Our Vision

We are a community in which everyone is offered the opportunity to fulfil their full potential, to understand themselves and be valued for who they are. Through a stimulating and challenging learning environment, we pursue academic excellence and seek the flourishing of all. This is because we know we are all God’s children.

 

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”

John Wesley

 

At Bourne Abbey, we provide a safe and stimulating environment where all can flourish as children of God. Core Christian values permeate all aspects of school life and the children live out these values in all that they do. Each term has a different Christian Value as a focus, and the children take great pride in demonstrating how they are able to live out this value.

Collective Worship takes place daily and contributes significantly towards children’s spiritual development.  Spirituality is valued and scope for reflection is provided both within the RE curriculum and throughout the school. This deepens the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC).

We have close links with our own Abbey Church and the clergy, including Fr Stephen Buckman. Harvest, Christmas and Easter are particularly special times of the year when we join together in church to celebrate and give thanks. Fr Stephen plays an active and vital role within our whole school community by leading collective worship in school, services in church and confirmation. Our links within the local community and clergy also include  Nick Humphries from Bourne Baptist Church and Fr Victor from Bourne Catholic Church. We have also established excellent links with Bourne Methodist Church and the Salvation Army.

Every week members from Open The Book lead Collective Worship.  They share a story from the Bible with a key message and encourage the children to take part actively in the worship.

Every year after Harvest, our Collective Worship Council take all the Harvest gifts kindly donated by the children at Bourne Abbey to the Food Bank located at the church. As part of their learning in Religious Education, our children also visit and learn about festivals of other faiths and religions.

 

Spring 2023: developing Our Spirituality at Bourne Abbey

At Bourne Abbey C of E Primary Academy we are given the opportunity to ask ‘Big Questions’ and reflect on the essential inherent meaning and mystery of life around us. We feel empowered to discover and contemplate the awe and wonder all around us within our world and even beyond. Because we are spiritual people and philosophical thinkers, we put some of our ‘Big Questions’ to Reverend Neil Griffiths, from the parish of Colsterworth and Woolsthorpe, who gave us some incredible answers.

Reverend Neil said “Big and serious questions deserve big and serious answers and I’ve got some big answers for you today!”. Reverend Neil explained, “I want you to imagine, just for a minute, that there are five different vicars stood here answering these questions today. If we were to ask each one of them your questions, we would almost certainly get five different answers for each question. For each one, there are so many different views on what the answer should be but what I say today is what I think, and sometimes it may even surprise you! You don’t have to agree with me, but hopefully what I have to say will help you consider what you do think.”

The children asked Reverend Neil over 25 questions but below is a selection of some that they wanted to discover more about:

• How did God make small intricate details like finger-prints and make them all unique? Bryany
• Was there anything before God? Isaac
• If God loves us, why can’t God just remove the sin we have now? Rylee
• Why doesn’t the Bible mention the dinosaurs? Chloe

We thoroughly enjoyed our big question and answer session with Reverend Neil and it certainly has given us a lot to think about!