The Methodist Church is engaged in education as part of its Christian mission in the world. Methodist Schools seek to reflect a Methodist ethos and contribute to diversity in education. Truro School belongs to a family of schools which includes the Methodist Associate Schools (MAST), the Epworth Trust schools and the Methodist Independent Schools Trust (MIST.) MIST is an attractive group of schools because it respects the local contexts in which its schools operate, delegating operational control to the schools while offering support, advice and investment centrally.

The MIST office is based at 66 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LH.  In addition to servicing the needs of the Trust itself, the office provides opportunities for the schools to work more closely together.  Key elements of this include an annual Schools Conference, termly meetings of Heads and Chairs of Governors, a Chaplains’ Conference and specialist day events for other staff e.g. safeguarding, global education, legal and financial guidance.

MIST Trustees are drawn from various professions and offer the Trust considerable experience and commitment.

Schools vary in size (Woodhouse Grove School and Truro School have over 1000 pupils, whereas Shebbear College has over 300 pupils).  Most schools in the group are co-educational offering continuity of education for both boys and girls.  Some schools (like Kent College Pembury) are for girls only.  The majority of schools also offer a boarding education, further details about day and boarding opportunities are available directly from the schools.

All schools provide financial support to help parents of various backgrounds with the schools fees.  Details of local bursaries and scholarships are available by contacting the schools directly.

In addition to local arrangements, MIST administers a Methodist Bursary Fund which offers specific financial support to children from Methodist families at any senior school within the group.  The Methodist Bursary Fund enables children from Methodist families attend the schools as day pupils or boarders.

Methodist Independent Schools’ Mission Statement:

Methodism has a distinctive approach to education, embodying clear Christian values. This stems from the beliefs that have been at the heart of Methodism since its foundation by John and Charles Wesley in the eighteen century. That is why we:

• Challenge, inspire, and support our students as individuals to grow intellectually, personally and spiritually, and achieve their best;
• Encourage a questioning approach which searches for the real truth through reason, research and debate based on freedom of thought and expression;
• Promote high academic standards and the development of talents through a variety of extra- curricular activities because we believe each child has God-given talents to develop;
• Affirm that education is about the acquisition of wisdom and humility as well as the acquisition of academic qualifications and offer Jesus Christ as a model of what it means to grow towards our full humanity;
• Provide opportunities for Christian worship in the Methodist tradition;
• Work to promote social justice and to counter prejudice and intolerance in whatever form that takes by encouraging mutual respect and understanding;
• Encourage an appreciation of working together and of the importance of forgiveness, reconciliation, and renewal in establishing happy communities;
• Encourage environmental awareness, recognising mankind’s responsibility for the welfare of the world God has created;
• Encourage creativity as a way of nurturing the human spirit and improving the quality of life;
• Prepare our students to be responsible citizens and leaders in a fast-changing and complex world, respecting not only the value of cultural diversity but also our common humanity;
• Recognise the aspirations expressed in the ‘Every Child Matters’ initiative, whilst interpreting them from a Christian perspective;
• Are committed to working to the benefit of the local community in which the school is situated, whilst also generating an understanding of the concept of service to all communities, national and international;
• Encourage our students to refuse to accept that things have to be the way they are and to believe in larger possibilities for good because education should be an instrument for reforming and reshaping society for the better;
• Recognise that education is a life-long process and that the more we are given, the more is expected from us.