Our Mission, Ethos & Values

'We learn not for school, but for life'

Our Mission at The Salesian Academy of St. John Bosco is to be a Catholic School that seeks to appreciate and develop the talents and skills of each individual. Inspired by the life of Christ and the work of St John Bosco, we endeavour, through active partnership with home, parish and the wider community, to prepare our pupils to face the future with confidence.

We aim to instil the Salesian values of Respect, Understanding, Affection and Humour – RUAH. These four values underpin every aspect of our school life and together spell out the Hebrew word for 'breath of life' or 'spirit'. These values must be evident in our orderly and settled environment where we insist on the highest standards of politeness, behaviour, and appearance.

Respect – for oneself, and others, and every opportunity.
Understanding – a commitment to learning and working well with others.
Affection – care and love for each other, always.
Happiness and Humour – Don Bosco loved to make people laugh

Pupils enjoy a school life that is supported by prayer, worship, celebration of the Eucharist and excellent chaplaincy provision. In addition, high-quality personalised learning which helps all pupils to achieve their potential, whether they need an excellent academic training or a more vocational approach.

What Is Special About Us?

"Young people not only need to be loved, they need to know that they are loved."

This is one of Don Bosco's, founder in 1859 of the congregation of Salesian Priests and Brothers, most important statements about working with young people.

St John Bosco has a special place in the life of the Catholic Church, not only as a saint but also as a visionary educator. He sought to bring the love of God to young people, many poor and without work or education, so that they would know they were valued and rich in potential.

This he did through practical action taking the homeless into his own house and through the provision of accommodation, the teaching of trades, schooling, and academic education for the more able.

His motivation was not just to make them 'honest citizens' able to earn their own living; he was driven by a passion to save souls, to educate young people in their Christian faith and to challenge them to holiness as exemplified by his pupil St Dominic Savio, the name adopted by The Salesian Academy of St. John Bosco.

As a Salesian school we are part of a community of 3200 Salesian schools operating in 130 countries. In 1887, the first Salesians came to England. In 1964, Salesian College - a boys Grammar School with 64 pupils opened on Stanley Road, Bootle. In 1966, the Salesian College of St John Bosco opened on our current site, eventually becoming The Salesian Academy of St. John Bosco in 1987 after an amalgamation with St Augustine's Girls School. In 2017 we will celebrate our 50th Anniversary on this site.

And so in this increasingly secular world we find ourselves in, we a proud to be part of a worldwide Catholic Salesian community that has the young people 'our future' at the heart of its Mission and Vision.

And so we strive to keep alive the charisma of Don Bosco and his belief in the goodness of God, and we endeavour to give our pupils what they need for life. We also actively work to ensure our pupils understand the goodness and love of our God.