Welcome to St Peter the Apostle High School

In a recent address to thousands of teachers and young people in Rome, Pope Francis quoted the ancient African saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”.  As leader of the community of Saint Peter the Apostle High School, I could not agree more. So what defines “our village”?

The Gospel values of love, compassion and hope define our community and underpin our identity. Our school is comprehensive and inclusive, celebrating diversity and committed to improvement. We are ambitious for our young people and welcome accountability. Our faith is at the core as symbolised by our beautiful oratory right at the heart of our school.

Without doubt, the most important people in our community are the young people themselves. In a recent tweet Pope Francis urged, “Dear young people, do not be mediocre; the Christian life challenges us with great ideals”. That is our challenge as a school community. We must work together to raise expectations and aspirations. We must work together to defeat destiny where too often young people born into poverty do not enjoy the life chances they so richly deserve. In St Peter the Apostle High School we strive to help form young people who are well educated and well qualified – positive citizens who have a strong social conscience and a determination to make the most of their talents.

Our staff are fully committed to ensuring that all of our young people are supported to achieve their very best. Pope Francis recently tweeted, “Thank you to all teachers: educating is an important mission which draws young people to what is good, beautiful and true”. How right he is! Teaching is a mission. The job is simultaneously so challenging and so rewarding. The outstanding commitment of our staff to do the absolute best for our young people must be recognised – they genuinely love and care for our young people.

It is, of course, through strong partnerships with parents that we provide the very best for our young people. As the first educators of our children, parents have a huge influence on the formation and development of young people. The excellent partnership that we enjoy with parents is evident in so many ways in our school community, not least through the work of our Parent Council.

Our partnerships with our local parishes are pivotal too – the tremendous support we receive from our Chaplain, Father Boyle, and all of our local clergy has a very significant impact on our community. Our partnership with West Dunbartonshire Council is equally strong – both in terms of the support we receive from Council Officers and Elected Members. Working together – pupils, staff, parents and partners – we can achieve anything.