Catholic Life
Welcome
Our Mission - “Love One Another As I Have Loved You”
St Bernard’s High School strives to live as God commanded, to “Love one another as I have loved you”. We heavily encourage the virtues of respect, service and justice so that we may put Our Lord’s greatest commandment into practice.
Our approach to education is firmly rooted in the Catholic faith, and we use Catholic social teaching to guide the vision and ethos for the school.
Worship at St Bernard’s
Prayer and worship at St Bernard’s are fundamental to the spiritual life of the school, as we believe that fostering devotion to God is critical in the formation of respectful, well-rounded, promising individuals.
Whole school masses for Ash Wednesday and other important liturgical feast days are held in the Bernadine Hall. Form masses are held in the chapel each week, giving students across all year groups the opportunity to take part in the liturgy and grow closer to God. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place once per term, allowing students to spend time with our Lord in the presence of the Holy Eucharist. In May and October, students are invited to pray the rosary in the chapel each morning to honour Our Lady.
Lent
During Lent, our sixth formers guide the younger year groups in reconciliation services to prepare them for Easter, while baptised Catholics have the option to receive the sacrament of reconciliation from a visiting priest. Stations of the Cross are also held weekly, led by the Head Students in our scenic “nuns garden”. The season of lent culminates in our annual Passion Play, which our Year 13’s organise and perform for the school as a final farewell.
Friday Reflection
Every Friday, form groups reflect on the past week and look forward to the week to come in our Friday Reflections. In these reflections, the students read an excerpt from the coming Sunday’s gospel reading and apply the message to their own lives. This enables the Word of God to shape their understanding of themselves and the world, helping them on their journey to become the people God intended them to be.
Retreats
Retreats for Year 7 & 9 to Aylesford Priory in Kent take place once per year. Led by the Sixth Form liturgy prefects, these retreats give students the opportunity to quietly pray and reflect in the beautiful monastic gardens. These retreats are a great way for students to draw closer to God, and to reflect on their own lives and the direction God is taking them.
Our Chapel
Our beautiful chapel overlooks the school grounds from atop the second floor - where it has stood since the school’s early years as a convent. The chapel is always open to staff and students who wish to use it for quiet prayer and reflection. Weekly masses are held here, as well as the morning prayer sessions and reconciliation services during Lent.
St Bernard – Our Patron Saint
St Bernard of Clairvaux was a Benedictine monk who made great strives to reform the Benedictine order. He helped found the Bernadine Order of Cistercians, a religious order that follows a stricter adherence to the Rule of St Benedict. He founded several monasteries, some of which make up the names of our school houses.
In 1910, a group of Bernadine Sisters took over from the Sisters of Notre Dame, changing the name of the school from “St Mary’s” to “St Bernard’s Convent High School”. In these early years, the school was run almost entirely by the Bernadine nuns, who lived and worked at the school to provide a Catholic education to young girls in the south Essex area. Although there are now no longer any nuns at the school, their legacy and their commitment to St Bernard’s ideals of love, service and knowledge lives on.
| “There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.” – St Bernard |
Our School Prayer
Our school prayer, which was made by the collaborative effort of our students, is said every morning in form:
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Gracious God, in you we find all beginnings and endings. Help us to show kindness and understanding through open hearts. Help us to continue to flourish and grow in Your love and support those in need of Your friendship. Prompt our learning today using our talents and gifts so that we may serve You more faithfully. Prompt our actions with Your grace and complete them with Your help, so that we may truly love one another as You have loved us. St Bernard, pray for us |
Our School Houses
Our house system is comprised of six houses: Annay, Clairvaux, Fountains, Hyning, Melrose and Rievaulx. In honour of our patron, these names come from the names of Bernadine Cistercian monasteries located in England and France.
House Annay - White
House Annay is named after the Abbey of Notre Dame de la Brayelle, first established in 1196 and located near the town of Annay in northern France. This abbey was home to a cohort of religious sisters, who were known as the Bernadine’s. Following religious persecution in France in the wake of the French Revolution, the members of the Abbey were dispersed. The house logo is inspired by the Annay town coat of arms. It features the fleur-de-lis, an emblem of French royalty, purity and peace.
House Traits:
Purity
Honour
Gentleness
House Clairvaux - Blue
House Clairvaux is named after Clairvaux Abbey, the first and most prominent of the abbeys founded by St Bernard. Founded in 1115 by St Bernard and his 12 companions, the original Bernadine abbey grew to have 700 members at its peak, making it the largest Cistercian abbey in France. Following the French Revolution, the abbey was dissolved and later repurposed into a prison until 2023. Today, the abbey is a protected landmark and is currently undergoing restoration.
House Traits:
Vigilance
Wisdom
Piety
House Fountains - Green
Fountains Abbey was founded in Yorkshire, England in 1132. It became one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution by Henrry VIII in 1539. The abbey was founded by St Robert of Newminster and 12 fellow monks after they were expelled from St Mary’s Abbey in York following a riot. The ruins of the old abbey still stand today; it is one of the largest and best-preserved Cistercian monasteries in the country.
House Traits:
Nature
Peace
Spirituality
House Hyning - Orange
House Hyning is named after the Monastery of Our Lady of Hyning, which was founded by four Bernadine nuns in 1974, some of whom came from the convent here at St Bernard’s. Located in Lancashire, the house and garden of the Hyning Monastery were once owned by the famous British aristocratic family, the Peels.
House Traits:
Hard work
Community
Prosperity
House Melrose - Red
Melrose Abbey was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey at the request of King David I of Scotland. It is the largest and most prominent of the four Scottish Border Abbeys. Due to its location, the abbey experienced several assaults by English kings in campaigns against Scotland, with one assault by Richard II causing significant destruction to the abbey. The heart of famed Scottish King, Robert the Bruce, is said to be buried at Melrose Abbey.
House Traits:
Courage
Strength
Passion
House Rievaulx - Yellow
Rievaulx Abbey was founded in 1132 by twelve Cistercian monks sent by St Bernard from Clairvaux Abbey. It was the first Cistercian monastery in northern England. Following the 1543 Act of Supremacy, which declared Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England, the abbey was dissolved and given to Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland. Today, the ruins of the old abbey are under the guardianship of National Heritage.
House Traits:
Freedom
Leadership
Hope