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History and Christian Ethos​

Loving God | Caring for each other | Achieving Excellence

This Ethos Statement underpins all school policies and practices. It provides the core beliefs and values that must be upheld and promoted in all we say and do.

Crompton House was established as a Church school in 1926 with a strong Christian ethos to serve young people and families within the local community.   Recognising our historic foundation, the school will preserve and develop its religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with the Churches at parish and diocesan level.  Our school and everything we do is summarised by our three core values:

  • Loving God
  • Caring for each other
  • Achieving Excellence

We aim to serve the local community by providing education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice.  We encourage an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promote Christian values through the experience we offer to all pupils.

As a Church of England School, we strive for everyone to know they are made and loved by God who longs for us to experience life in all its fullness through Jesus Christ. In response to this, our vision is this: Loving God, by placing prayer, worship, and spiritual growth at the centre of of school life; Caring for Each Other by living out Christian values in our relationships with one another; Achieving Excellence by encouraging and enabling members of our school  community to flourish by striving to do their best in all things. 

Click to read our full school vision. 

Our core beliefs can be read in full by clicking here to read our School Ethos Statement.

Founded in 1926, Crompton House Church of England School opened its doors to the first 25 pupils on 1st October 1926.  The original school buildings, which now mainly house the administrative offices of the school, were once the former home of the Crompton Family, given as a gift by Mrs Anne Ormerod and Miss Mary Crompton to the Church Commissioners for the establishment of a Higher Grade Church School following the government’s decision to establish separate schools for students aged 11 and above.

Situated in a pleasant residential area in the Pennine foothills near the border between the Metropolitan Boroughs of Oldham and Rochdale, with stunning views over the Pennine hills Crompton House School is a Church of England 11-18 co-educational comprehensive school with academy status.

We have approximately 1,886 pupils including a Sixth Form and every year there is considerable over-subscription for the places available. The school has a large catchment area attracting pupils from outside the Oldham Metropolitan Borough from Rochdale, Middleton, Alkrington, Bamford, Littleborough and Saddleworth.

On 17th August 2011 Crompton House converted from a Voluntary Aided school to a Multi-Academy Trust.  Currently, the MAT comprises Crompton House and 3 Primary Schools: Beale Vale, St Hugh’s CofE, and St Thomas CofE.  For further information on the Multi-Academy Trust please refer to Academy Status – Crompton House School

The image below shows the Architect’s plans for extending the newly donated building, first extension of many to come.

The Cromptons

Miss Catherine Cocker of Newbank Heyside (daughter of Catherine Crompton) died leaving the Crompton Estate to her sister Mrs Anne Ormerod and her cousin Miss Mary Crompton. They offered the house and £100 per year trust fund to pay for the up-keep of the school. The trust fund is maintained to this day by the School Trustees.

School Crest

Our School emblem and logo originate from the lions found on the Crompton Family Coat of Arms. The coat of Arms can still be seen in the entrance way to the main house. The logo is worn by all with pride and is detailed on the blazer pockets of all students.

Welcome to the School

Visitors to the School will note the pineapples that adorn the gate posts as a sign that all are welcome inside. This tradition dates back hundreds of years to the Caribbean Islands where travellers knew there would be a welcome in a village if they saw pineapples at the entrance.

Speech Day

The school’s first speech day was held in the Pavillion Cinema in Rochdale in 1960. A tradition continued today with an annual ‘A Level speech night’ and ‘GCSE Presentation Evening’ held within the school to commemorate and celebrate the success of Year 11 and Year 13 students.

Young people are our future and Governors and staff at Crompton House School believe it is vital for us to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead by giving everyone the flexibility to respond to the ever-changing society in which we live.

Visitors to our school will find a blend of tradition, coupled with the latest technological advances, in an atmosphere of calm and purposeful learning. We are a lively, energetic community that seeks to offer a host of opportunities for all.

It is recognised, understood and welcomed that teachers will come to Crompton House with a variety of faiths, beliefs and backgrounds; however, teachers are required to agree, as part of their contract, to uphold and promote the Christian ethos of the school.

The Head and other members of the senior leadership team take a direct role in the positive promotion, design and delivery of acts of collective worship. We recognise and celebrate important secular and religious festivals and welcome visitors into assemblies and lessons from the local community and other faith traditions. Students are given opportunity to voluntarily meet each week to explore the Christian faith and provision is also made to enable students of other faith traditions to express their spirituality within the life of the school.

