At Blue Coat, we pride ourselves in providing the very best pastoral care. Our approach is focused on building strong and trusting relationships between staff and pupils, so that every member of our community can feel supported, cared for and valued. This friendly and inclusive school provides a great context for pupils to grow in confidence and resilience, and to learn the values of kindness and respect.

Blue Coat is a safe and nurturing school, which is proactive in promoting good physical and mental health, activities that will bring joy and release from school work, and which upholds the highest standards of behaviour and courtesy. Pupils are happy here and, when they make mistakes, they are encouraged to reflect and learn from their experiences.

There is a strong pastoral curriculum in the School, including timetabled PSHE lessons and, in the Sixth Form, a series of ‘Specials’ which address important areas of education for life. The School also hosts many and varied one-off talks or initiatives throughout the year, picking up key themes such as anti-bullying, positive mental health or digital safety. Further, by training pupils in responsibilities such as Mental Health First Aid or in Peer Mentoring, we also give pupils the opportunity to show leadership in the care they provide for one another. By the time they leave Blue Coat, our pupils are well equipped to manage the personal challenges that life may throw at them.

Pupils also benefit from significant personal support through our House system, as every boy or girl will be part of one of our six Houses (Aldworth, Hall, Malthus, Norwood, Rich or West) for the duration of their time at here. The Houses create a sense of belonging, offering pupils a warm and close immediate community, and they enable pupils to build friendships across different year groups. A spirit of teamwork and camaraderie is also built, as pupils work together as a House on co-curricular activities such as music, sport and drama.

Within their House, your child will also be part of a tutor group, meaning that they will have a designated member of staff who looks out for them and personally oversees their well-being, as well as their intellectual and social development. The tutor will be a parent’s first point of contact if any issues or concerns arise, keeping communication between pupils, teachers and parents as simple and open as possible.

Various other pastoral staff are also always available to our pupils, including their Head of Year, the Pastoral Deputy Head, Chaplain, and School Counsellor. Our aim is to be a communicative and approachable school, so that parents will have confidence always to discuss their ideas or concerns about the care of their children.