Mannafields Christian School

Mannafields Christian School provides a Christ-centred education for children from P1-S2 in the heart of Edinburgh.

Our school provides a high quality curriculum that follows all the guidelines for the National Curriculum for Excellence and also gives a solid grounding in the character and Word of God. We teach our children to a high standard that prepares them for life in the “real world” by building a solid foundation on the Bible and academic skills.

Small class sizes and composite classes enable the teaching staff to provide individual care that develops each child’s talents and abilities while equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary for adulthood.

We value pupils from all backgrounds and have a great family atmosphere in the school. Our aim is that all parents who wish their child to receive a Christ-centred education should be able to do so, regardless of their financial situation. To this end, we offer bursaries to those who need them.

Mannafields also offers support to families who home-school.We are a school where God and His Word take central place. We seek to know God’s Word and God’s world. After all, creation is held together in Christ, so no subject – scientific or artistic – can be separated from His revelation of Himself.

Children are taught in small groups with extremely favourable teacher:pupil ratios. They are loved and cared for as individuals. We don’t ‘shelter’ children, but rather prepare them to fulfil their God-given role in society. We encourage all the children to take gradually increasing responsibility for their own learning, to recognise their own talents, and to aim to reach their full God-given potential.

The whole curriculum and way of looking at the world is based on Biblical principle – i.e. the world is God’s and was made by God. He has a plan and purpose for each person in it, all of whom are uniquely loved by Him. We measure all our teaching against God’s Word and show children how His Word applies to everyday life.

We have a firm commitment to personal values such as standards of behaviour, discipline and self-discipline, ethics, manners and practical Christianity. Good communication and collaboration with parents are seen as essential to the school’s ethos, not least as we seek to uphold the values of the family and share in the parental mandate to educate the children.

We have a clear Christian philosophy of education, which acknowledges God as the ultimate source of all subjects, wisdom and understanding. Pupils are shown how God’s Word is relevant to all areas of learning, life and experience, gradually building a Christ-like world-view which will help them to handle an increasingly secularised world.

The integrated curriculum covers all areas necessary to ensure a good all-round schooling. The core work is organised on a project basis. Fifteen projects on a three-year cycle are all based on aspects of the character of God. The whole school studies the same theme, which is treated differently for the various ages and stages. In addition core language and maths work are consolidated using published graded schemes. During the course of the week the children may also elect to learn a musical instrument.

The school makes use of recognised learning programmes, modern audio-visual facilities, schools’ broadcasts and computer-aided learning, together with visits to places of interest which complement project-based work.

Extra-curricular activities normally include social events and a trip to an Outdoor Centre for older pupils.

As the children reach the upper years of primary and secondary, individual subjects become more clearly defined, in preparation for their graduation from Mannafields. Here they are taught the usual range of subjects, still from the Christ-centred perspective.

Our goal is that we should be able to make Christian Education available to all who want it. There is to be no selection of pupils on the basis of academic ability or financial status.

Our basic aim is to enable Christian parents to fulfil their God-given mandate to bring up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. We see our responsibility primarily to such parents, but as far as it is compatible with our basic aim we would seek to be open to pupils from families of any or no faith.

While trying to be open to pupils of any ability we must recognise that in some cases of special learning needs it may not be possible for the school to meet such needs properly.

It is seen to be best for pupils to join the school in P1, since this enables pupils to develop a Christian perspective on all their learning and to develop Christian attitudes and values in a natural way. If pupils are joining the school later, they may not find it easy to pick up on all these perspectives and values despite the fact that the rest of their education is sound. However, we would welcome new pupils at any stage of their learning career.