The school’s Trustees (its Directors) are appointed by “Quakers in Yorkshire”, a regional body of Quakers that is part of Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends of Great Britain, a Christian-inspired body that arose around 1650. Here are our key beliefs and how they affect work at Breckenbrough.
We believe there is “something of God”, some essential goodness, in everyone. However small or faint it may be, it exists and may be reached, and if we behave rightly it can grow and become strong. It is thus always right to persevere patiently with difficult or challenging behaviour from people entrusted to our care. We try to arrange things at Breckenbrough so that everyone is helped to give of their best, to show their strengths and manage their weaknesses. We know that people here learn to appreciate this simple constructive belief. It is relevant for us all, whatever our roles.
From the belief in that of God in everyone it follows that it is wrong to kill, to prepare for killing and to make war. It’s wrong to behave in ways that tend to make conflict and violence more likely; and wrong to tackle problems in aggressive ways. We are grateful for the pioneering work by the Deputy Head and Board members in developing peaceful approaches to resolving conflict at Breckenbrough. We know our students quickly learn to like these methods. Old Boys tell us they work. We will continue with them.
Conflict is inevitable, and can be healthy. It should not be suppressed or denied. What matters is that it is tackled respectfully, openly and calmly, seeking solutions acceptable to all parties. The challenge for us is to be ready to learn, all of us, and to realise the power of forgiveness.
These are the key points we need to make here. To read more, ask for a copy of our paper entitled “The Quaker ethos – Trustees’ beliefs and hopes”. For information on Quakers in Britain see the website www.quaker.org.uk
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