St Christopher’s is very much a family school and we strive to maintain a caring environment where kindness, good manners and respect for others are encouraged and rewarded. Above all, we ensure that each child is happy and has the confidence to achieve his or her full potential.

Form teachers are responsible for the general welfare, development and progress of each child. They meet every day with their forms, and pupils learn a variety of life skills in weekly lessons of Personal, Social, Citizenship and Health Education (PSCHE). Each form has a captain and pupils in their final year apply for positions of responsibility such as Head Pupil, Head of House and School Prefect. It is a particular feature of St Christopher’s that many of its Head Pupils achieve similar positions in their senior schools.

All members of staff contribute to providing pastoral care and activities such as music, art and games provide opportunities for pupils to share their thoughts and feelings. Girls often meet in the Art Room in breaks, where sewing or craft activities enable the girls to have quiet time to talk with each other and members of staff in an informal atmosphere. 

To encourage healthy competition and a sense of belonging, each pupil joins one of four Houses. Appropriate for a school close to the sea, the Houses are named after famous admirals: Anson, Drake, Howe and Nelson. There is friendly and sometimes fierce rivalry between the Houses and a highlight of the week is the announcement in Celebration Assembly of the House positions. Pupils are given conduct pluses for acts of kindness and particularly good behaviour and receive Work Pluses for notable academic effort and achievement. Senior pupils serve as House Captains and take great pride in encouraging younger pupils to earn pluses, as well as organising teams and suggesting charities for the House to support. Each term, there is a wide variety of House events ranging from football and netball to drama and music, with annual events such as the House Quiz and Lower School pancake races!

The school has a code of conduct, drafted by the pupils themselves, which encourages thoughtful and considerate behaviour. We also have a school council with representation from each year group; council representatives discuss new ideas and initiatives as well as representing the pupils’ perspective on the developing life of St Christopher’s. Recent benefits to the school community have included the addition of a salad bar in lunch and the provision of playground resources.

We believe pupils prosper in every possible way when there is close co-operation between home and school; parents are encouraged to contact staff using email and this helps to resolve issues quickly and effectively.