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.
