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Faith

At Uplands, our foundation is rooted in a strong Christian ethos, where we believe that every child is made in the image of God – beloved, belonging, and deeply valued.

Through our chaplaincy and worship life, we seek to sensitise pupils to the will and work of God, sowing seeds for them to put their hope and trust in Him.

We recognise the importance of providing regular opportunities for worship and take great care in following the liturgical year. In the Preparatory School, we hold a weekly chapel service, along with a bi-weekly Eucharist in line with our Anglican tradition and a bi-weekly dynamic praise and worship gathering. At the College, we offer a weekly midweek Chapel service, a voluntary weekly Sunday service, and a whole school service every fortnight. Additionally, pupils can take part in Christian fellowship and Bible study groups, which meet weekly, as well as an annual Christian camp open to all.

Uplands upholds the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of each child through the values and virtues of our Christian tradition:

  • Love of God and love of neighbour
  • The pursuit of truth and justice
  • The call to service and duty
  • The experience of trust and forgiveness

While staying true to our Christian foundation, we encourage deep thinking, genuine faith exploration, and meaningful engagement with the Gospel. Our school remains committed to nurturing pupils in a way that strengthens both their faith and their ability to engage with the world with wisdom and grace.

Sacristans and Christian Leadership Committee

Sacristans

The Sacristan Team from the Preparatory comprises a team of Grade 7 pupils who go through a process before being appointed as Faith Leaders in our Senior Phase Setting. This dedicated group of boys and girls forms a huge part of faith building and upholding at the Preparatory. Chiefly, their role includes serving in Chapel through readings, prayers, connecting with fellow pupils and setting an example. The team is led by a Head Sacristan, and their role being lived out across daily life of our Preparatory Curriculum and Campus bears huge significance. They are led by and work closely with the School Chaplain.

Christian Leadership Committee

The Christian Leadership Committee is a significant Leadership Team in our College Campus Life. Made up of Grade 10s, 11s and Matrics, and led by a Head and Deputies of Committee, the Team holds great significance in upholding Christian values and integrity. The stepping up of these individuals as a team and in their various roles and capacities in classes, houses, sports fields and all other social-engagement points is critical to maintaining our Christian Foundations that our School holds to and lives upon. The growth of the team comes from engaging in items such as helping the Chaplain lead Christian Fellowship Q&As in weekly Bible Studies in the houses, leading prayer groups, teaching in small groups and having plenty of opportunity to grow in their faith by sharing in Chapel services, and so on. They are led by and work closely with the School Chaplain.

Faith on Campus

Our Christian faith at Uplands is the bedrock upon which everything we do is based. We treasure, love and respect every person on our campus and take our commitment to our faith with the utmost seriousness. Weekly Chapel Services take place at both College and Preparatory, which is a time of finding strength and refreshment for our pupils and staff. The Chapel Services are led by the Chaplain and occasionally there are Guest Speakers who will come and share at the discretion of the Chaplain.

The Preparatory’s Termly themes are used as a springboard in Chapel for basing Scripture-based messages in line with the theme the School is focusing on. The College has monthly themes such as “Coping with the Pressures of School and Life”, “Christian Leadership”, “Being a true Friend” and the like, that helps the Uplands Community best live out practically our Christian faith and Uplands values which go hand in hand.

One of the initiatives we run is that of playing worship music around and in our College Chapel in the mornings on weekdays throughout term and especially during exams, when students have a chance to come and worship, sing and pray or just be still, during various times of life and before big events at the School. Tied to this is our initiative of praying together as a School before all our Winter Derbies, as a sign of unity, strength and certainty of who we are and who we are playing for. As one of many Pastoral Care Initiatives, staff and students also have the opportunity to submit ‘Anonymous Prayer Requests’ via QR Codes scattered across campus for assurance of their requests being carried out in confidence, while still reaching out for support in this regard

Various less frequent, though big, flagship events and drives, include Praise and Worship evenings and Camps – wonderful opportunities for fellowship, community building, strengthening relationships and refining one another in faith, while detaching oneself from the world in order to be refreshed in Jesus.
Our Staff and Student Leadership in the Christian Committee have regular Devotionals and Prayer Groups separately for a variety of different issues and matters to pray on, which also enhances our community.

Special Services

Our Campus Services include many Special Services that are in line with our Anglican ethos and Christian beliefs such as Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday to start the year. Shrove Tuesday Celebrations include a fun pancake evening as an opportunity to gather with community, while the event that precedes this is a newly introduced Interhouse Pancake Race which provides much fun and laughter for spectators and racers alike. We have a whole School Service from Grade 4 to 12 on Ascension Day and observe key dates such as Easter through an Easter Eucharist, as well as Christmas Carols for Christmas time, and all the events building up to these key dates.

Student Christian Association (SCA)

Every Sunday evening of term, the College Chapel is the venue for weekly Student Christian Association (SCA) Chapel Meets for those that wish to come. For everyone that is in any different place in their faith, the SCA time lasting approximately an hour, is a golden opportunity for Preppies from Boarding and mainly College Boarders to pray, worship, sing, meditate, have reflective time and be encouraged and find strength in God for their situations and their weeks to come.