Welcome to St. Austin’s School. The first school in St. Austin’s Parish was set up in the crypt of St Austin’s church as long ago as 1838. There have been many changes in education since then but we remain a Catholic school serving Catholic families mainly, but not exclusively, in the former Canonical Parishes of St Austin’s and St. Bernadette, part of the newly formed Canonical parish of St. Wilfrid’s.
We are a Catholic school whose mission statement drives all aspects of school life. It is firmly embedded. Our pupils are very happy. We are a good school with outstanding features. In 2012-13 we celebrated 10 Years as a center of excellence for the teaching of Spanish.
In 2006 we were the first school in the country to achieve recognition as “Colegio del año” - Spanish Primary School of the Year, an external award presented by the Education department of the Spanish Embassy. We continue to promote Spanish and the Hispanic culture and we passionately believe that acquisition and love of language learning will give your children many opportunities in the future.
Your child will be happy at school when he/she feels confident and relaxed in the knowledge that staff and parents are supportive and working together for his/her benefit. The key is relationships.
It is this relationship based on mutual understanding and trust driven by our belief in and in fulfilling our mission statement that our school is fully inclusive - we are all valued in the eyes of God and each other. “All who form part of the school community including parents, and children are involved in the continuous development of the Mission Statement. Its aims and practical objectives direct and guide every aspect of school life.”
At St Austin’s Catholic Primary School our inclusive curriculum is built around the National Curriculum programs of study and aims. It is delivered within the context of our Catholic community our mission statement ‘We will love and serve as Jesus taught’ permeates through every aspect of school life and allows each child to develop their gifts and talents alongside their faith in a safe and fun environment.
We are preparing our children to be global citizens and Spanish is at the heart of our school. We are a center of excellence for Spanish with children from EYFS to Year 6 being taught Spanish by specialist Spanish teachers and, additionally children in Year 3 to Year 6 participate and learn Spanish through Maths lessons. We have an annual Hispanic performance where all children showcase their language skills in a performance for parents and carers.
We are currently part of an Erasmus project which aims to place pupils in a European context and to reinforce their achievements through a better historical, geographical, artistic, and cultural knowledge of our partner countries and ours as well.
We aim to teach as much curriculum context through our topic themes, however, some subjects are taught discreetly where this is not possible. The curriculum is enhanced with educational visits, workshops, visiting drama groups, themed weeks such as money week, World book week, and visits to our polytunnel.
Our Schools Clubs: Ball Skills, Book Club, Gaelic Football, Computer Club, Choir, Cross Country, Film Club, Fitness Club, Gymnastics & Dance club, Knitting & Cross Stitch Club, Lacrosse Club, Mr. Vernon's Guitar Club, Orchestra - Years 4, 5 & 6, Recorder Club, Young Entrepreneurs, Samba Band, Scratch Club.
