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Chaplains

Welcome to the Chaplaincy team!

QE is a Church of England School which is proud of its Christian character and ethos. Christian values are both implicit and explicit in the way that all members of the QE community conduct themselves. The current chaplaincy role began in 2014 when the House System was introduced at QE. Each House was allocated its own chaplain who, working closely with the Head of House, brings an added dimension to the pastoral care of the students, further supporting the Christian faith and promoting SMSC.

Each chaplain works within one house, and supports the school on a different day. This is to promote consistency and to maintain a chaplain presence in school. Each house has one assembly a week attended by their chaplain who can offer a short reflection or prayer at the start of the day.

Chaplains lead assemblies using the theme for the week. These are chosen with a focus on reflecting Christian values, key events from the Christian calendar and other significant world events. These themes are shared in assembly but also delivered by house tutors to ensure students are getting a consistent experience of collective worship. Resources and assemblies are designed to further promote students spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Following the assembly the chaplains will spend time in the House Office, offering pastoral and spiritual care to students, typically in mentoring sessions. During break the chaplains offer a drop in service for any student who wishes to chat, and will see students from any house during this period. There are also key times in the year when chaplains will be invited to attend or to be involved with events at the school, such as significant times in the Christian or the school’s calendar.

Ian Thorpe: Sixth Form

Skittles: York House

Carole Gadsden: Lancaster House
Hiya, I am Carole, and I am the chaplain for Lancaster House. I originate from Basingstoke in Hampshire where I lived until I went into ministry training based in London (before the training I worked as a secretary in an educational publishers). Having been ordained as a Salvation Army officer, I have lived in various parts of the country - I have been based in Wimborne since July 2019.
Since arriving in Wimborne, I have come along to QE as one of the chaplains. Wimborne is a lovely town, and it's good to be involved at QE (even though it was overwhelming to start with – I thought I would easily get lost around the school!) I guess if I wasn’t doing what I am doing – the best place for me would be a chocolate factory (yep, would definitely need to be the official tester for any varieties….!)  If you see me on site at QE or out and about – I am happy to catch up for a chat!

Jake Parker: Stuart House

Jared Littlewood: Tudor House
I’ve grown up in Bournemouth for most of my life, spending a year in South America after university before working for a local behaviour management school. I am now employed as the youth worker at The Lantern church in Merley, Wimborne; I started there in September. I then started as a chaplain at QE not long after. I love playing music in my spare time, dabbling in a little bit of piano and tuba! As you can imagine, classic FM is the only radio station for me.

Andy Putt: Wessex House
I am Andy, I have been part of the Chaplaincy team since 2016, I grew up in Southampton and worked at a local school as a behaviour team specialist, then i moved to Wimborne in 2007 to be the Youth pastor at St Johns Church, I have always been involved with youth work if that was running summer camps or youth sessions at my church. In January 2013 I left my post at St Johns to set up a local project called StreetLight. StreetLIght is a Christian Charity who run an Indoor Skate park and café in Wimborne. Part of my role at StreetLIght is to support and mentor people, and the strong links between QE and StreetLight really help. I am married to Laura who is a great support to the work I do here in Wimborne.