Our Special Saint

Our school is proud to be part of the community of Northfield, with a history dating back to 1714 of serving its families by providing a caring Christian education.  We are honoured to share our name with the parish church where our school first began; and with St Laurence himself, whose life is an example of a life lived in faith, bravery and love for others. St Laurence was a Christian deacon in the third century in Rome. He served his own community, giving help to the poor.

From his example, we learn about helping others. Our children offer service through acts of charity and by taking responsibilities within school.

At a time when it was dangerous to be a Christian, St Laurence was firm in his belief in God.

Through collective worship and woven throughout our curriculum, we encourage our children to explore their own beliefs, spirituality and to develop personal values which will enable them to flourish and be ethical members of society.

When St Laurence was ordered to give the treasures of the church to the Roman Prefect.  Instead he gave away the wealth to the poor, sick and homeless people.  He told the greedy prefect that the ordinary people were the church’s real treasure.

We believe every member of our community is treasured and should be treated with fairness and love.  Our children learn that they and other children in our school and around the world have a right to non-discrimination through our work as a UNICEF rights respecting school.

St Laurence was very brave, knowing that his actions would lead to him being arrested by the Romans.  He was sentenced to be killed by being tied to an iron grill over a fire.

We teach our children that it is brave to speaking out against injustice when we see it in our school and in our world.  By refusing to be a bystander, and giving children opportunities to be courageous advocates we show our own bravery.

As he was being executed, St Laurence famously said “turn me over I’m done on this side.” God gave him the strength to show with his humour that he was determined to carry on at a very hard time.

We learn how resilience and using our growth mindset can help us when we are finding our own things tricky.  We learn that some people pray to God for help when things are difficult.

St Laurence is often shown holding the grid-iron that he was martyred on.

We are really proud that our school badge shares this symbol of faith, bravery and love for others.