Our Mission

"We exist to provide a world-class education for the children of Bristol – so they leave with a deep understanding of the world around them. We are a unique state cathedral choir school, united by the Christian values of Kindness, Courage and Hope. We are a music school, offering an enhanced and rich musical experience for all. We are an academic school, with a ‘Powerful Knowledge’ curriculum."

What does world-class education mean?

World-class education means all students, regardless of background or ability, thriving beyond what is thought possible. By thriving, we mean all students doing very well academically because they attend Bristol Cathedral Choir School, giving them significantly more options when they eventually leave the school. By thriving, we also mean all students developing their character as well as the social skills and cultural knowledge to navigate the world successfully beyond the school gates.

Why do we emphasise the links with the Cathedral and Christian values?

The school’s history is closely linked to that of the Cathedral. We are lucky to be one of the only state cathedral choir schools in the country and we are incredibly proud of this. We are also a Church of England School, whilst also being open to all faiths and none. It is important to reflect these important relationships in our school’s mission.

Why do we say we are a music school?

Music is an essential part of school life here and also part of the school’s history. Children have sung on this site as far back as the twelfth century. The school’s admissions criteria includes music specialism and priority access for choristers. We devote more curriculum time to music than most other state schools and help produce amazing musicians. It is important to reflect this in the school mission.

Why do we say we are an academic school?

The term academic relates to the curriculum we offer. For many reasons, including site constraints, we do not offer a lot of vocational or technical qualifications. Our curriculum is built mainly around the humanities, languages, sciences, mathematics, arts and the performing arts. Hence we are an academic school. It is important to reflect this in our school mission.

What is Powerful Knowledge?

Powerful Knowledge is a term used in education to describe how some knowledge explains the world around us more than other knowledge (the former is, hence, termed powerful). Children who face additional challenges in their life (for example those with SEND, those who are looked after or previously looked after, and those from disadvantaged families) typically arrive at secondary school with less-extensive knowledge of the world around them. By prioritising the teaching of Powerful Knowledge over other knowledge, we address this inequality. We felt it was important to reflect this in the school mission.