Our purpose

Respect is an easy word.
we learn it at school, we use it frequently,
we print it on shirts, posters and even on books.
We claim to know it, but do we really understand it?
We claim to know it, but do we give it the importance it merits?

We may confuse it with manners,
with saying “yes, ma’am” and “no, sir”
We may forget it means respecting ourselves,
Our body, our ideas, our voice, our beliefs.
We may forget it means respecting others,
their values, their differences, their passions.
We may forget what it means to respect our community,
our rules, our traditions.
That it also means respecting the world,
its animals, habitats, its natural order.

Respect is so much more than that.
It’s listening and not just replying.
It’s knowing that our differences should be cherished and not criticised.
Or that borders are just lines on maps and not divisive topics.
It’s knowing that change must be for the better, not just for change itself.

So, we believe that respect, the true version, must be the way.
The way of changing, of leading, of innovating, of learning.
That is why we believe that respect has the power to transform.

The English School,
Transforming Through Respect.