Ethos and Goals

ethos and goals

The LONGFORD & FRASER Leadership Academy for Boys curriculum is underpinned by the following philosophies:

  • Boys thrive in an environment of implicit high expectations, gentle discipline, kindness and clear boundaries.
  • The underlying social and emotional skills to create happiness, friendship and security in life must be learned, nurtured, discussed, encouraged and practised.
  • Leadership first refers to leadership of oneself in life. Leadership involves leading oneself to make good decisions and to display consistent, considerate behaviour that generates respect and trust. Leadership involves leading a life where integrity and honesty with oneself and others is prioritised. Every boy has leadership potential if given an encouraging, warm, supportive environment which draws out their unique qualities and strengths.
  • We need to prioritise and value internal references of worth including a child’s moral code, a backbone, integrity, courage, self-respect and the ability to positively relate to others, both socially and emotionally. Together, this is known as good character. It would be a tremendous outcome for society if popularity was determined by a child’s character. By valuing our young people based on such a parameter then everyone is on a level playing field; everyone has the opportunity for life success.
Sometimes all children need is a safe, third-person environment to reiterate what parents have already been trying to teach them.

The tutors, Melissa Anderson and Julia Hall create a class atmosphere that is warm, appreciative, challenging, engaging and inspiring. We don’t do labels – preferring to focus on a child’s strengths and, after building rapport, gently and diplomatically address areas for development.

We also do not allow cliques to form. We work as a team, always.

The LONGFORD & FRASER Academy for Boys curriculum is designed to provide practical, hands-on training through peer review, discussions, role-play, multi-media analysis, case studies, experiential activities, competitions, games, self-assessment and structured class exercises.

The 32 – 34 exercises covered each class involve competition, risk and learning disguised as sheer fun.

Our curriculum is underpinned by a belief in “positive psychology” – a relatively new branch of psychology that shifts the focus from what is clinically wrong, to “the promotion of wellbeing and the creation of a satisfying life lived with meaning, purpose, a life-long commitment to learning, positive relationships and goal accomplishment”.

The boys of today need to be flexible and prepared to adapt to new situations, turn obstacles into opportunities and innovate with fresh ideas to handle and triumph over change. The world becomes a more challenging and fast-changing place by the year.

We seek to build an unassailable skill set in our students; working together with parents and families to raise young boys and young men with a backbone and good character to be role models for their families, their school, their wider communities and their country.