SBSJ Virtues

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle

VIRTUE: An admirable or praiseworthy character trait. Something you do, not just once, but over and over until it becomes who you are. Virtues can be divided into four categories: Civic, Moral, Intellectual and Performance.  

CHARACTER EDUCATION: All explicit and implicit educational activities that help young people develop positive personal strengths called virtues. We all have a duty to ourselves and to God to become the best people that we can be in every sense - this is called human flourishing.  

At St Bede’s and St Joseph’s Catholic College we adopt an intentional and planned approach to the formation of character through a carefully considered Character Formation Programme that is based on virtue knowledge, understanding and development across all areas of College life.  

Character Formation is about supporting students in the fulfilment of their God given potential. It helps them grasp what is ethically important in situations while developing an understanding of how to act for the right reasons, so that they are able to make well informed decisions about the kind of person they wish to become.  

The SBSJ Virtues provide a focus to support students in developing Intellectual, Moral, Performance and Civic virtues during lesson time, as well as through Diploma Foundation Activities and wider Scholastica, Ecclesia and Olympia contributions to College life so that all are encouraged to develop every aspect of their unique character. Through hard work and by developing and demonstrating the Virtues in their academic studies, students will make rapid progress towards their targets and beyond. As students work to develop the Virtues, they will earn Virtue Points that will unlock Diploma Credits and contribute to Inter-House competitions.