Welcome from the Headmaster

'' I have been fortunate to be the Headmaster at Stonar since 2019 and live on our beautiful school site with my wife and three children. After a period in the British Amy as an Infantry Officer, I became a teacher and have worked in boarding and day schools for 25 years, including ten years as a boarding Housemaster. I am very proud to be the Head of such a wonderful school and remain deeply committed to its continued progress and development.

Indeed, Stonar is thriving with a full school roll and significant investment and development in facilities and the curricular and co-curricular provision. Why the growth and success? I think it is because parents identify with the driving purpose of the School. At Stonar we summarise our approach in three important words, ‘Achieve with joy’.

Stonar is a kind, calm, caring, family orientated school. However, these words are not euphemisms for lack of achievement. We strive for and see achievement both in terms of academic results and in many other ways. For far too many young people, achievement comes with a price not worth paying. At Stonar achievement comes with joy. Finding the right balance is not easy, but it is what we strive for at Stonar.

Achieve with joy – with is a seemingly unimportant preposition. But at Stonar ‘with’ is what it is all about. ‘With’ describes the care and love that is at the heart of our relationships. Here ‘with’ means together, supported, known.

Here, children have the freedom to be themselves without the fear of being judged, and this, in turn, encourages their motivation to succeed. Our pupils retain their joy because they are not pressured to conform, but rather encouraged to blossom and discover their true passions. 

Numerous studies show that the most important factor by far in determining success in adulthood is emotional stability and wellbeing as a teenager. It is significantly more important than qualifications, but that said, these same young people achieve 20% better results as well.

At Stonar, we put the emotional stability and wellbeing of our children at the forefront of the way we run the School. If we accept the importance of this, then the key question must be to ask yourself what does achievement come with at the schools you consider for your child.

‘Achieve with joy’ – joy, not happiness. I think happiness can be fleeting, it can be shallow. I prefer the word joy. Joy is a profound belief in yourself and your own value. A knowledge that the people around you truly care about you. That you are free to explore every opportunity that comes your way. That you are safe.

I hope that you will come and visit Stonar to find out more about achievement with joy at this wonderful and charming school."

Matthew Way,
Headmaster