The school actively develops links with neighbouring schools, businesses, churches and other faith traditions. Pupils are also encouraged to support local charities and community projects with their time, talent and contributions.

Crompton House is a “Family”, and like all families, you will see a family ethos that runs through everything we say and do. So what does it look like?

  • Shared values based on the Christian belief that life is a gift from God, and that each person is valued and special.
  • Mutual respect and acceptance and zero-tolerance for any form of discrimination or bullying.
  • Faith expressed through action and actively seeking for ways to serve each other and our local community.
  • The importance of forgiveness and the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and strive for excellence.
  • A desire to nurture the whole-person: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Our SIAS report stated, “Pupils receive an outstanding Christian based education at the school. High expectations and explicit Christian beliefs and values are at the heart of all it does.”

We are immensely proud of our students and the way they conduct themselves around school and represent the school in the community. Students are actively encouraged to develop their confidence and leadership skills, to be actively involved in the life of the school, e.g. in music, drama, sports and many other events, trips and activities that take place throughout the year.

Each year, our students raise between £10-15,000 for many different charities and good causes. Students are creative in the way they achieve this, including sponsored events, leg waxing, cake sales and non-uniform days to name but a few.

We also love to welcome visitors to our school. On open evenings and parents nights our students are keen to greet visitors with a smile, show visitors around the school, answer questions and provide refreshments.

Helping our students to achieve a high standard of education and gain outstanding qualifications is very important to us, this enables our students to pursue their dreams and become a full and active member of society.

We have a steadily growing intake of students from other non-Christian faith traditions. This is highly welcomed and we value the richness and diversity they bring to the school. We are delighted at how well all students quickly settle into school life, build meaningful relationships and contribute back into school life. It is our strong desire that all students are able to express their beliefs and celebrate their cultural and religious distinctiveness within the life of the school.

To this end we are building links to community faith leaders from all religious traditions, and also working with our students to look for new and exciting ways to help provide a rich and diverse expression of faith within the school. Whilst the predominant expression of faith will be Christian in nature, it is imperative that our students are prepared for living and working in a multicultural society. We believe the best way to achieve this is to actively celebrate the truths and values we all share, and to respect and warmly embrace the distinctiveness of each tradition without fear or rejection.

“The religious education (RE) department achieves outstanding academic results and has a very positive influence on pupils’ learning, development and behaviour.” (SIAS report)

All students (Years 7-11) receive 3 hours of religious studies every two-weeks.

In Years 7-8 students are introduced to the importance of faith and belief in everyday life. Students learn about other world faiths including Judaism, Sikhism and Islam. They also learn about the life of Jesus and an extended study on Christian faith in Action.

In Year 9 pupils are prepared for the GCSE topics to be taught in Years 10-11. They explore philosophical questions such as evidence for the existence of God, the problem of evil and suffering, the Holocaust, and also discuss human rights and modern moral dilemmas.

At GCSE all students complete the AQA Religious Studies specification Unit B. Through studying RS students gain the opportunity for reflection, discussion, questioning, and problem solving. Each year our students achieve exceptional results in their RS examination.

“Pupils state that RE helps them to reflect on their attitudes and behaviour, consider social and moral issues and see connections with worship, PSHE and the school’s Christian character.” (SIAS report)

At Key Stage 5 students receive Religious Studies within the bi-weekly PSHE curriculum and through 3 dedicated Wednesday afternoons through the year examining “What it means to be human?” These sessions examine issues relating to the start of life and genetic engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and religious and moral issues relating to the end of life.

Collective worship is central to the life of the school and valued by all for its contribution to the ethos and learning. Each week there are numerous opportunities for collective worship including form time activities, whole-school assemblies and end of term communions.

Our assemblies are both engaging and thought-provoking. Using weekly themes we explore a wide range of topics and issues, and these often link to related activities that take place in form time. We encourage students to be actively involved in our assemblies, and each week different form groups will plan and deliver an assembly to other students in their house group.

Communion services on the last day of each term provide a valuable opportunity for prayer, reflection and coming together as a family of faith. Communions are presided over by members of the local clergy, but also provide opportunity for students to share with each other by leading prayers, sharing readings or through music and singing.

Our Shared Vision of Spirituality

Our School Chapel has recently undergone some renovation and refurbishment work and has been newly blessed by Reverend Bec and Reverend Andrew alongside some CHS students and our Head of School.

You can watch the video of the blessing here.

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