Vision and Values
Our Story
It started with prayer - a group of parents who wanted something special for our young children.
We spent time together trying to discern what that ‘special something’ might be.
We weren’t originally thinking of starting a school. We simply wanted to go back to basics and consider what we could give to our children to help them thrive in the modern world.
As we got closer to answering this question, we knew that we wouldn’t be the only families asking the same question. So we dreamt big, and The Fountain Christian School was born.
Keep reading to discover the vision and values that have led us here.
What is a Classical Christian Education?
Watch or listen to our most recent podcast (links for Apple podcast and Spotify) that answers this vital question.
In a modern world where so much is constantly changing, we want to root our chldren in what will never grow outdated: wisdom and virtue.
At The Fountain, we don’t just want to teach the skills of reading and writing. We want our children to read so that we can engage with the most profound and enduring questions of life: what is the meaning of life? How can I live a good life in the face of temptation ? How do we persevere through suffering? What are our duties toward our neighbour, our community, our city?
We don’t just want to teach facts and figures and isolated knowledge. We want our children to learn much so that they can behold the glory of creation and learn to love its Creator all the more.
Amazingly, we soon realised that this sort of education was not new. Prior to the 20th century, the purpose of education was character formation. The goal of education was not merely job preparation, but preparation for life with all of its tribulations and glories. It was to teach children how to sit at the feet of the wisest, most enduring works of human civilization, so that they could learn how to flourish in every circumstance of life - whether leading a company or a family, whether receiving an inheritance or a life-changing diagnosis.
This is classical Christian education.
In a sentence, a classical Christian education teaches children to love truth, beauty, and goodness, in order to fill them with wisdom and virtue. This is what we seek to do at The Fountain.
Our Values
As we met and prayed and discussed together, we came back to this fundamental question:
What do we - and what should we - value for our children?
Once we found the answer to that question, that would be the foundation for what we wanted in the education of our children.
Here are our five key values:
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In a society which prioritises qualifications, we prioritise formation: training our children to love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.
‘Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.’
– Proverbs 22:6 -
In a society which prizes self-centred fulfilment, we train our children to love their neighbour as themselves.
‘Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.’
– Proverbs 11:14 -
In a society which keeps lowering academic expectations, we teach our children knowledge and understanding so that they can become wise.
‘To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning... The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.’
– Daniel 1:17-20 -
Rather than retreat from the city, we teach our children to embrace its wealth of culture and serve its needs.
‘But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.’
– Jeremiah 29:7 -
In a society where family time is fleeting, we seek to support parents in raising future leaders.
‘You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.’ - Deut 11:19
A school week that serves the family
At The Fountain, the school week runs from Monday to Thursday.
We have chosen this shape for our week out of a simple conviction: that school is at its best when it works in partnership with the family. So much of a child's formation happens in the classroom, and so much happens beyond it: around the dinner table, in rest and worship, in service to others, and in the unhurried hours in which gifts are discovered and friendships deepen. By gathering our teaching into four full days, we hope to give families a little more room for all of this.
Our school day runs from 08:30 to 16:00, a longer day than is usual, so that over four days our pupils receive thirty hours of supervised education and the full curriculum.
Fridays belong to the family: time together, the cultivation of a child's particular gifts, shared endeavour in mission, or simply rest.
