At Warwick School, our conveiction is that education must do more than just deliver academic success. It should also develop young people who feel a responsibility to contribute to the world around them, with a strong sense of civic duty and service.

The Warwick Way’, our educational philosophy, states, that our purpose as a school is ‘to inspire and nurture every pupil to thrive in the world now and in the future’. Thriving is not something an individual can achieve in isolation. Character is built through relationships, service and contribution to others. Compassion requires us to support those in need. Justice calls us to recognise and respond to inequality. Courage inspires us to lead others in making a positive difference. 

The importance of undertaking service

Recent research highlights the importance of undertaking service – participating in meaningful action for the benefit of others is as beneficial for individuals as well as for society (Arthur, Harrison and Taylor, 2015; Kirkman et al., 2016). This ‘double benefit’ (Jubilee Centre, 2014) means that the more people who undertake service, the more likely it is that individuals and their communities will thrive. In this respect, service can be considered an important character trait to cultivate in young people.

To this end, Warwick School strives to provide meaningful service-learning opportunities with a range of community partners to enable pupils to develop a habit of service.

Serving the community principles

We seek to provide quality service-learning opportunities for our students that reflect the following principles.

• Reflective - recognising contributions as well as valuing critical reflection and learning
• Challenging - stretching and ambitious while remaining enjoyable and enabling
• Pupil-led - led, owned and shaped by young people’s needs, ideas and decision-making
• Socially impactful - having a clear intended benefit to a community, cause or social problem
• Progressive - sustained over time, and providing links to other activities and opportunities
• Embedded - accessible to all, and well-integrated into existing pathways to become a habit for life

 A range of volunteer and service opportunities 

In recent years, Warwick School pupils have volunteered with a wide range of community organisations, such as local charities Kissing it Better, Warwick District Foodbank, Myton Hospice, Heart of Warwick Community Centre and Helping Hands community project. They have served an array of local primary schools, including Westgate, Clapham Terrace, Coten End and Myton Gardens providing academic support in mathematics, reading and mentoring. Our pupils have served the local community through participation in the Community Sports Leadership Award (CSLA), Holiday Action programmes, Duke of Edinburgh Award and Warwick Schools’ Combined Cadet Force, which includes opportunities to gain the BTEC Level 2 Extended Certificate in Teamwork and Personal Development in the Community. The Science in Action project has welcomed students from a range of local schools to collaborate on science projects pushing beyond the academic curriculum and the Warwick School and Tata Steel collaborative project is open to students from a range of local secondary schools.

In addition to the service-learning on offer through the co-curriculum, there are many opportunities embedded into the academic curriculum providing important pathways for service, collaboration and social action. The Floreat programmes encourage student civic engagement; Warwick Schools’ Design Thinking award enables all pupils in Year 8 to collaborate on a joint project in service of others and Belonging Week involves service-learning projects for every year group at the centre of a bespoke week of activities in the Summer term.

What is vitally important is that these experiences are sustained and pupil-led. Our student voice charity committee sits at the heart of the strategy and over time, pupils begin to understand that service learning is something that can actively shape and influence. Through involvement in service, pupils develop confidence, resilience, collaboration and empathy, but perhaps most importantly, they begin to see themselves differently, not just as pupils receiving an education in the classroom but as young people whose ideas, actions and voices can make a real difference in the local community and beyond.

We believe that servicee is not simply something our pupils do; it is part of who they become. Through meaningful opportunities to contribute, lead and serve, Warwick School pupils develop the character, confidence and compassion to make a positive difference in the world around them. 

If you could like to learn more about the opportunities available at Warwick School, our friendly admissions team would be happy to help. Please contact us at WSS-admissions@warwickschools.co.uk.