Vision & Ethos
An Overview of St Mary’s Cockerton as a Church of England School
St. Mary’s Cockerton School is distinguished by its Christian foundation and the principles that flow from this. The school is committed to developing the full potential of its pupils as individuals – spiritually, emotionally and academically. Spiritual development forms an integral part of school life and collective worship is an essential part of the school day.
In our school, we exist for the benefit of, and to serve, our children and our community. We exert no pressure to believe, yet Christian values are built into our vision, ethos and teaching whilst respecting other world faiths. Our school follows this to forge strong links between school, home and the local community. We aim to display a high quality of care and understanding to the school community.
Recognising its historic foundation, the school will preserve and develop the religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church at parish and diocesan level. The school aims to serve its community by providing education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers all its pupils.
Our Vision
Our Vision is of our school as a place of each person working together in the building of a community which lives within, and shares the love of God. Historically, we are embedded in our community as a place for the Christian education of local children. Our vision is to offer an education which allows children, staff and pupils to be inspired to raise our eyes, open our minds and explore the world God created, to participate in God’s mission of love to both our local community but also the wider world, to live fully as global neighbours.
Our Mission
Our mission is to be the hands and feet of Jesus here in Cockerton. We use the words of St Teresa of Avila to recognise our part in building God’s kingdom. ‘Ours are the eyes through which His compassion looks out on the world. Ours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Ours are the hands with which he blesses the world’.
Our Values
At the heart of our school is our aim to help our children engage with the wider world. Our approach to Spirituality is to use windows, mirrors and doors as symbols to help us understand our place in the world. We look out through the window at the wonder and challenges in the world, we reflect on ourselves through the mirror at who we are and how we play our part, and we go through the door to take steps of action in response. As we do this, we will carry our core values with us. Inspired by the words of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (chapter 6), to wear the armour of God so that we ‘be strong in the Lord and his mighty power’, we wear our values so they become part of who we are, wherever we are. In this way, we will live as the ‘hands and feet of Jesus’.
Today Year 6 attended a very moving Leavers' Service at Durham Cathedral.
They enjoyed the various prayer stations and joined in with the children from Church of England schools across the Diocese to celebrate their time in primary and think about the next stage of their educational journey.
As always, their behaviour was exemplary and they were wonderful ambassadors for our school. ... See MoreSee Less
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As part of our celebration of Pride Month, we have set ourselves the challenge of completing a Pride jigsaw before the end of the month. Groups of children are coming down at playtimes and are doing a great job but with 500 pieces we have a long way to go!! ... See MoreSee Less
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🦋☀️ When they returned to school yesterday it was obvious that Reception had had a fantastic day at Butterfly World and Preston Park ☀️🦋
Miss Clarke summarised the day as follows:
'Our day began at Butterfly World, where the children took part in an exciting workshop all about the life cycle of a butterfly. They listened beautifully to our guide and impressed everyone with their enthusiasm and thoughtful questions. The children had some incredible hands-on experiences, including holding a caterpillar, examining butterfly eggs (which one butterfly seemed very keen on laying on Mrs Carter today!), and feeling a chrysalis, which was surprisingly hard. The highlight for many was holding a butterfly that had only recently emerged from its chrysalis. Seeing these different stages of the life cycle up close brought our learning to life and sparked lots of curiosity and wonder.
Our adventure didn't stop there! We also met a blue-tongued skink, explored the reptile exhibits and spent time watching the ever-popular meerkats.
After a busy morning of learning, we headed to Preston Park for lunch and some well-earned playtime. The children loved exploring the playground and demonstrated fantastic gross motor skills as they climbed, balanced and slid. It was wonderful to see their confidence grow as they challenged themselves and encouraged their friends.
Throughout the day, the children were an absolute credit to our school. Their behaviour was exceptional from start to finish. They were polite, respectful, inquisitive and kind, listening carefully, following instructions and engaging brilliantly with everyone they met. We received several compliments about how well-behaved they were, and I could not have been prouder of them.
Days like today are what make Reception so special. It has been a real privilege to watch the children learn, explore, laugh and make memories together. They embraced every opportunity with enthusiasm and left us all with plenty of reasons to smile.
I have a feeling there will be some very tired Reception children tonight... and perhaps a few tired adults too! 😴💤
Thank you for your support in helping to make days like this possible. We have had a truly wonderful day and made memories that I am sure the children will be talking about for a long time to come. 🦋😊🌳' ... See MoreSee Less
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Here are some wonderful photos of Year 6's trip to the Faith Museum in Bishop Auckland. It's a truly fascinating place in such a beautiful setting. ... See MoreSee Less
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Year 5 and 6 had a fantastic trip to Auckland Castle and the Faith Museum today, learning about the history of Christianity in the north east through handling artefacts and experiencing the rooms that the Prince Bishops have used over centuries in the castle! ... See MoreSee Less
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Some more wonderful photos from this very special event ... See MoreSee Less
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Huge congratulations to our Year 4 Girls Football Team who won today's tournament at St John's CE Academy Darlington in association with FC Darlington Locomotives. It was a wonderful afternoon with teams from all the schools playing brilliantly! ... See MoreSee Less
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Our Year 6 choir had the great honour of taking part in the Bishop of Durham and Darlington Sword ceremony earlier today.
This ceremony takes place each time a new Bishop of Durham enters the Diocese and dates back to medieval times. The sword (the Conyers Falchion) dates from the 13th century and is said to have been used by Sir John Conyers to slay the Sockburn Worm, a monstrous dragon-like creature said to have terrorised the area around Sockburn, Darlington.
The ceremony took place on the banks of the River Tees in Hurworth where the Bishop of Durham was presented with the falchion.
As part of the ceremony, our children sang, ‘Let There be Peace on Earth’ after which the Bishop was introduced to the dignitaries present which included: The Macebearer, The Mayor, Lord Lieutenant, the High Sheriff, the Mayor’s Chaplain, the Priest in Charge, the Area Dean (Father Damon), the Leader of the Council, Freeman / Freewomen of the Borough, the Mayor’s Escort and Hurworth Ward Councillors
The details of this traditional ceremony can be found by following this link: www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/explore/treasures-collections/our-most-famous-items/the-conyers-falchion
The children sang beautifully and were complimented by all present on what a moving contribution they made to such an important ceremony. ... See MoreSee Less
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