A new, affordable, independent Christian School called St Anselm’s announced their presence with a launch event on 14 October in Highfields Church, Cardiff.
Preparing to open its Primary phase in three years’ time in 2026, the evening was a chance for parents and anyone interested to hear from founding Headmaster Jamie Burns, and listen to a panel discussion with a range of educational experts.
The school will be a classical Christian Liberal Arts (CCLA) school lead by Jamie Burns and Will Mortimore. All members of the board and staff will be practising Christians, and all subjects will be part of an overarching Christian worldview. Alongside arithmetic, music, geometry and classical literature, the study of the Bible will be a core subject in the curriculum.
Commenting on why he decided to form the school, Jamie Burns shared: ‘We at St Anselm’s believe that education has descended into something more akin to training: school is to prepare people for the "real world" and entering the job market rather than to form human beings capable of flourishing. We believe that a classical Liberal Arts education is truly liberating. That being raised as part of a greater story – that of God’s story – is freeing for a child.’
He continued, ‘That said, we also believe that a classical Liberal Arts education will provide the best foundation for a child to progress into adulthood and be “successful” in “real life”’. A study by the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, US) seems to support this claim, finding that those educated with a Classical Christian Education outperformed their peers in virtually every category*.
At present, the main challenges for the school are financial ones. In order to keep the costs low for parents, they are searching for additional sources of income aside from the cost of fees.
* Good Soil: A Comparative Study of ACCS Alumni Life Outcomes.
