambia and some of our Sixth Form students have taken part in World Challenge initiatives in Namibia. Some of our students, supported by their parish, have been to Lourdes as helpers for disabled people. Many of our Sixth Formers work as volunteers in local Charity Shops and Worthing Hospital, as well as our own Junior School, as part of their Outreach programme.

Our Librarian maintains a comprehensive archive or photos, letters and articles detailing the history of the school and the work of the Sisters in Worthing. This resource is greatly valued and provided some fascinating details for our sesquicentennial celebrations.

All these ventures raise the students’ awareness of others, including those less fortunate than themselves. The school has a happy, positive atmosphere where bullying is extremely rare and students are accepted and celebrated for who they are, fully in keeping with the Sionian Charism.

Our Hopes for the second International Schools Meeting in Jerusalem, May 2012
We hope that being together with colleagues from our Sister Schools that we deepen our understanding of the charism and focus of Sionian Education.  By talking and listening we may learn how to ensure that the vital message of respect for diversity of culture and faith is held at the forefront of what we do for the young people we serve.