Pastoral Tutors

Pastoral care is seen as vitally important for all students. A student who knows that there are those concerned about their welfare will be far more likely to develop into an effective missional worker than one who feels isolated and alone.

While studying at School of the Word, students are seen as members of King’s Church Manchester and are under the pastoral care of the church eldership. They are encouraged to play a full part in the life of the church and engage with one of the many home groups around the city and so ensure they are integrated into a church community while studying at School of the Word.

In addition to this, they are individually assigned pastoral tutors (not to be confused with academic tutors) who have all studied at post-graduate level. These tutors are not teachers at School of the Word, but will be available for help and support during the course of the year. They invite the students to their homes on at least a termly basis. They are also happy to read through a student’s essay before the deadline and make comments of a general nature to help the student find ways of improving their written work.

Students in the past have at times found it most helpful to be able to meet and talk with someone who is out of the day to day routine of School of the Word life, yet who is fully aware of the demands of study and involvement in the church community.

Learning Support

Before starting any essay, the School of the Word learning mentor runs a workshop open to all students on the basic principles involved in essay writing. The learning mentor is available throughout the year to provide support and advice with academic work for any student. Occasionally the Principal will caringly direct a student to take such support.

It is always encouraging to see how students who have failed to achieve much success in previous academic study can produce high quality work. It often takes a student by surprise to see how much difference there is in personal motivation when studying the sort of subject matter studied on School of the Word compared to the motivation in previous academic subjects that the student may have had to study in the past and had little interest in.

The learning mentor also produces study skills guides on such subjects as how to reference essays; how to develop good reading skills; how to make the most of lectures and how to take notes etc. Those with little experience of writing essays are always surprised at the amount of support on offer.

Careers Advice

After studying at School of the Word, finding the right employment is an important part of being a missional worker in the harvest field. The professional School of the Word careers advisor gives a presentation to all the student body and is able to see individual students on an appointment basis at any time during the year to discuss potential career opportunities.

Immigration Advice

A professional immigration lawyer is at hand to advise students from outside of the EU with any questions they might have concerning such things as their status with the UKBA, visas and identity cards. This help is available at all times throughout the year.

Students coming from outside the EU will have to apply for a student visa. School of the Word is a registered sponsor with the UKBA and able to issue an invitation to non-EU students who satisfy the criteria. Click here for more information on applying as a non-EU applicant. Applying to School of the Word