Our Ethos & Mission
Click here to learn more about what it means to be a Salesian.
Enlightening minds, uplifting hearts
Welcome to Salesian, our happy and thriving Catholic school and college community, a place where young people are nurtured to go out into the world and achieve great things!
Central to our mission is the belief that every child and student has God-given potential to make our world a better place and that the education and experiences they receive at Salesian, helps to provide the key to unlocking that potential.
Our mission here is characterised by the philosophy of the Salesian founder, St John Bosco. He stressed high educational standards but insisted on a friendly atmosphere in his schools where the idea of community could be fostered. Good relationships between all members of our community are key to everything we do. Our motto – ‘Enlightening minds, uplifting hearts’ – is taken from the writings of Don Bosco. We strive to ensure that every student feels genuinely loved at Salesian, in order that they develop into confident, capable young people who are determined to go out and make our world a better place; we call this “Building the Kingdom”.
We achieve these aspirations through strong pastoral support, excellent teaching and an extensive range of sporting, cultural, physical and social co-curricular activities. All this is delivered by an exceptional group of teachers and support staff who are totally committed to doing everything we can to ensure every child receives the best possible education.
Salesian has built a reputation for excellence that has been established since we were founded here in Chertsey over 100 years ago. Today, we are a mixed, comprehensive school meeting the needs of children of all abilities from 11-18 years. We provide for over 1800 students, including around 400 in our Sixth Form College, which is on its own specialised site. We are an academy and part of the Xavier Catholic Education Trust.
Our aspiration is to improve education for all and as part of the Xavier Teaching School Hub, we are dedicated to first class learning and teaching, professional development and supporting schools in difficulty. We also, through Xavier, play a key role in Teach SouthEast, the leading centre for initial teacher training in the region.
If you are interested in finding out more about learning, working, or training to teach at Salesian then please get in touch; we look forward to meeting you.
God bless,
Paul Gower
Headteacher
Mr Paul Gower, Headteacher
"It is not enough to love the young, they must know that they are loved"
Don Bosco was a priest in 19th century Turin who, inspired by the work of St Francis de Sales, founded the Salesians to care for the young; today there are hundreds of Salesian orphanages, care homes and schools around the world. Don Bosco famously said “It is not enough for children to be loved; they must know that they are loved. At Salesian School in Chertsey, we strive to live up to his ideal every day.
Don Bosco’s ethos was centred in love, relationships and high expectations of the young people in his care. The success of Salesian school is built on these foundations. A deep love and care for the students, a focus on the quality of the relationships and a strict approach to standards and behaviour.
building the kingdom
building the kingdom
building the kingdom
building the kingdom
building the kingdom
NEWS
The latest news from our Salesian community.
“Pupils Flourish at this Exceptional School”
Following a recent Ofsted inspection Salesian was graded as Outstanding in all five areas of judgement. The first line of the report read: ‘Pupils flourish at this exceptional school.’ The report went on to describe how the school is ‘…unfailingly ambitious for the achievement of all pupils’ and that ‘pupils rise to and exceed staff’s high expectations’. The behaviour in the school is described as ‘impeccable’.
Read the full report here.
Headteacher Paul Gower said: “The Ofsted report accurately reflects the incredible hard work of staff and students at our school. The daily commitment of students is exemplary and staff go over and above to support them. This is manifest not only in the excellent results students gain year after year, but the huge breadth of co-curricular opportunities and trips that punctuate the students’ seven year academic journey. I was very pleased that the inspection team saw that the values of the school were ‘lived’ and that the special relationships here between students and staff was, and I quote, ‘the gold dust’.”
CEO of Xavier Catholic Multi Academy Trust, James Kibble said: “This a superb report that accurately describes the exceptional school we all know and love. I am delighted for everyone at Salesian; that they have received the recognition they deserve for all their hard work, commitment and compassion. On behalf of everyone at Xavier, and all those who benefit from this outstanding provision, we offer our thanks to the staff, leaders and especially Mr Gower for everything that they do that has led to this glowing endorsement.”
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Salesian School Chertsey
Catholic secondary comprehensive school
How have you ever wondered what children think about themselves in a selfie? Do they feel positively or negatively about their image? The Wellbeing Hub will have some answers for you in next Monday’s podcast with Dr Suzie Davies, Author and Founder of PAPAYA (Parents against phone addiction in young adolescents). A main topic will be the ‘healthy selfie’ and its’ impacts on our children today. club.teentips.co.uk/resources/?s=&page=1&type=podcasts
#oursalesiancommunity #mentalhealth #socialmedia #selfie
Introducing our new Sailing Club for Years 7 and 8! Mr Harvey is kindly providing the opportunity to learn how to sail a boat and safely depart on water-based adventures. There are limited spaces so, what are you waiting for? Sign up while you can! See poster for more info.
#oursalesiancommunity #sailing #sailingclub #fun #SailingAdventure
My nephew is a champion sailor ⛵️. A great sport
Simply theBest better than all the rest Salesians The very best
We are hosting an Irish Night in March! See poster for more info.
#irishnight #draughtguinness #raffle #dancing
Super
Stay tuned for next Monday, as The Wellbeing Hub will release a new podcast which will focus on the connection between self-esteem and social media. Leading the podcast is Tracy Mowley, Executive Director of Schools for New Century Education, who will discuss the positive and negative impact social media has on young people.
The podcast will be available via their website on Monday 20th January, but they already have many more interesting resources to learn from in the meantime: club.teentips.co.uk/home/parents/
#oursalesiancommunity #WellbeingWednesday #thewellbeinghub #socialmedia #socialmediaissues #selfesteem
To start off Wellbeing Wednesday 2025, The Wellbeing Hub posted a Podcast about the impact of social media on children and young people’s attention (with Elizabeth Milovidov, Digital Parenting Expert, Lawyer and E-safety Consultant). Alicia and Elizabeth discussed the role of algorithms and ‘streaks’ in addictive screen behaviour, as well as how platforms like TikTok promote short content consumption and therefore contribute to this growing issue.
To learn more or listen to the podcast, please follow this link:
club.teentips.co.uk/resources/the-impact-of-social-media-on-children-and-young-peoples-attention/
#oursalesiancommunity #WellbeingWednesday #thewellbeinghub #socialmedia #socialmediaissues
Salesian School
Guildford Road
Chertsey
Surrey
KT16 9LU
Call +44 (0)1932 582520
Safeguarding +44 (0)7979 181798
Salesian College
Highfield Road
Chertsey
Surrey
KT16 8BX
Call +44 (0)1932 578681
