Aims of St Mark's School
A school where everybody's achievement and accomplishments are highly valued.
A school where children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
A School with great community spirit and values, and strong links with St Mark's Church
Our School promotes a positive ethos in which education, personal responsibility, self respect and respect for others are central to our children's growth and development. Every child is valued and encouraged to reach their full potential to enable them to be happy and successful individuals.
About our School
Ours is a well established school and has been in existence since 1872. The current location was purpose-built in the 1950s as a single-storey site offering a spacious hall, seven classrooms, library, activity room and ICT suite. In addition, we are fortunate enough to have substantial grounds that include playing fields, sports courts, a sensory garden and outdoor classrooms.We welcome girls and boys from 4 to 11 years of age. There is only one class for each year group which means we are a small community school of approximately 200 children, allowing us to have smaller teacher to children ratios than most schools in the area.
We serve the community to the south side of Tunbridge Wells as well as some parts of East Sussex. We are a Church of England school but children of all faiths and backgrounds are equally welcome.
We believe that by investing time, knowledge and a good moral standing in our children, we are building successful foundations for a bright future.
St Marks School History
St. Mark's School began in 1872 when William, Earl of Abergavenny, granted the use of the land on which a school would be erected for the education of children of the labouring, manufacturing and other poor class of the neighbourhood.The school, now in the County of Kent, was built within the Diocese of Chichester and the Rural Deanery of Etchingham. The county boundary, which had been moved over the years, was originally in the Pantiles.
The parents of the first pupils were levied to pay two pence for each child and many of the children walked several miles to school each day, whatever the weather.
The buildings on the Frant Road were used by the school for 115 years. In July 1987 the school moved to its present site on Ramslye Road.
St Mark's Day: April 25th
The School Emblem
The Badge of Venice
The animal featured on our school badge is a winged lion, the symbol of St. Mark. This symbol comes from St. Mark's description of John the Baptist's voice "crying out in the wilderness" upon hearing the Word of God (Mark 1:3). His voice is said to have sounded like that of a roaring lion. This lion symbolism also appears in a vision of the Prophet Ezekiel where four winged creatures represent the four evangelists (Ezekiel 1:10). Matthew is depicted as a human, Mark as a lion, Luke as a bull, and John as an eagle. The winged lion represents one fourth of the nature of Christ. The man being the human nature of Christ; the lion, the royal dignity; the ox, the sacrifice, atonement and priesthood; and the eagle, the ascension and divine nature.
St Mark is the patron saint of Venice, Italy. There are winged lions all over the city.
Lion on the Clock Tower, St. Mark's Square, Venice
As for our School motto, "merenti" means "to the well-deserving" and "meritum" means merit, reward or success. Put them together ... "To the well-deserving will come success." In other words, "Work hard and you'll be rewarded!"
