“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.”
- GK Chesterton

Fellowship for Classical Learning

What is the purpose of education?

We believe that the root cause of the brokenness of our British educational system is that we have forgotten to ask the fundamental question: what is the purpose of education?

Currently in Britain, education is centred around “productivity”. We fixate on the most obvious material benefits of education: will this school help my child get good grades? Get into university? Land a good job? Increase their future earning power?

All these goals are vital. Material goals matter. However, they ought not to be the highest priority or purpose of an education. But the West has indeed valued material goals above all, and the fruits are disastrous. We have become a society that pursues trends instead of truth; we have raised generations that prioritise comfort over duty or virtue; we have created a culture that consumes distraction, not one that creates beauty. Having stripped education of any transcendent purpose, we now shape generations who are more anxious and depressed than ever before.

A better way to educate:

At the Fellowship for Classical Learning we know there is a better, time-tested path. Traditionally, before the 20th century, the purpose of education was character formation. The goal of education was not merely job preparation, but preparation for life with all of its tribulations and glories. It was to teach children how to sit at the feet of the wisest, most enduring works of human civilization, so that they could learn how to flourish in every circumstance of life; whether leading a company or a family, whether receiving an inheritance or a life-changing diagnosis.

This was the classical view of education. This is the vision of education that the Fellowship for Classical Education is seeking to recover in the UK. In doing this, we are not trying to do anything new; rather, we are reclaiming the original vision of Britain’s foremost historic Public Schools, the original driving force behind the mass education of Western society. Like the originators of those British Public Schools, we seek to serve families from all walks of life who desire a classical Christian education for their children, in order to raise leaders who will serve our country and our world.

The Fellowship for Classical Learning exists to explore how this vision can be applied to the educational landscape in the UK, through developing and promoting innovative classical pedagogy, curriculum and policy, displayed in our founding schools.

We represent a family of schools marked by love for their students, love for one another and love for truth, beauty and goodness.

Our latest podcasts

Hin-Tai featured on The Fountain’s podcast to explain ‘What is a Classical Christian Education?’ Watch below, or listen via Apple podcast and Spotify.

Jamie and Hin-Tai featured on the Anchored podcast, discussing the present need for classical education in the UK. Watch below, or listen via Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Our Team

Jamie Burns || Chief Executive Officer

Jamie completed the Teach First Leadership Development Programme in Cardiff and has worked across both primary and secondary schools in England and Wales. He is actively engaged with the renewal of classical Christian education internationally — speaking at the Society for Classical Learning conference in the US and advising key leaders of that movement.
Hin-Tai Ting || Chief Academic Officer

Hin-Tai is the Founding Headmaster of The Fountain Christian School. He has spent most of his career working with the visionary Headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh at the world-famous Michaela Community School - the number 1 school nationally by Progress 8 for the last three years, and a school which prizes character formation above all else.

Our partner schools

St. Anselm’s School, Cardiff

The Fountain Christian School, London

Advisory Group

Eric Cook

Eric Cook is the President of the Society for Classical Learning (SCL) in the USA, an American organization dedicated to fostering human flourishing through the advancement of classical Christian education. He provides executive leadership for SCL, overseeing the organization’s vision, strategy, thought leadership, and fundraising efforts.
Katherine Tait

Kat is the Chair of Governors for The Fountain Christian School and an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs where she is Head of Content for Wealth Management. Prior to this she led investment research efforts around investing in education and authored a white paper titled “The Future of Learning”.
Leslie Moeller

Leslie is the Head of the Geneva School in Boene, Texas. She has been involved in classical Christian education for over 20 years. She serves on the Board of Academic Advisors for the Classic Learning Test, and the boards of New Covenant Schools and Veritas School, and is the Chair of the Board of the Society for Classical Learning.
Briar Lipson

Briar started her career in think-tanks, writing about economics and education. She then taught in inner-city London academies, becoming a Deputy Head and opening four successful new Free Schools.
Erik Twist

Erik played a pivotal role in developing Great Hearts Academies into the largest network of classical schools in the United States. He now leads the largest firm in the country that supports classical and Christian schools in building business acumen and operational discipline.
Troy Schuknecht

Troy is the Head of Covenant Classical School in Fort Worth, Texas, which is the first school in the US to be accredited by the Society for Classical Learning. He has worked in Christian Classical Education for the vast majority of his career, having previously spent 14 years at Veritas Academy in Austin, Texas where he served in multiple Senior Leadership roles.
Liubov Brooks

Liubov is a consultant to parents on children’s literature and has an MA in Children’s Literature. She works as the Junior School Librarian at Magdalen College School, Oxford. She homeschooled her children for several years and runs a popular classical education blog, Classically Curious.
Stephanie Ting

Stephanie is a governor at Michaela Community School responsible for Safeguarding, and served as Head of Music there. She is also an Executive Advisor at The Fountain Christian School. Stephanie has a First Class degree in Law from LSE and a masters in Law (BCL) from Oxford.
Will Mortimore

Will is a former teacher, head of department and houseparent. He now works in assessment design and delivery at the International Baccalaureate. He is the Chair of Trustees for St Anselm’s School.
Hannah VanGraudin

Hannah VanGraudin is a PhD candidate at the University of Notre Dame, where she investigates the culturally formative nature of language training in the Middle Ages. She likewise cares about education and formation in the modern classroom and, for the past 15 years, has taught Latin to a range of levels, from primary school to graduate students.
Jonathan Thomas

Prior to joining the staff of a church in Cardiff, Jonathan was Head of Biology at a boarding school in England and has taught in a variety of state and independent schools. With its emphasis on the true, the good and the beautiful , he believes classical Christian education provides a thrilling answer to the question: "what is the purpose of education?" He is married with young children.