The Oscar Romero Award is a national Catholic school award that supports schools in realising and living their unique calling as communities of faith, justice, and evangelisation. Its mission is to empower pupils and staff to become “true agents of the change they want to see in the world by putting their faith into action” . Inspired by the life and witness of St Oscar Romero, the award encourages schools to embrace Catholic Social Teaching (CST) not as an add‑on, but as a guiding vision that shapes culture, curriculum, leadership, and daily practice.

What the Award Stands For

The award provides a clear, reflective framework that helps schools recognise what they already do to promote CST and challenges them to embed these principles more deeply across all aspects of school life . It is rooted in key Gospel values and the Church’s social teaching, including:

• Dignity of the human person – ensuring policies and practice uphold the equal worth of every individual created in God’s image .

• Option for the poor – responding to the Gospel call to care for those who are disadvantaged or vulnerable, locally and globally .

• The common good – building inclusive, welcoming communities where all can flourish and participate fully .

• Solidarity – promoting integral human development and standing with others in faith and action (continuation from CST strands) .

These principles are woven through three core strands that schools must demonstrate in order to gain the award:

• Strategic – CST informs leadership, decision‑making, and the school’s vision and culture .

• Curriculum – pupils learn about CST across subjects, gaining a holistic understanding of justice, dignity, and the Church’s mission .

• Practical – the whole school community lives out CST through action, solidarity, and commitment to the common good .

Levels of the Award

The Oscar Romero Award is a journey rather than a tick‑box exercise. Schools progress through three levels as they deepen their commitment to CST:

• Participator Level – the school promotes social justice through charitable work and ensures dignity and justice are reflected in policies, curriculum, and practice .

• Developer Level – CST becomes increasingly embedded in everyday school life, with resources and structures developed to support this .

• Innovator Level – CST is fully integrated across the school, and the school actively works with others to promote social justice and evangelisation beyond its own community .

Our Achievement

We are proud to announce that our school has already achieved the Participator Award. This recognises our commitment to Catholic Social Teaching and our ongoing work to ensure that dignity, justice, compassion, and care for creation are lived out across our curriculum, policies, and community life.

Achieving the Participator Level affirms the charitable outreach, pupil leadership, and faith‑driven action already present in our school. It also marks the beginning of a deeper journey—one that challenges us to continue being “good news” to our local, national, and global community, echoing St Oscar Romero’s call to “aspire not to have more, but to be more” .

As we move forward, we look ahead to developing our practice further and progressing to the Developer Level, strengthening our mission to help every pupil “live life to the full” (John 10:10)