Welcome to Windermere School in the heart of the Lake District National Park. Established in 1863, we are a boarding and day school for boys and girls from age 3 to 18. With access to a spectacular greater classroom, we can live our school motto: Vincit qui se Vincit. One conquers, who conquers oneself.
Our vision is to be the best small school in Britain. We strive for excellence in all things, and to inspire and challenge our students to reach beyond themselves so they leave proud of their achievements.
Our mission is to produce confident and compassionate people. Our vision and mission are shaped by our determination to encourage self-knowledge, articulated by our school motto: Vincit qui se vincit – One conquers who conquers oneself. Today that means: overcome yourself and you will achieve, which is what Windermere School is all about – challenging to excel.
We aim to guide children as they grow, and progress along their pathways so that they are prepared as well as possible for adulthood. A teacher is a guide and a guide is also an acronym for the five Aims of the school: global, unique, individual, democratic, excellence.
The five Aims are detailed below and refer to global perspectives, using our unique location, developing individual talents, fostering a democratic culture, and encouraging our students to strive for excellence.
The middle letter of the guide is ‘i’ and at the heart of the aims is the individual.
More specifically, we aim to:
- Inspire our students through a broad and balanced curriculum that challenges inside and outside the classroom, where they learn about their strengths and weaknesses and are encouraged to strive for excellence in all things
- Support our students to develop their individual academic, creative, and sporting talents and skills of leadership to enable and empower them to make an active and real contribution to their world
- Use our unique location at the heart of mountains, lakes, and rivers as our greater classroom for adventure and adventurous learning, where our students will learn directly about the environment, each other, and themselves
- Foster a democratic and accountable culture where our students contribute fully to school and community life and take increasing responsibility for their learning and actions
- Encourage a global perspective by providing opportunities for all our students irrespective of gender, race, and beliefs and encouraging them to value and respect differences.
We want our students to have the confidence and resilience to stand up for what is right and the desire to reach out to others. This balance of confidence and compassion is not on any syllabus, yet it is central to everything we do and embedded in our aims and values.
We are determined to ensure all our students leave with an enduring foundation for life and their futures. We want them to have the qualifications, skills, and values that they need to live safe and fulfilled lives, but also to know that they can overcome adversity, remain true to their purpose, and be of service to others.
We hope that you will come and see us and, if you do, you will see that we do not just have aims, we live them and sometimes make dreams come true.
Windermere School was founded in 1863 in Lytham, St Anne’s. It moved to its current location in the Lake District in 1924 when it became St Anne’s School, Windermere. In 1990, the School changed its name to Windermere St Anne’s and the final alignment with the community came in 2010 when the School became Windermere School.
Today, Windermere School, which encompasses the Elleray campus and our very own watersports center at Hodge Howe, educates boys and girls from 3 years of age (Pre-School) to 18 (Year 13). We offer the International Baccalaureate in the Sixth Form and are also a member of the Round Square Organisation of Schools.
