An inside look at the Upper School experience, featuring Mr. Atchison with Taline L., Eli K., and Lucy S.
Clapham is an admittedly unusual place: we combine classical Christian education with Charlotte Mason’s best insights to forge a truly unique learning experience. Many parents are familiar with the pre-K, Kindergarten, and Lower School Clapham experience. But for some, the Upper School remains shrouded in mystery.
What does it feel like to be a student in the Upper School at Clapham? What is the return on the investment in a Clapham Upper School education?
In a recent episode of the newly launched Clapham School Podcast, Head of School Kolby Atchison sat down with Upper School students Taline L., Eli K., and Lucy S. for an unvarnished roundtable discussion. Here are the key takeaways from their conversation that reveal the difference a Clapham, Christ-centered approach makes in the high school years.
1. Small class sizes ensure students and faculty enjoy relationships defined by mutual respect, mentorship, and deep personal investment.
At Clapham, our school song states, “All are known and loved.” In the podcast interview, our students attested to the unique relationships they have with their teachers. The Upper School faculty at Clapham has cultivated an environment where authentic, secure relationships provide the context for lively discussion and debate. Because the Upper School class sizes at Clapham are intentionally small, no student falls through the cracks. Each individual has the opportunity to engage, respond, and be transformed in community.
2. Clapham Upper School students are being uniquely prepared for civil discourse in an age characterized by volatility and perceived polarization.
“One of the things we really struggle with as a culture today is how to sit in the same room with somebody that you disagree with,” Mr. Atchison remarks in the conversation. But Clapham students stand apart in their approach. What are the ingredients of the “secret Clapham sauce” that equip our students to not only stand confident in their own beliefs, but face opposing ones with equanimity and goodwill?
- An uncompromising commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, fleshed out by two subordinate commitments: love for our enemies, and love for the church:
- Jesus said, “Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27). Because our students bow the knee to King Jesus, they refuse to engage in hateful invective against those with whom they disagree.
- Jesus also said, “Love one another” (John 13:34-35). Because Clapham is not denominationally affiliated, students cultivate an appreciation for all orthodox Christian traditions and denominations. Their relationships with believers from a wide variety of Christian backgrounds foster a context of affection and respect that characterizes their discussions on theological matters of secondary importance. A phrase by German theologian Rupert Melendius is helpful here: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
- These commitments are fostered by an authentically Christian education, facilitated by genuine believing teachers who demonstrate mature faith.
- Training in logic and critical thinking that endures. Most Clapham Upper School students undergo formal logic training beginning in sixth grade. Logic equips students with concrete critical thinking skills that serve them for a lifetime: they are able to recognize propoganda, respond to weak argumentation, and are challenged to form resilient beliefs that are founded on reason and faith.
- Consistent cohorts provide a real-life context to grow in virtue. Among the many virtues supported by Clapham’s intentional habit-training is the habit of Good Temper. Good temper is rooted in the Christian virtue of charity (as described in 1 Cor. 14:4-7), and is characterized by amiability, patience, humor, cheerfulness, and humility. This is in contrast to ill-temper, which may be characterized by fretfulness, discontentment, sullenness, murmuring, and impatience. However, virtue doesn’t develop in a vacuum. As students rely on God’s gracious work of sanctification in the development of their personal maturity, they have ample opportunity to give their habits wheels in relationships that are consistent and authentic: the small class sizes mean that students grow alongside the same peers year over year, establishing relationships that transform over time and outlast the high school years.
- Clapham is a phone-free school from Pre-K through 12th grade. Students don’t access social media or tech during the day except to write and format papers (word processing). Our heavy reliance on hard-copy texts and research methods yields students who are not only stronger in terms of cognitive ability but also in terms of mental and emotional health.
3. Clapham Upper School students truly enjoy a feast of liberal arts, from humanities to lab science.
At Clapham, history, sociology, literature, and writing aren’t sectioned off into separate courses. Rather, true to our commitment that “education is a science of relations,” they are integrated into a Humanities course that encompasses all these fields and more within a Great Books curriculum. Listen to the full episode as the students process their takeaways from their favorite texts, which they explore together in their Humanities course. They argue that anyone can transfer into Clapham regardless of prior classical education experience. Eli, Lucy, and Taline also debrief on some of their most memorable moments in the lab, and enthuse over this fall’s upcoming Upper School theatrical production.
4. With Upper School partnerships, Clapham students enjoy the best of both worlds: a passionate cohort of student colleagues, headed by expert faculty mentors who are personally invested in each student, and a broad spectrum of athletic and extracurricular opportunities.
Clapham Partnerships mean our students can finish their school day as early as 11:30 or noon before transitioning to extra-curriculars, at Clapham or off-campus. Listen as Eli, Lucy, and Taline share what their days look like as full-time Clapham students enjoying amazing opportunities from baseball to portraiture.
