Public Benefit Overview, Ethos and Aims

At New Hall, the ethos is inspired by the founding Religious Community, the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre. The Community’s spirituality, rooted in the Augustinian tradition, has a special emphasis on the following: the Resurrection; prayer; community life; hospitality; and service to others. The faith which lies at the heart of this foundation remains essential to the character of the charity today.

Deputy Head Girl, Asha Budahn, chats with one of the guests at an NHVS weekly lunch club
 

The charity, in accordance with its objects, founding ethos, Mission Statement and Aims of the School, seeks to support students, and those in the wider community, in their faith development. The charity also seeks to enable people to live out Christian beliefs and values through community work, hospitality and voluntary and charitable service to those in need. Particular examples of how the charity provides public benefit through its values and aims are: the provision of bursaries for those who would not otherwise be able to attend the school; the voluntary work of New Hall Voluntary Service (NHVS), helping those in need in the local and wider community; the provision of a Chapel and parish centre for the Catholic parish of Springfield; and the sharing of the charity’s beautiful heritage campus and first class facilities with educational and religious groups in the wider community, these facilities often being provided either without charge or at minimal cost.

When setting the objectives and planning the work of the charity each year, the Governors give careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and also to its supplementary guidance on the advancement of religion, advancing education and fee charging. For the academic year 2009-10, fee discounts of all types totalled £1,819,800, with 229 students benefiting from reduced fees; these awards are key means by which the school widens access.

The school intends to develop the skills and knowledge needed by students who are entering a rapidly changing world. Emphasis is placed on students achieving their personal best, on enabling students to discover their own strengths and weaknesses and on them developing self-motivation and transferable skills to allow them to adapt to changing circumstances in the future. The policy of the Governors is to work to fulfil the aims of the charity in promoting charitable work and charitable purposes, in connection with the Catholic faith.