Celebrating a Global Community

Truro School is proud to be part of a global community of Methodist schools bound by shared values and a belief in the power of education to transform lives. Our Head, Mr Johnson, recently returned from the Transforming Lives Methodist Education International Conference, where 264 international educators gathered to challenge and support each other over the importance and ongoing relevance of an education rooted in Methodism. The conference explored the extensive and transformative power that a Methodist education holds in shaping young people’s lives through a range of keynote sessions, seminars and workshops.

Andy Johnson, Head of Truro School, said, “It is impossible to fully reconcile the material needs of a village school in Mozambique which cannot keep out the rain, with a university in Texas, or indeed an independent school in Truro. The common ground that this conference reassured and reminded us all about is that the best education anywhere and in any context has pupil empowerment and the nurturing of values at its core, whatever its local setting, curriculum, community or practical circumstances.”

Talking about the conference, the Rev’d Dr Roger Walton, Chair of the Methodist Schools Committee, said: “This was a most significant conference, the first of its kind. The many thousands of Methodist schools represented are making a huge difference in children’s lives. I believe this is the start of something extraordinary.”

Julie-Anne Hewitt, CEO, Epworth Education Trust, said: “At the core of the Methodist ethos is our desire to do all we can for our children, our schools and our communities. What was heartening about this conference is that those values were evident not just in the Methodist schools in the UK, but also in other Methodist schools across the globe. Together we will grow stronger and do even more to shape the lives of children and young people.”

In a specially commissioned piece of music for the event and using the words of John Wesley, Truro School were proud to be part of a celebratory global choir, with contributions from children across the world, including schools from India, the Bahamas, South Africa and Mexico.

In the words of John Wesley

“Do all the good you can
By all means, you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
At all the times you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can.”