English philosopher Dean William Inge described the aim of education as: "the knowledge, not of facts, but of values". It has been the fundamental aim of Treverton, from its inception, to provide what it does with values that are centrally focused around a strong Christian Ethos.

Aim

Treverton therefore aims to encourage pupils to reach their fullest potential academically, to develop to their highest level of sporting excellence and also to nurture a third important area - the spiritual aspect.

Faith

Treverton School was re-established by a Baptist Trust, which safeguards the aspirations of our Founders in providing a school offering the highest academic qualifications and education in keeping with the Independent Private Schools of South Africa. While respecting the fact that not all pupils enrolled at Treverton will necessarily be of the Christian faith, it is with the understanding that they are willing to fully respect the exclusively Christian ethos and values of the School.

Heads and staff are to be selected with the highest qualifications of academic leadership and Christian example.

All pupils attend a chapel service as part of a bi-weekly school assembly as well as a Sunday evening service. Our school Chaplain is the Rev. André de Beer, an ordained Baptist minister, who joined the staff in 1991.

The Chaplain teaches Bible Education to all classes at the College and oversees the SCA (Student Christian Association) meetings on Tuesday evenings and Bible Study on Thursday evenings. He is available to all pupils for one-on-one counselling, guidance, and pastoral support.

Mission Statement

The Treverton Mission statement (which entails a Christian Ethos)

• asserts the focus to be on the nurture of the spiritual aspect of the development of learners;

• affirms that Treverton is an inter-denominational Christian School, and
• acknowledges and enshrines the Baptist heritage of Treverton, which implies a conscious option for Christian Evangelicalism.
  This historical aspect of Treverton is especially important, because it is the Baptist principle of the freedom of (Christian Evangelical) conscience that makes it such a natural thing for Treverton, operating from its Baptist roots and heart, to be so enthusiastically accommodating of all Evangelical denominations in the expression of its Christian ethos.

When referring to the "Christian Ethos" of Treverton, it is helpful to keep firmly in mind the definition of "ethos", as being "distinctive [in] character, spirit and attitude". Each one of these elements is important:

• "Character" denotes the combination of traits and qualities distinguishing the individual nature of a person or thing. This includes ethics and morality.
• "Spirit" denotes the force or principle that animates the body of living things including their temperament or disposition. In the case of a Christian Ethos this Spirit is, of course, the Holy Spirit.
• "Attitude" denotes the way a person or body of persons views something or tends to behave towards it, in an evaluative way. This is where "worldview" comes into play with regard to ethos.

The attitude of Treverton's Christian ethos: As people who have opted for the Evangelical Christian Faith and worldview, the founders and governors of Treverton have (by implication) evaluated conflicting worldviews and opted against them.

Therefore, operating from and within its Christian ethos, Treverton will, in true Christian Spirit, behave towards people of conflicting religious views and worldviews with mercy and grace, acknowledging and respecting their freedom to create for themselves forums in, and campuses on which, to freely express their own chosen ethos, whatever and wherever that may be.

At the same time, the forums and campuses of Treverton are there for the free and exclusive expression of its Christian ethos, to the measure that Treverton should ever abandon this attitude with regard to other faiths and worldviews, it will abandon its own Christian ethos.