Aims & Ethos
Aims
- To foster the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical development of boys as fully as possible.
- To develop open-hearted young men who will be able to lead full and useful lives in the service of others.
- To build good character by providing boys with moral and ethical values.
- To provide training in self-awareness, stillness and attention.
- To provide teachers who inspire the boys through the love of their subjects and the use of the finest material possible.
Ethos
The philosophy behind the St James ethos is the Philosophy of Unity. This philosophy emphasises the practice of self-awareness and also the unity of all humanity.
At St James self-awareness is practised during pausing and Quiet Time. Boys are provided with the opportunity to connect with the peace and stillness behind all movement and encouraged to utilise this practice in their daily life.
Unity, or non-duality, is a core theme in the teaching and practice of philosophy throughout the school and in the pastoral care of all boys. The heart of the philosophy is that the individual and the universal are not essentially different.
Quiet Time
There are two periods of Quiet Time every day. These are usually taken by the form teacher of each class after registration in the morning and in the afternoon. The whole school practises Quiet Time together in the Monday and Friday Assemblies. The main focus of these periods of quiet is to provide the boys with the opportunity to rest in the peace of the present by becoming still. Boys who have learnt to meditate practise during these periods, and those who wish to silently pray or practise any other spiritual method, are encouraged to do so.
Boys are offered the opportunity to be introduced to the practice of meditation at the School of Meditation, should they so wish.