Your education at Stowe teaches you not only to excel in public exams, but to live a life full of purpose and meaning. We believe in immutable values - there is a difference between right and wrong, truth is not relative, and the ends do not always justify the means. You will be taught to question orthodoxies and encouraged to make positive contributions to both the School and society. Our sustainability initiatives aim to minimise our environmental footprint and contribute to the fight against climate change.
Our world is changing constantly. It can be volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. We need to future-proof Stoics for jobs that do not yet exist, using technology that has not been invented, to solve problems which are only now coming into focus. The true spirit of Stoicism is not about personal achievement - it is about using your various talents to shape and improve the future. You are Change Makers, and you follow in the footsteps of other Stoics who have made a positive difference.
The importance of teamwork cannot be overemphasised. "Teamwork makes the dream work" (John C Maxwell). Social literacy, emotional intelligence, clear communication, trust and empathy, lie at the heart of effective teamwork.
A team is composed of diverse individuals who come together for a shared purpose and to work on a collective task. Stoics live and work together in Boarding and Day Houses where life-long friendships are formed. They participate in character forming activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award programme, the Combined Cadet Force, Service in the Community, or raising funds for charities like Talita Kum and Street Child. Stowe offers a vast array of co-curricular activities and there is a team for everyone to join.
The best teaching is collaborative - coaching and mentoring, the 'guide by the side' rather than 'the sage on the stage'. Working together in the classroom, on the sports pitch, or in the orchestra and choir, provides a sense of achievement beyond our individual accomplishments. We can amplify our strengths and overcome obstacles, build supportive teams and communities that are greater than the sum of their parts.
Being open-minded means learning to listen and listening to learn. We believe in equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. Everyone in our community should feel valued, safe, and empowered to achieve their full potential.
Stowe was the epicentre of politics, power and culture in the 18th Century. It is suffused with the spirit of the English Enlightenment which balanced rights and responsibilities, equality and inclusion, reason and logic, freedom and open enquiry.
When Stowe welcomed the first 99 Stoics on 11 May 1923, it was one of the first schools to respect its pupils as individuals. The founding Headmaster, J.F. Roxburgh, sought to liberalise, civilise and humanise education. There was no hierarchy of subjects and Stoics were encouraged to follow their enthusiasms. There are still no barriers to participation in any aspect of school life, and all pupils have opportunities to voice their opinions on whole school issues.
Open-mindedness can be sought, caught and taught, a process that happens in classrooms, Houses, sports and co-curricular activities. Open-mindedness asks us to remain receptive to new ideas and opportunities, examine evidence carefully before forming an opinion, and to change our minds when we hear compelling and persuasive arguments.
Stowe's Christian beliefs encourage us to serve with love, compassion, forgiveness, and humility, treating people with fairness and dignity. Through Change 100, talented and deserving children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds are given transformational opportunities to benefit from a Stowe education. When we practise open-mindedness, we are not just being polite, we are building a stronger, kinder, and more inclusive community.
Knowledge is the foundation of a great education. It is not just about training Stoics for a life of tests, but also for the tests of life. We prepare pupils for the academic rigours of university and to take their place in the workforce as individuals who can think for themselves, subvert lazy stereotypes, and lead with confidence.
Education is about discovering the best that has been thought and said in the world. Our intellectual ambition and pursuit of knowledge is fuelled by inquisitiveness, analytical thinking, active learning, communication and technology. There is a line in Shakespeare's Timon of Athens: "The fire i'th' flint shows not till it be struck" Education is about finding the spark in each pupil and igniting the flame.
Intelligence is not fixed, learning is learnable, everyone is born curious, and we improve through trial and error. Progress comes through effort and a willingness to enter the psychological state of flow. That is why we describe education as a journey, not a destination.
You will learn from teachers and coaches who guide you through a rich body of knowledge and facts. At Stowe, you are encouraged to develop critical thinking and problem- solving skills, understand not just the surface of a subject or topic, but the underlying structures and ideas. Being inquisitive takes courage. Thought leaders take risks, fail, and try again.
Each year 90% of Stowe's Leavers are accepted into their first-choice university courses and two-thirds of them enrol at universities ranked in the Top 200 QS World University Rankings, including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Imperial College.
Creativity is a powerful force for change. Literature, Drama, and Art open our minds to different perspectives and help us understand the world, and each other, more deeply. Creativity is equally important in imagining new possibilities and for experimentation in Maths, Science and Technology.
Our curriculum values both knowledge and imagination. There are facts and formulae, but there is also the logical beauty of Maths: solving algorithms requires original thinking. In the early 20th Century, musicians and artists disrupted conventions with atonal music and abstract art, while scientists discovered radium, relativity and psychoanalysis.
Whether solving Fermat's Last Theorem, understanding Le Chatelier's principle in Chemistry, mastering the most esoteric programming language in computing, composing an orchestral symphony, or painting a truly original work of art, creativity helps us to make intuitive discoveries and find unexpected solutions.
Stowe and creativity are synonymous: Stowe is the best-preserved example of le jardin anglais and is acclaimed as the most beautiful school in the world. In more recent times, Stowe has welcomed musicians as diverse as The Beatles, the Russian National Orchestra, Lesley Garrett and Lang Lang; Stowe provided the historical backdrop for Tom Stoppard's play, Arcadia, and has inspired artists such as John Piper and Tony Eyton OBE.
Positivity has health benefits, boosts productivity, and is contagious. Develop a gratitude attitude, accept the things you can't change, adapt, show resilience, change the things you can, find humour in life's absurdities.
Staying positive doesn't mean pretending everything is fine. Stoicism teaches you how to keep things in perspective when things get tough. Accept failure as deferred success and use each set-back as an opportunity to learn. Mindset matters - are you a radiator or a drain?
Leonard Cheshire VC, Baron Cheshire of Woodhall (Chatham 1936) was the only pilot in Bomber Command to win the Victoria Cross. However, he was equally heroic in peacetime as he founded one of the world's leading charities for disabled people, The Cheshire Foundation Homes for the Sick, now simply called Leonard Cheshire. The charity continues his legacy of supporting disabled people to live, learn, and work independently and with dignity. Calm in a crisis, courageous in action, magnanimous in vision, Leonard Cheshire embodies what it means to be a Stoic.
Stowe itself is an essay on positivity: nature has been improved by artists and architects to create a sublime landscape. The 18th Century Enlightenment believed that reason and science could conquer superstition and ignorance. J.F. Roxburgh believed that pupils were the unfurling flower, not the full rose. He valued the innate potential of each and every pupil and looked for the jewel within - waiting to be unearthed, burnished and then dazzling the world with brilliance.
Positivity builds confidence, strengthens communities, and helps us to create a kinder, more hopeful future. Stowe's Change Maker ethos enables you to excel in a fast-changing world and provides you with skills that employers and universities demand, preparing you for a lifetime of change, so that you, the next generation, are empowered to improve this nation and all nations.