Our Christian ethos, based upon the vision and work of our founder, Rev Ralph Davenant, is central to the everyday life and work of the school. Formal and compulsory provision such as daily assemblies, worship, special services and the emphasis given to RE teaching is only part of how this is emphasised. Our formal curriculum takes every opportunity to reflect on the influence of faith upon our understanding of our world.

Just as important is the value given to positive and supportive relationships within the school, based upon respect, value for each other and belief that everyone has a God given potential and purpose. The pastoral approach embodies this caring and positive ethos.

Davenant is an ecumenical school and we welcome students from all mainstream Christian traditions. We are also very pleased to include a small number of Jewish students. We value greatly the richness that this diversity brings to our school family. All students are encouraged to reflect upon how their own religious background prepares them for life in a multi-faith, global community.

A range of activities takes place each week where students can develop their ideas about faith. These include:

• Christian Union
• Lunchtime Club
• Junior Alpha (from time to time)
• Prayer Time
• Bible study (From time to time)
• Visits from missionary organisations (when the opportunity presents itself)
• Missions week

We believe that it takes the whole community to raise a child the families, places of worship and the school itself. This outlook is reflected in our; half termly prayer letters, community prayer meetings, prayer breakfasts and parental conferences that seek to support and enhance the spiritual life of our families and the school community itself.

Our assembly structure provides the opportunity for both an external input from the wide variety of faith communities represented in the school and for the students themselves to lead and contribute. Our daily bulletin also includes a daily act of worship, which is compiled by a cross section of our staff again reflecting our rich ecumenical nature.

We are very proud of our Christian tradition and this is reflected in the annual rhythm of our school, which includes a formal commitment service at the start of year 7 and end of key stage leaving services in Year 11 and 13. Our School Prayer that was written in 2003 by a group of our students figures prominently on all formal occasions, as does our school hymn.