Frequently Asked Questions
1. We are keen to be very involved in our child/children's education, how will I be able to do this if we choose Maranatha?
At Maranatha Christian School parents and teachers work together, with a constructive and on-going dialogue, to ensure that the children who attend the school get the very most and very best of their education.
We do use the normal model of parent/teacher meetings, but in addition to that we also find that these vital conversations just happen on a daily basis. The teachers at Maranatha are extremely accessible and always encourage parents to take responsibility for and participate in their child's learning and development.
In addition to this, MCS offers a very unique environment with a true family feel. We all know each other, encourage each other and stay closely in touch even out of school hours. We pull together always in prayer, and also in very practical ways as well, for example at our famous 'work parties' where parents and teachers alike gather at the school to ensure our children's environment is the best it possibly can be. This approach ensures you feel an integral part in every area of your child's life, whilst also enjoying fellowship with other parents and our wonderful staff!
2. We have heard that Maranatha Christian School is a very sheltered environment, is this the case and, if so, how do the children become equipped with an honest and realistic world view?
For our precious little ones, we do offer an environment that could be considered sheltered, but then, why wouldn't we? At MCS our pre-schoolers, ABC's and Younger Learners, enjoy safe and nurturing formative years. They are encouraged to play, learn and develop in an environment of love and fun. They learn to pray, to read and write, to care for one another and to communicate well, they are thoroughly prepared for their growth under caring, patient and knowledgeable teachers who work closely with parents to ensure they enjoy the true and wonderful freedom of early childhood.
For our older children we always ensure they become strong, confident and self-assured, by teaching them about the world in which they live and their enormous value within it. They come to hold a strong faith in Jesus Christ of their own, not simply a faith based on what they have been told to believe, and they come to this faith by experiencing the love of God for themselves, but also by learning what it means to share it with others in need.
This is accomplished by giving them a solid foundation of experiences including exciting overnight trips away from home, outdoor adventures and a true feeling of achievement as they work at their own pace through their school work, being loved and supported through their struggles and celebrated by the whole school family when they achieve their goals. This helps them to become independent and confident individuals who grow up in personal relationship with the Lord, knowing who He has made them to be and truly embracing the gifts He has given them.
We believe that God calls us to minister to our broken world, and as such our older students also get wonderful opportunities to travel with staff and parental helpers to places such as India and Hungary, as well as being provided with the chance to serve in their local community, gaining in the process a solid and realistic world view. We are called to be in the world, but not of it, we are ready to serve our world from a sure foundation and we expose our students to the harder parts of life gradually, safely, always with Jesus leading the way and, in so doing, equipping them solidly for their lives beyond their time at school.
3. My child/children are currently in state education, in what way is MCS different and what can we expect to be done differently?
We have had many parents bring their children to Maranatha having spent a time with them in state education.
We often find that parents site bad language, disruptive and unkind behaviour, bullying, a sense of a great diversion from their own strongly held Christian beliefs, and a feeling of being external to their children's lives, to name few, as the reason for taking the step into Christian education generally, including deciding to enrol them at MCS.
State education is not something we wish to disparage or disrespect by any means, far from it in fact. We are simply doing things a bit differently, making different choices for our children for those who value our approach, and offering those parents who feel their children would benefit from the Christian education model found at MCS, an opportunity to make that happen.
Maranatha is a safe and joyful school, filled with celebration and an understanding of what it means to be light in a difficult world.
Our students love and care for each other in the most amazing ways, they support and encourage each other and truly make friends for life. They respect our staff and adults in the school family, being polite and courteous to everyone they encounter both in and out of school. We work hard and we have fun, we speak clearly and honestly and we build each other up. we celebrate our differences and embrace our growing pains, and most of all we seek to glorify the Lord with our lives during both the good times and the bad.
Our class sizes are considerably smaller than you might be used to and, as such, our students get a considerable amount of individual teacher support and we strive for excellence in all we do. Our students are taught to work hard and to achieve their goals, not the goals of others for their lives, but their own goals and we see God's faithfulness in this time and again as they grow.
Finally, we require our students to produce and deliver oral reports throughout their entire school lives. This looks different across the age ranges but the desired outcome is always the same...to encourage them to be able to use their voices and to be able to speak confidently in front of people. We believe this to be of great importance for their future and find that a unique self confidence shines from each of them in this area by the end of their school journey.
4. We are reluctant to enquire at MCS about a place for our child/children as, being a fee paying school, we feel it is inaccessible to us both financially and demographically. Can you provide further information and reassurance on how the fee system works?
You are right, Maranatha Christian School is a fee paying school, but, we do try to again do things slightly differently.
As parents are encouraged, (in fact it does form part of our 3hr per week commitment request made to all parent who choose the school for their children), to participate in school life alongside our staff, we are able to keep the fees considerably lower than many independent schools.
We very rarely employ contractors or maintenance staff, we muck in, pull together, and attempt to keep all necessary cleaning and upkeep tasks within the school family. Many of our parents also teach our students from the gifts and abilities God has given them in turn!
As such, we do not charge for these costs, and many others you might expect within our fees, keeping them as low and as accessible as we possibly can.
We warmly welcome all who visit our school, and our school family is varied and wonderfully diverse. We never seek for our fees to be a barrier, and monthly payments are available to help to spread the cost.
We invite you to consider our school and to reach out if you feel that we are the right choice for your child/children. We encourage open and honest conversations and we will meet with you to talk through your options and needs ahead of any commitment being made.
We do not want our school to be inaccessible, but inclusive across the whole of the Christian community. We do not seek to be out of reach but open and available, displaying the love of the Lord to all who visit us and wish to consider Christian education at MCS for their children.
Thank you for your interest in our school, please contact us here so we can help. We look forward to hearing from you.